Chapter 71

Davina's Point Of View

We spent the rest of the night going around the forest. At first, each trail either led us to a dead end or took us through another circle. And Rowena's constant mumbling was a crown on the insane frustration I felt. It took me every bit of self-control not to plunge the dagger in my boots into her chest and I kept reminding myself that I needed her just as much as she needed me to get out of there. Alive.

So in the meantime, we were all we had.

After hours of going around in circles in the forest, we finally found our way out, bursting out in the middle of a long narrow path, and up ahead seemed like a village.

We moved hastily in the darkness, and using the single torch on a stick we managed to light up to see in the darkness. We trekked up the hills and burst into the village. I stopped in my tracks, and as expected there was no single soul in sight. But something else felt wrong. The place felt deserted.

“Something doesn't feel right,” Suddenly, I felt a little bit alarmed and the look on Rowena's face held the same.

“Let's keep going,” She voiced, and as we kept on going, we reached the village marketplace in the town square.

The first set of people we came across in the night was a group of shirtless men dressed in only woolen breeches with their chests, foreheads, and cheeks painted in a combination of different colors. They were on their horses, moving past us.

“Heads down, and no eye contact,” Rowena muttered again, and as we walked by the warriors I could still feel the heat of their gazes at the back of my neck.

“We need to get out of these, ASAP,” I pointed at our clothes, my eyes searching through what appeared to be a small store made from wood. Some were empty, and others closed up.

I noticed a young woman wearing a full-length flax dress, coming out from one of the opened stores, but she stopped immediately.

Her eyes cautiously looked me up and down as I walked closer to her. Her lips parted and she spoke in a language I couldn't understand. Her brown crystals searched mine.

“I'm sorry, I don't understand —”

Her eyes lit up at my words and she cut me off. “Are you lost?”

I breathed out in relief. Thank goodness she could speak English. “I think I am,” I said.

“This is a dangerous area, especially at night, you shouldn't be here at all,”

“Where are we?” I asked, and her brows quivered and her brown eyes fell on my clothes.

“You are not from around here, are you? Where are you from? What's your name—” She stopped talking as soon as the men we saw earlier on their horses approached us.

“What's going on here? Sheila?” One of the men stepped forward.

“Nothing, Kane. She was just asking for directions, that's all,” The woman, Sheila, replied, sending me a stare.

“Thank you for your help,” I turned to my right where Rowena should be but unfortunately she wasn't. I looked around but I couldn't find her in the darkness.

Fuck!

Suddenly I was surrounded by the rest of the group.

“Kane, I said it's nothing!” The woman shouted as the man came up to me.

“What's your name?” He asked.

“It's none of your business. I don't want trouble, Kane,”

He scoffed, his eyes blaring with rage as he ran a hand through his face, and before I knew it, that hand was wrapped around my throat.

I tried to reach for the dagger in my leather jacket but I couldn't. A force was holding me in place and Kane’s hand around my neck began to heat up, suffocating me.

A witch. He was a fucking witch!

“Leave her alone,” Sheila yelled and an invisible force ripped him off me. “I said she's not a threat,”

I stumbled back, bending slightly with a hand on my knee and the other on my throat, breathing hard.

They were all witches, and they had similar marks on the back of their hands.

Oh goddess, where the hell was Rowena?

Slowly, I reached for the stone in my pocket, feeling its magic course through my veins.

“What's wrong with you, Sheila? She could be one of Flanders's men, she's as suspicious as she looks,” His eyes fell on me again, taking in my clothes.

“You are not killing her—” She started but was interrupted by another warrior.

‘Enough you two. We don't have time for this. We need to head back to Ardgal now!”

At the warrior's words, I went still, my eyes drifting to Kane’s whose eyes were on mine.

“Fine. But she's coming with us,” I didn't even have a second to process his words before I felt a blow at the back of my neck and I crashed against the dirt ground. Unconscious.

*****

By the time I woke up, my hands were tied with chains, and pinned to a rock somewhere in the woods. I reached for my pocket, feeling the stone against its leather, sighing in relief. It was almost dawn as darkness had begun to evade the earth, and I could hear familiar voices from up ahead.

One belonged to the bastard Kane and the other which was utterly surprising belonged to my dearest Auntie.

As if on cue, they both emerged from the woods, heading towards me.

