The Blind Witch

All it takes is a little bit of wind to extinguish a candle.

Victor led Clarissa to Aiden’s chambers. They got there before anyone else. He took a second to look over her, making sure she was unharmed.

“I’m fine!” She groaned at him. “The witch didn’t touch me.”

“Where is your sword?” He questioned harshly.

“In my room,” she answered meekly. “I’m sorry.”

“It doesn’t matter where you go; if you leave, I always expect that sword on you. Do you understand me?”

“I understand,” she nodded.

“But you did well,” he sighed, moving her hair from her face.

“The witch escaped!” She argued as she shook her head. “I let her escape.”

“It’s hard to hold back witches who can turn to smoke, trust me,” he reassured her. “But the power you showed, it was unlike anything I’ve ever seen.”

Clarissa opened her mouth to speak, but she could hear men talking. She looked towards the door and saw several auras rushing in. She could barely distinguish Aiden amongst the colors. He was the only one with orbs flying around. She wanted to move to him, but Victor held her back.

Victor watched as the guards laid Aiden on the bed gently. They covered him up to his waist. He could see him shaking. It was cold, but he could see the pain on his face. He was trying not to cry out from the agony of his wounds. Victor was happy that Clarissa could not see it. It would break her heart to see Aiden in such pain.

Ophelia came in, followed by Azrael. She went to Aiden’s side and looked at him. Though Aiden was part wolf, he did not have the ability to steam and heal like pure wolves. He could heal minor wounds, bruises, and slashes. But broken bones? Cyrus didn’t have the ability to heal those.

She held her hands over him, and they began to glow brightly. She closed her eyes and looked toward the ceiling. In her mind, she was calling upon Eir, the Goddess of healing. After so many years of keeping Azrael alive, Ophelia felt she owed Eir a debt. She is the reason that Ophelia could keep her child alive.

As Ophelia channeled the power of Eir, she could feel the magic flow from her hands and into Aiden. He winced as his bones were pulled back into place. The fractures were healed, and his muscles began to relax. He finally exhaled when the pain was gone. He laid back on the bed, exhausted. Though his body was healed, he still felt stiff. Ophelia opened her eyes and put her hands on his arm.

“Rest for the remainder of the day,” she instructed gently. “Your body needs time to fully recover.”

“Thank you,” he smiled softly.

“Aiden shall be alright?” Azrael questioned Ophelia.

“Yes, he will be back up and walking tomorrow,” she stated confidently. She looked at Clarissa. “What happened out there?”

“We were just playing in the snow,” Aiden answered with a groan. “We had only been out there a few minutes when the witch appeared out of nowhere. I shifted into Cyrus to attack her, but she did something to me. The moment her hand touched me, I felt heavy. I couldn’t lift my legs off the ground. I was stuck.”

“She used a gravity spell on you,” Victor replied as he crossed his arms. “That’s why you couldn’t move.”

“What did the witch want?” Azrael asked. “Did she speak to you two?”

“She asked me my name,” Clarissa said as she stepped forward, tears brimming in her eyes. “She asked what coven I belonged to and what Aiden was to me. She told me she wouldn’t hurt him if I went to her. I wanted her to get away from him, so I lied and said I couldn’t walk without assistance. That’s when she hurt Aiden.”

“She would have hurt him whether or not you went to her,” Ophelia added.

“So the witch was here for Clarissa? Not Aiden?” Azrael inquired.

“She wanted me to go with her,” Clarissa explained. “But I didn’t want to. And she held down Aiden. I didn’t know what else to do!”

“What did you do?” Azrael questioned. He was not there to see it. He had no idea what she was referring to.

“I know it was a risk!” She cried as tears fell down her cheeks. “But I could only hope he wouldn’t be hurt...”

“She set Aiden on fire,” Victor interrupted when he saw that Clarissa was becoming upset.

“But I said the incantation first to keep him from being harmed by it!” She added quickly. “I whispered it so the witch didn’t hear me.”

“You did well,” Victor reassured her.

“The fire was excruciatingly hot,” Ophelia commented as she looked at Azrael. “I saw that the witch was severely burned before they fled.”

“Requiem witch,” Victor scowled under his breath.

“I do not want to rehash this with you,” Azrael said through gritted teeth as he looked at Victor.

“I thought Requiem witches were all vampires,” Clarissa whispered as she looked up at Victor.

“Not all of them become vampires,” he replied. “Some stay normal so they can travel during the day. So they can corner teenagers in a garden.”

