The Devil's Cursed Witch

"Alright, say it. I guess my life can last until you finish," Morpheus replied calmly.

"If she leaves this kingdom, she won't survive for long. The enemies looking for her will find her without my protection around her, and we will lose her forever. We do not know what they would do to her. We can't allow her to leave, and you are the only one who can stop her," Draven explained.

"I am not important enough. If she won't listen to the man she loves, why would she listen to me either?"

"It's because of your stupidity that she thinks she is a danger to everyone around her and feels she must stay away from everyone. She won't return unless we find a solution to stabilize her core."

"Then go and find it instead of wasting time with me."

"You are the solution; that's why I am here. Do you think I want to see your face after how you have hurt my mate?"

"What can I do?"

Draven clenched his fists to control himself for what he was going to say. "You have to mark her and make her your mate. Another bond with a divine beast will help her stabilize her core."

Morpheus was stunned for a moment but then chuckled. "You are making things up to make me agree to it so you can stop your mate."

Draven gritted his teeth, wanting to punch this infuriating eagle even if he was on the verge of dying. "You know well if I can lie or not. Do you think I am happy to share my mate? If I could, I would not even allow you to look at her but…." Draven closed his eyes, as this was not the moment to lose his calm.

"You are the one who messed things up and brought all of us to this unwanted situation that none of us wants. If you had not meddled and changed my destiny, I would have been the one stabbed by the divine weapon and then protected by Ember's hellfire. But you… you have done everything wrong from the start just to fulfill your own wish of dying, and even now you are being stubborn just because you want to die.

"Your wish to die is what brought us here today, so there is no way I will let you fulfill it after bringing her and me to this situation. You have to make up for it, Morpheus. Do you hear me? You have to mark her, not for your sake, but for hers. You have to create a bond with her, despite none of us liking it."

Morpheus felt speechless for a while. "Trust me, I did not expect her to save me. If I had known this would happen, I would not have changed your destiny. If I had known you would be saved by her, I would not have taken your place."

"I know, but now you have to correct your own mistakes. If you don't, and if she suffers once she leaves and falls into the enemy's hands, I will drag your soul out of hell and make you watch the woman you love suffer. I will make you watch until you are left with regrets for rejecting and hurting her. I won't be the only one suffering here." Draven stood up. "Tomorrow morning, she will leave. If you have an ounce of care left for her, you will show up and stop her." With that, Draven disappeared to return to his mate.

Aureus, who had overheard the conversation, knelt next to his uncle quietly.

"All I wanted was to protect those I cared for and then die. Why does everything have to turn out this way, where I have nothing but regrets now?" Morpheus mumbled, tears rolling down the corners of his eyes.
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"You have done nothing wrong, uncle," Aureus spoke. "If I ever get a vision where I see Drayce and Seren being harmed, I would do the same and protect them with all I can. You didn't expect this variable to appear, and that is not your fault."

Morpheus chuckled bitterly. "Only you, who barely know me, understand me."

"What do you plan to do tomorrow?" Aureus asked.

"I shall trust Draven not to let her leave."

"You're not going to do what he asked you to?"

"He is just desperate to stop Ember, so he is ready to do anything for it. Even if I don't stop her tomorrow, Draven will find a way. I'm not worried."

"What if you are wrong?" Aureus asked. "What if she truly ends up leaving?"

"She won't. Let me rest now," Morpheus closed his eyes. "You should go around instead of getting bored by my side. I can tell, I'm not dying, at least not today."

"I'm alright."

"But I'm asking you to leave me alone. Go out and fly across the kingdom for a while. You will feel better," Morpheus insisted.

Aureus stood up, "Though I support your decision of changing destiny to protect them, I do not support what you are doing now." With that, he went out to follow his uncle's instructions.

Just as he opened his wings, he heard Morpheus' pained groaning. Aureus knew why Morpheus insisted he leave. Respecting his wishes, he flew away, giving his uncle time alone to deal with his own torment.

----

The next morning, at the border of the kingdom, Ember was ready to cross on her own. She had rejected Draven's offer to take her where she wanted to go, deciding to find her way back independently. Draven was hurt to see her leaving, and every clan leader and elder present felt bad for both of them.

"Lady Ember, you truly do not have to leave," Halifax said. "None of us hate you for being human. We have long accepted you as a citizen of this kingdom, and we see you as one of us."

"Thank you, elder, but I have to go," Ember replied politely. "I am grateful to all of you for letting me stay here for so long, but I do not wish to be a threat to any of you."

"We do not blame you for what happened on the day of mourning, and we accept that it was the fault of one of our kin. We do not blame you for what happened to the commander and his impending death. We know you tried, and we are grateful for that. We all wish for you to reconsider your decision. You are our king's mate, and we are even ready to accept you as our Queen. In fact, we already consider you our Queen."

Ember was touched by these words but was not ready to change her decision. "Thank you so much for this honor, elders. This is the only place that has given me the feeling of being accepted and wanted. I will always keep this beautiful place in my memories."

Evanthe felt bad for both of them and cursed Morpheus for being so stubborn about marking Ember. Her eyes moist, a light smile painted on her lips, she looked at Draven, who stood next to her. With a heavy heart, he walked with Ember towards the border. Each step felt like a thorn piercing his heart, his red eyes glistening with moisture.

Just as they reached the border, his hold on her hand tightened, stopping her from walking ahead. She looked at him, only to find herself embraced in a tight hug. A muffled whisper left his lips, "Please don't go."

He tried to be strong, knowing she wouldn't change her decision, but at that moment, all he wanted was to hold on to her. She hugged him back, her own tears refusing to stop. "I will wait for you to come to me with a way to fix my destructive hellfire core. Don't take too long."

Draven could only nod as they let go of each other. He wiped the tears from her cheek. "I will do everything I can to find a way. I will come for you soon."

"I trust you," she said with a gentle smile. "I have to go now."

Though reluctant, Draven let her hand go and watched her turn her back to him and leave.