I raised my head, meeting Kane’s gaze, before moving to Rowena. I raised a brow, eying her up. She was dressed in the same clothes as Sheila, having a woolen cloak over her dress.

Her dark eyes regarded me with a glint of satisfaction as she nodded. “That's her. My favorite little niece, I'm all she's got and she's all I've got,” A crooked smile slit through her lips as she turned to Kane. “As you can see, she's not well in the head, she's in serious need of help that's why we are heading to Ardgal to see our distant relative,”

I raised both brows as I wondered just what story she must have spilled out.

“Asula?” Kane spoke up as he glanced my way, and I couldn't tell what exactly was going on in his head.

“She's the only one that can save my sweet niece as it is,” I rolled my eyes at the deadly sweetness that coated her voice. “I deeply apologize for the trouble caused, Kane,”

Kane simply grunted and with a snap of his fingers, the chain fell from my hands.

He sent me a silent stare as he walked away taking the route he came from.

“Well, look who suddenly showed up,” I dusted myself up.

“Is that a thank you, I hear,” She cooed in her faux sweet voice, tossing a small bag to me. “Change into something appropriate, will you,”

I peered into the bag and found some clothes similar to hers. I changed into it quickly, stepping out from the trees.

“Where did you suddenly run off to?” I queried, pulling up the hood of my cloak to cover my head.

“Trust issues? I thought we were past that?”

“I certainly hope we are,” I picked up my dagger, pulled my dress up, and draped it around my boots. I collected the small pouch bag that had the stone and the vial containing my daughter's blood from my leather jacket and firmly kept it in my dress.

I looked up to find Rowena's dark eyes on me. “Shall we now,”

Her lips curved. “Of course,”

We joined Kane and the rest of the warriors. They were saddling their horses and had made provisions for us. By the time we set out, it was already morning and I was riding behind on my horse while Kane and Rowena were up ahead with a few warriors and the others were behind me.

“Sorry about earlier,”

I tilted my head to my right as Sheila's horse caught up to mine.

“Kane was just being cautious. He thought you were a part of Flander’s men,” She added. I was almost curious to ask just who Flander was, but I forced myself not to, reminding myself I shouldn't mix up with the past or it could alter the time I came from.

“Thank you for what you did back there as well,” I smiled slightly.

“So Asula is your relative?” Her brown eyes met mine and I nodded.

“How far are we from Ardgal?”

“Almost a day's journey, that's if we don't make any stop or encounter trouble,” She said and I sighed.

We continued the rest of the journey in silence, and true to Sheila's words we crossed the west borders into Argdal late in the day.

The whole surroundings were different but I could tell it was still the same Ardgal from my time. The earth's soil was organic and the fancy buildings from Ardgal were nothing more than wooden cottages now.

Kane led us to a cottage. We got down from our horses, and followed him to a familiar cave. It looked the same as the one from our time. After a few minutes, a large group of people strode from the cave.

“Kane, what brings you here?” One of the men spoke, while I scanned through their faces, eager to know which one of them was Asula.

“We encountered visitors,” He turned to glance at Rowena and me. “They claimed to be relative of Asula’s,”

I heard light footsteps from behind and immediately, the stone underneath my dress began to shake.

Slowly, I turned around and my eyes fell into a pair of lucid blue eyes.

“Yes,” The woman muttered, her thumb gently brushing one of the rings that decorated her fingers. It had a small stone in it which glowed a bright white. “Did you say relatives of mine?” The woman asked, never taking her eyes off me.

“Asula,”

“Do you truly know these people?” Kane stepped forward, his eyes moving from Rowena and me.

Asula paused for a second, her smile never wavered. “Of course, I've been expecting them,” She still didn't take her eyes off me. “Welcome to Ardgal, dear relatives of mine,”

There was an electric pull in the air as I felt the magic from her ring connecting to mine underneath my dress.

“It's been a long day, hasn't it? Come with me,” She turned to Kane, dismissing him before leading us away from the cave to a different cottage.

She pulled the door open, stepping in. Rowena followed next and I tailed behind them, shutting the door. The inside was quite spacious and empty. It looked more like a spell room. There was a small wooden round table in the middle, a tall shelf at the side housing several books, and at the far end was a burning sage at the top of the shelf.

Rowena slowly moved around the cottage while I remained fixed on my spot.

