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21. Oz

"Ma, I had the weirdest dream." I mumbled with my eyes closed, feeling the sunlight burning my eyelids back to consciousness. "I dreamed that my neighbor's cat turned into a real boy and he's actually a witch, like a really pretty one, and this dude from my class was actually a vampire who for some reason was robbing from my job, and there's this spunky werewolf that showed up and then some other witch showed up with more vampires and werewolves and then I think someone punched me and I died."

"Well, I'm sure there will be a lot more of that, now that you're in Queen's Garden."

I snapped my eyes open and sat up. "QUEEN'S GARDEN?"

I then looked at my surroundings and learned that I am not in my bedroom nor am I with my mother. In fact, I'm not even in my apartment. I am in a place that's about the size of a lecture hall with six mosaic glass windows, three on the left, black wooden wall and another three on the right. On the ceiling, there's a bronze chandelier that holds thirteen unlit red candles. The floor, which is also black and wooden, held only one long table at the front, with three seats behind it. One witch sits in the center. A vampire on her right, and a werewolf on the left. The same emotionless witch and the silver haired vampire that I saw before I was knocked out. As for the werewolf, it's a face I haven't seen before. She has black, curly hair and orange eyes. 

All three of them are staring at me, and the other two people standing at the center of the room. Everyone else, including the massive werewolf man that punched me out of consciousness, and the traitor vampire, stood at the back and sides, having us completely surrounded. Orion and I, specifically, are surrounded with sacred humans. Supernaturals. If we are in Queen's Garden, we are basically in their territory. How we ended up here, I don't know. How long had I been asleep? I don't know either. Though, Zetta and the witch next to her are still wearing the same clothes that they were wearing last I saw them, so it couldn't have been too long.

"Don't bother trying to use your magic." Says the leader of Aquila to Zander, whose clenched fists are flickering with purple lights. Both of his wrists wore some sort of metal cuffs that I've never seen before. It is made out of black metal and has a stripe of silver, which looks like plastic on the middle of the cuffs. I can also see two tiny but sharp needles puncturing through Zander's skin. "The more you try to use it, the more poison you get in your system."

I couldn't help but admire not only the cuffs but also the witch herself because despite having bad intentions, that thing is smart, creative, and convenient. An evil genius, that's what she is. If she created it herself, and I'm assuming she did because she seems to have an interest in science things, then she's a master of science, engineering, and magic. Holy shit. Who is this woman?

I gave Orion a quick glance. He's standing stiffly on Zander's right, eyes nervously looking everywhere but the eyes of any supernatural beings. The boy between us is glaring at the one other witch in the room, hands still clenched.

We're in Queen's Garden.

The one place Zander didn't want to step a foot into.

"We will discuss what we will do with our guests." Evil Genius sat down on her chair, which may as well be called a throne. "Starting with Alexander Farvale, the only surviving member of Ignis coven." Zander rolled his eyes but said nothing.

Guests, she said.

Even though she took us here against our will.

"The only reason why he's the only one who survived is because he's a coward." Someone from the back commented, making a few people laugh. "He ran away during the attack and left his coven to die, including his mother and brother." I looked over my shoulder to see who the big talker is: a werewolf, who may be one of the werewolves who chased us out of my apartment. "I say we reunite him with his family and coven."