The Devil's Cursed Witch

With each passing minute, Ember became more restless inside her chamber, sometimes glancing out the window, sometimes sitting on her bed, even pacing back and forth, trying to wait for time to go by.

Yet upon seeing that darkness had completely settled outside, she could no longer control herself from leaving her bedchamber to go in the direction of the southeast wing of the palace. The entire hallway was lit up with lamps, and in the absolute silence of the empty passage, she could even hear her own heartbeats.

Before she knew it, she had reached the closed door of the King's chamber. She knocked on the door.

"Y-Your Majesty, are you inside?"

There was no response. She waited for a while before opening the door. She looked inside the empty chamber which was lit up with lamps.

'Why is he not back yet? He left at around noon and it was almost evening. Did something bad happen?' She felt worried but then shook her head. 'He is the most powerful, I heard. How can anything happen to him?' She consoled herself, trying to get rid of the growing worry.

She went to the window of the room where she had seen him standing a few times before. She glanced at the view outside, but given her limited human eyesight, there wasn't much for her to see on the ground. She lifted her gaze towards the night sky.

'I wonder what he thinks about when he stands here quietly. He never expresses himself so it is impossible to guess what he even thinks about.'

After staying like that for several minutes, she turned around to sit on the armchair nearby. 'He shouldn't mind it if I wait for him to return while seated, right?'

As she made herself comfortable on the chair, her gaze remained on the window. And just like that, time passed by. The dark sky was dyed by the silver moonlight, brightening the initial black curtains of the night. As Ember appreciated the beautiful shape of the full moon, she felt her eyes getting heavy as if she was being hypnotized by it.

'Huh?'

She shook her head, blinking while touching her warm cheeks. She realized she was starting to feel strange. She could feel her heart beating fast, and inexplicable anxiety was engulfing her mind.

'What is happening?'

She walked out of Draven's chamber and went back to her own.

'It feels the same as yesterday, but today it's worse. Am I really sick?'

Entering her chamber, she went straight to her bed and lay down on it. Whatever she tried, it only worsened and it scared her.

Her hands clutched the bedsheet, pulling it towards her, leaving it all a mess. Her lips parted away to gasp as if it was difficult to breathe. Not knowing what was happening, she started to squeeze her eyes shut. She felt like she would go crazy.

'Did I eat something wrong? What is happening with me?'

She didn't feel like herself and felt like something was trying to take over her mind and body. Her throat felt dry, and even as she licked her lips, they felt rough and cracked.

'Water! I want water.'

She climbed down the bed and realized her entire body was trembling. She walked towards the table which had her pitcher of water kept on it, but she could not find a clean glass nearby. There was only a metal goblet left behind from when her servants brought her juice from earlier.

With her trembling hands, she poured the water into the goblet and emptied that entire goblet of water down her throat without hesitation. She was about to put it back on the table but due to her shaking hands, it fell on the floor, making a noise of metal clanking on the stone floor.

Clank! Clank! Clank!

This noise stopped when that goblet landed on the part with a carpet, but the ringing sound seemed to have triggered her situation more and her already racing heartbeats made it feel like her heart would soon jump out of her chest. She kneeled down on the floor, not knowing how to stop all this. Sudden anxiety covered her mind, as if she needed or wanted something, for what reason she didn't know. She lay on the cold floor, her frail body curled into a ball.

"Mmpf!" Ember bit her lip, trying to suppress the cry brought out by sudden pain that caught her unawares. It was not physical pain, not a tearing or searing pain inflicted on the body, but the kind of pain one could only experience on their soul. It was as if a part of her was yearning for its other half, and its incompleteness was causing her a hollow pain so intense, it demanded to be whole.

Just as she felt like she couldn't bear it, someone appeared inside her bedchamber and pulled her towards him from the cold floor. She felt the warmth from his body comforting her.

---

Beyond the mountain ranges surrounding Agartha, Draven was with a group of elves who were put in charge of dealing with the patrol of the kingdom's borders. With the security of the area becoming somewhat weaker due to the beastmen pulling out of commission due to the full moon, several issues that were created by the humans at the northern border cropped up that needed the King's immediate attention.

It was quite late when Draven finished and reappeared inside his chamber.

The next moment, all the curtains on the windows of the room were drawn close.

"This damn moonlight," he scowled with his jaw clenched.

The night of the full moon. As a divine beast himself, it was natural for him to be troubled. Worse, it took him time to return to the palace, with him barely able to keep his wits under the effect of the bond. As if it was not enough to trouble, one more thing added to it.

"This scent?"

Jasmines... first rain.

'Was she here?'