“Tea?” She asked, and without waiting for our response, she strutted to the other shelf, picked up two cups, and walked over to the round table. She picked up the kettle on it, and immediately hot seams began to evaporate from it as she poured into one cup, before moving to the next.

As soon as she was done, she gently placed the kettle on the table, carefully picking up a cup of tea she had poured, she brought it to the tip of her nose, breathing in the pleasant scent, her eyes shut closed and lips curved in a smile.

“Perfect,” At the word, her eyes snapped open in a hurry and her eyes were cold. The smile on her lips had been long forgotten.

Faster than a speeding bullet, she threw the tea in the cup at Rowena, and instantly the watery content hardened into shards of ice, pinning Rowena to the wall by the neck.

Alarmed, I lifted a hand to touch the stone underneath my cloak, but quickly, Asula’s gaze flickered to me, her eyes cold and deadly as if daring me to try something stupid.

I sent a silent stare at Rowena who was breathing just fine, but her dark eyes were brewing with a raging storm. My eyes met with Asula's again. I didn't take out the stone, nor did I take my hand away from it.

“Now, someone better start explaining how you two are possibly relatives of mine whom I have never seen or haven't even heard of,” Her eyes shifted between Rowena and me as a thick silence nestled in for a minute.

She took a step closer to me, and cautiously, I took one behind, we circled the table and she slowly took a few closer to Rowena. “Both seem like witches but at the same time, I cannot sniff any magic from you both, other than the unsettling dark energy oozing out from this one,” Her eyes shifted to Rowena. “What the hell are you two? Not vampires or with Flander, I would have known the second you walked through that door. It's enchanted. The only reason you both are still breathing is because of that stone you have underneath your cloak. So start talking,” Her invisible grip on Rowena tightened and she groaned in blinding fury and pain.

“You better start using your words, Davina. I didn't come all the way here to die,” Rowena groaned again, and instantly, I forced my hand away from the stone.

Asula's smile returned with a deadly glint in her eyes.

I pulled my hands a little in the air. “Easy. Please just hear me out first,”

She didn't say anything, and I took a step forward.

“We didn't lie. We are relatives of yours—” My words were interrupted by Rowena's painful scream.

“Another costly lie. I don't have any relative—”

I cut her off immediately. “Maybe not now. We come from a lineage of witches. Your lineage, Asula,” I watched her brows furrow like I was speaking gibberish. I sighed, unsure how to go about this. “My name is Davina and I come from the bloodline of Amnell witches,” I pulled the sleeves of my dress up to expose the ancestral rune on my wrist.

Her eyes widened, moving quickly to Rowena.

“I don't have one of those, if that's what you are about to ask,” Rowena said, but Asula didn't let go of her. “Keep going, Davina,”

“There's no way I could ever make this up. Everything I'm saying is the truth,” I pointed at the rune, dropping my arm. “And what I'm about to say would sound crazy but it's also the truth as well. We are not from around here. We come from a time a thousand years from now,”

“Time travel?” She asked and I nodded instantly. “And the stone?”

“I brought it with me. It was passed down to me by my mother, Petrova Amnell. I know the phoenix stones have been in our family for a very long time,” My eyes fell on the stone on her ring.

Her gaze lingered on me for a fraction minute, before she let go of Rowena and the latter fell harshly on the floor.

“Do I call this foolishness or abrupt recklessness, because no descendants of mine will be foolish enough to travel through time. It's not a child's joke, Dovana,”

“I call it both,” Rowena dusted herself up, using a hand to massage her neck as she grabbed the second cup of tea from the table, and took a seat.

“It's Davina,” I corrected, stepping closer to Asula. “I wouldn't be here if it wasn't important. We are in great danger in my time Asula and you are the only one that can help us,”

Asula took her seat, her eyes on me as she asked. “And the dark one is called?”

“Rowena,” Auntie Dearest offered, sipping from her tea. “Her favorite auntie,”

Rowena's words caused Asula to glance her way, before bringing her questioning gaze at me. “And Petrova, your mother?”

Before I could speak, Rowena answered with a snicker. “She's dead,”

“Murdered,” I forced out, my eyes flashing with rage at her statement and Asula's eyes darted between us. There was no point indulging her in our awful tale.

I breathed in, shifting my eyes from Rowena's evil smile. “I need your help Asula,” I said again, getting her full attention.