“You don’t know for a fact that the witch is from the Requiem,” Azrael growled. “Unless you get me proof, I can’t even accuse them.”

“Why not disband them like they did with the Fallen Coven?” Clarissa questioned. She did not understand how they could tolerate a coven who consistently caused problems.

“There are coven laws that pertain to that,” Ophelia replied. “The only reason to dissolve a coven is if the coven causes severe damage to the Earth or against all of man. Even if we can prove the Requiem is behind these attacks, they only targeted the Royal family. We can sanction them, replace their High Priest and Priestess, but not dissolve the coven entirely.”

“Perhaps when I am Queen of Queens, I can do something about it,” Clarissa huffed as she crossed her arms.

Victor and Azrael could feel the heat coming from her. She grew angry as she realized Azrael had little to no power. She had been attacked twice in the four months she had been here. All she could do was defend herself. Defensive only. She hated it. She hated that she had to sit in the palace as fodder.

“Clarissa, calm down; you’re making it hot,” Victor said as he reached out to her.

She flinched when Victor touched her arm. She had been stewing in her thoughts; she had not noticed how hot she was becoming. She quickly straightened herself, and the room began cooling back to a normal temperature.

“I’m sorry,” she murmured as she looked down.

“Can Clarissa and I talk alone, please?” Aiden asked the adults in the room.

Ophelia was hesitant, but she nodded to his request. She walked to Victor and Azrael and ushered them from the room. All that remained was Clarissa and Aiden. He looked at her with a smile.

“Come here, Issa,” he beckoned to her.

She slowly walked across the room to the side of the bed. She placed a hand on his shoulder but froze when she felt his bare skin. She turned her head away, facing a wall.

“I have a blanket covering me up to my waist,” he chuckled. “It is not as if you can see anything anyways.”

“It still embarrasses me,” she muttered as she slowly turned to face him.

Her hand went back to his shoulder. She could feel his muscles relax under her touch. She ran her hand down to his chest but paused. Her hand felt something different. His skin was smooth, but suddenly it wasn’t. The skin was rough and felt textured.

“That’s my scar from when the witch attacked me six years ago,” he explained as he put a hand on top of hers. He ran her hand across the length of the scar. It went diagonal across his chest.

“Does it hurt?” She asked softly.

“No,” he smiled. “It healed long ago.”

“What does the scar look like?”

“It is a dark red slash across my chest,” he said as he thought. “It looks as if it is fresh, but it isn’t.”

She looked at the orbs that swirled around her body; then she looked at Aiden’s. Hers were brighter, but she would ask Lydia to be sure. So, dark red? That is what his orbs looked like.

Aiden reached up and touched her cheek, causing her to look at him.

“You saved me,” he stated. “I would have died today if you had not covered me in fire.”

“If I weren’t here, the witch would have never even attacked you,” Clarissa scowled.

“They most certainly would have come for me, with or without you here,” he argued. “They have been wanting me dead since before I was named my uncle’s heir.”

Clarissa could feel a tear roll down her cheek.

“I don’t like that they come after you,” she whimpered, gripping his hand. “I hate that no one can make them stop. It’s unfair.”

“The King of Kings title is not as powerful as it once was,” he sighed in agreement.

“I will make it powerful,” she asserted as her voice grew stern. “I will make sure all respect you, that none would dare think of harming you.”

“It won’t be me all will bow to,” he smiled. “It shall be you, my Queen of Queens. I will just be here, riding upon your success. You make me stronger. You have more magic than anyone I know. This world shall prosper because of you.”

Clarissa shook her head but couldn’t find the words to argue with him. Aiden laid on the bed in silence, enjoying the sparks of her hand touching his. He could not help but want her closer to him.

“Come here,” he whispered.

Clarissa obediently leaned forward. He put his hand on her cheek and guided her face to his. He kissed her tenderly. Though it was not their first kiss, this time, it felt different. There were sparks and urges that followed.

“I love you,” he said, leaning back against the pillow.

“Why say that?” She questioned. She began to feel nervous. She could not recall a time when anyone told her those words. She felt scared to say them back, even though she wanted to.

“You called me mate earlier,” he replied. “You want to be with me just as much as I want to be with you. You are so beautiful, so smart, so powerful. But you are all mine. I love you, Clarissa. With all of my heart, I cannot fathom not ever being with you. I owe you my life; I shall live it worshipping the ground you walk upon. You-”

Clarissa leaned in, quieting him with a kiss. She put her hand on his cheek as their lips parted.

“I love you too,” she whispered.