The Rejected Werewolf Princess by Didiadeyemi

Chapter 175

It didn’t take much convincing to get Ryker to let me go with him. It was a relief to finally be out of the room, but I couldn’t help but wonder if the reasons were good at all. We were led to the council room and needless to say, it was a weird pairing to see Caius and Lyla whispering together in hushed tones. When we arrived, they immediately jumped apart.

“We found it,” they said together and my brows furrowed. I was confused as to what they were talking about but Ryker seemed to understand because his eyes widened in shock and relief. “It took a shi t ton of time but we did it.”

Ryker took the seat opposite them and I followed suit. “Tell me everything.”

Caius brought out a single piece of parchment and on it was what looked like a sigil. It was hard to distinguish at first because it just looked like a badly drawn circle but on closer inspection, I saw that it was a snake eating itself. I had never seen something like that in my life and I couldn’t help but wonder why they would be looking

for it.

“I knew it had something to do with the witches so I reached out to a few of my friends but none of them know,” Lyla began. “I thought we were simply too young to know of it so I asked Caius and he happened to know some friends who are a bit older and have ties to the witch world. One of them was able to identify this.”

“it is the seal of a long forgotten witch coven,” Caius continued. “They used to be so powerful in the days of my youth. They were considered ser vants of the goddess. They would offer sacrifices to her and speak directly to her. It was believed then that the goddess used to walk amongst them. They were favored and blessed until one day, things started to go wrong. They started hearing strange things from the goddess- things she would never have said on a normal day,”

“They weren’t smart enough to realize that they had been compromised. Instead, they kept sacrificing, kept praying,” Lyla cut in. “A few of them started to realize that things were not as they used to. Their crops were dying, they were not getting older, they started to investigate and they found that their coven leader had diverted from praying to the goddess. She started to dabble in dark magic, she fed off the life force of their land which was connected to the goddess- she was powerful. They tried to stand against her but there was a battle. It was long and it is was blo ody and by the end of it, their cover was razed to the ground.”

I felt goose bumps on my skin as her words settled in the air. She had a faraway and sad look in her eye. I figured the story hurt her more seeing as she was a witch.

“What happened to the leader? Did she die?” I asked but she shrugged.

“No one knows. By the time the battle was over, no one was recognizable. Legend says that a few of them managed to escape and merged with the other covens, their powers were long forgotten and the goddess never walked the earth again. Other legends say that they all died and put an end to their lineage forever.”

do you say?” I asked and she went silent. It was clear she was not expecting

think I am qualified to speak on the subject. I wasn’t born when it happened and my mother would have been a child. Even she wouldn’t

ask what you know or what you are qualified on. I asked what you think,” I corrected. “Think about it

She sighed.

she wouldn’t have gone down that easily. She would have made contingency plans in case things went south. She couldn’t have assumed she would be able to lie to them forever. I think she lived past the battle and if she was able to continue her practice, she would be young forever.

responsible for this,” I deduced and she nodded.

does mention where their

“Where is that?”

speaking and when the words finally left her

judgment, we ended up riding out of the palace that morning. Ryker was pissed about it to say the least but even he realized just how close we were to getting to the bottom of this. I could have sent a guard but I didn’t want to risk anyone else’s life. It was obvious that I was the one she wanted,

never would have guessed. The ride was quiet, everyone

I asked suddenly making all eyes turn to me. “If

coven land back?”

Some say that after the war, the goddess cursed the land so that no witch can inhabit it anymore. Others say that the very essence of the land cries out against us. No one has ever thought to try it out since then. If it is true, then that would explain

as I mulled over those words. It gave me an answer but it wasn’t enough, there were still so many questions that I wasn’t sure I would ever get the answer to unless I asked her directly- whoever she was. I couldn’t help but wonder if she was following us right now, tracking our every move and trying to figure out the best way to attack. I looked over my shoulder and at the trees lining the sides of the roads almost imagining her jumping out and putting

I turned to her. “I hope I am not crossing a line but if I might ask, what are you planning to do when you get there? Do you want

and she let out a sigh of relief. “I want to leave her a little…

this spot for his vacation home. I took

else- another young maid I had seen in passing before.