Without rushing through things, I carefully explained our situation with Idalak, leaving out every other thing. I didn't know much about traveling through time, but I do know that even the smallest change could alter the time I come from.

“You came here risking the lives of everyone in your time, seeking my help to create a phoenix blade I have not yet created to destroy a darkness that was birth from my time that we couldn't stop and you believe that the blood of your daughter, the tribrid is the vital missing piece I couldn't find in my time that could potentially be this said darkness ultimate weakness,”

As she summarized everything I had just said in a few words, I nodded, causing her to release a deep chuckle.

“Could you help us, please?”

She was up from her seat. “I deeply apologize, child. But I can't. There's no way I can recreate a phoenix blade that I haven't even created yet. I don't know what I'm dealing with here. Other ingredients are needed other than the stone or your daughter's blood. You are asking me to create a beastly weapon for a beast that should consist of vital components that make up this darkness and since I haven't even experienced it yet, I cannot help you. I have so much I'm dealing with already. I'm afraid you came all the way here for nothing. You should go back,”

Her words were like broken shards of glass, piercing through my soul, crushing my last hope. I felt tears burning the sides of my eyes. She had no idea what she was insisting I do. Go back home and watch my daughter and everyone I care about die. I'd rather die here instead.

I was up on my boots. “No. I cannot go back empty-handed Asula. You are my last hope, please. Everyone I love is waiting on me, counting on me. You have to help me save them. We are family and that's what we do. We help each other, so please…” I felt hot tears roll down my cheek, but I wiped it off immediately as we were interrupted by the abrupt opening of the door.

“I'm sorry for interrupting, but this couldn't wait,” Sheila said as she walked in. I moved closer to the shelf, having my back to her while my brains started working.

“It's alright, Sheila, what is it?” Asula said.

“These were brought by the Fae elders. They said we'll need it for next week's marriage ceremony and —”

Something in her words caused me to turn around. “Marriage ceremony?”

Her beautiful smile enlarged as she faced me. “Yes. And since you are Asula's relatives, you are invited as well,”

“Whose getting married?” I asked.

“I am,” Her face brightened. “It will be a wonderful union for our people and will strengthen the bond between the tribes,”

I felt my heartbeat spike up at the instant thought that chimed in my head. “You are getting married to a fae regent?” I asked curiously but at the same time dreading her response.

I could feel Asula's and Rowena's gaze on me as Sheila's eyes widened in surprise. “Did Asula tell you already?” She sent Asula a glance. “He's a good leader and when the heaven blesses us with a child, that child would be unlike any other,”

My legs suddenly lost all strength and my back hit the shelf. It was her. She was Kali and Idalak's mother.

“Oh my, are you okay, Davina?” She rushed to me, helping me to a chair. All the while, I couldn't take my eyes off her.

Sheila was a sweet woman. It was unfair she had such a cruel fate, being the very woman to bring such darkness the world had never encountered into the world.

As soon as she left the cottage, Rowena's dark eyes found mine. “Did we just find the root cause of all our troubles, dearest niece,”

I ignored her words, turning to Asula whose eyes were wide with realization. “No…’

“Yes. The very child she would birth is the very same that would cause great calamity here and is right now attempting to destroy my world,”

“No. No. This cannot be. I cannot let this happen…”

There was a quick bang in my chest at Asula's words. And for a second I feared what she was thinking. As much as I would love it if we put an end to Idalak even before he was born, saving us from a thousand years of trouble. We couldn't. Any slight change in this time could greatly alter the years to come.

Thankfully, Asula seemed to be considering this. Her eyes softened as she turned to me. “Sheila’s such a sweet soul. She doesn't deserve this cruel fate,”

And I couldn't agree less.

Asula's eyes closed, thinking. And by the time they opened, I knew she had made a decision. “A phoenix blade? It shouldn't be that hard to make, especially now that I know its origin and whose blood runs through its veins,” She hurried to her shelf, lifting her hand to the top shelf where she whispered a few words and a familiar book appeared. The Amnell’s Grimoire.

“I'm guessing this is yours in a thousand years?” She said and I nodded. “For the spell, I'll need both of your help,” She said to Rowena and me. “The sooner I send you both back the less chance of you both messing up with my time and altering yours,” She added, as she flipped through the pages of the grimoire. “Now listen up…”