ENCHANTED Book 1: Witch's Dawn

CHAPTER EIGHT

MORTAL REALM: POLONIA

  "Diana where have you been?" Reginald asked his daughter as he caught her silhouette moving across the doorway to his study. She stopped, and he heard her sigh a moment before she entered the room.

  "You called, father?" she asked with feigned innocence, making him smile.

  "Come daughter. Sit and humor me by telling me where it is you went this time."

  She walked to the offered seat and, dropping all sense of naivety, sat down heavily on the chair. "Why do I even try?"

  "Pardon?" He asked, grinning widely now.

  She pouted at him and said surly, " I am delighted to be the object of your amusement, father. Now and then."

  This time he laughed. The rich baritone of his voice washed over her and the merriment in it made her smile as well.

  "Your laughter has been sorely missed, father." She said softly.

  Hearing her comment, he stopped laughing and smiled sadly. "It has been a long time, has it not?"

  "Yes it has."

  He took her hand from the table and caressed it absently."Yours as well, my darling. Until now, I have found no reason to smile or laugh. You alone are capable of bringing me happiness."

  She searched his face with her worried gaze." When will this madness be over, father? When will we be free to rule our kingdom again?"

  The sadness in his daughter's eyes pierced Reginald's heart. That bloody bastard, Delterzard. After years of peace, everyone had been caught unprepared when the he attacked. He had laid siege on Polonia for many years, with the full force of his dark army and had eventually overthrown him from his throne.

As king, he had tried to stop the demon by using his magic but it had been the magic of the medallion which had managed to to do any damage. It had begun to turn him mortal, but by the time his wife had gone halfway into the spell, she had already lost too much blood due to the injuries she sustained in the war. He'd had to use the last of his magic to cast a powerful illusion spell which had allowed him and their child to escape as she'd wished. He'd never forget the experience he had when he heard of what the demon had done to his kin and when he no longer felt his mate through their bond. He rubbed his chest absently out of habit.

  "When you are ready to be the witch of Polonia," he said, answering her question. She withdrew her hand and launched out of her seat in annoyance." When, father? When will that be?" She walked a distance away, towards the window overlooking the gardens. She was silent for a while as memories flashed in her mind's eye. Memories of a childhood spent training endlessly for the freedom of her people with Enceladus and Almethuis. Countless times wishing wistfully for the love of her mother and the freedom to act her age. None of which was ever fulfilled. Instead she was left with the disappointment of not even being able to fulfill the task she had been prepared for.

"Ever since I was a child, I have trained long and hard for this moment. How do you and the Brethren know that I am not ready?" She spoke flatly, into the silent room.

"When you are ready, the medallion of magic will come to you. As it did your mother."

  She turned from her place at the window to look at him. The years were taking thier toll on him where they had no business acting. As members of the royal family of Polonia, thier lineage had been granted temporary immortality. They aged far more slowly than normal mortals. This was so thier noble blood would never run out. But her father was aging quicker than he was supposed to, due to the amount of magic essence he had lost while battling the demon king. She looked into the entrancing grey eyes that gazed upon her with so much love and pride, and felt a twinge in her heart. She could not lose her father to time; he was all she had. She needed the medallion to heal him and her realm.

  "I am sorry for losing my temper, father," She apologized quietly.

  He gave her a small smile. " Don't despair, my dear. It isn't your fault you were born into a time of terror.

  Diana's brows furrowed. "You are right, father. None of this is any of our faults. The blame is solely on Christaphilophis."

  "Hush, Diana! That is enough! I will not allow you disrespect your mother's memory." He reprimanded sternly. "She may not have been able to do the demon in, but she is the reason we are alive today."

  "It might as well be for naught!" She shot back bitterly. "I do not understand why, although she had the medallion, she could not defeat the demon."

  "It was not her fault. She did not understand the power of the medallion, so she could not wield it fully against the dark lord. She was very inexperienced when she first entered our realm, and had to learn how to fight quickly. Her weakness was her inability to control her emotions and Delterzard used that against her." Her emotions were one of the reasons I loved her he thought wistfully.

  "So why did he not continue his attack after he ended her?" She asked moving closer where he sat.

  "He was unable to. She gave him a nearly fatal wound with her magic dagger, which took him years to recover from. Both for his health and magic."

  "Oh..."

  "Yes," he said, and rose up from his seat. "So the next time you feel like criticizing her, think of the good she did as well. It may have been temporary, but at least our people were able to enjoy some semblance of peace for a half a century."

  He left the study and closed the door behind him - Diana still stood where he had left her. His meeting with Enceladus would commence soon and he did not want her overhearing what they were to discuss; what he had just found out. To think that Christi was still alive, after all the years he had spent mourning her. His mate. His heart beat with excitement at the possibility. Could it be that she alone was meant to be the witch of Polonia? Was that why the medallion had not yet appeared to Diana? gods help him, he didn't know anymore. Hopefully this meeting would answer all of his questions.

MORTAL REALM: TÖRLÊM

Blood and war...

Images she had only seen from the other side of the TV screen while she sat comfortably munching on snacks, were the reality surrounding her wherever she looked.

She opened her mouth to scream, but found herself voiceless. It was the worst kind of nightmare. She could see the bodies of countless people on the ground, their sightless eyes staring at her in pain, and something in her ached badly as if she knew she was supposed to have protected them.

As she stood there spiraling into despair she felt a presence approach her, and as it got closer she realized that it was not one, but three shadowy figures which approached her. As she began to reach for them, desperately wanting to prevent them from adding to the pile of bodies around her, she felt the wind around her pick up speed and the spot between her breasts begin to burn.

A heart for magic, a soul for light and blood for darkness. The words were whispered within the turbulence and she was pulled back to the waking world...

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