Part 22

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The man who was definitely not Eric had a nasally voice that could annoy just about anybody and a nasally appearance which resembled that of a weasel. The man, who was actually a male, had thrown down a rope for Demi to climb out with, after removing whatever metal top had been on the hole. The rope burned her hands, and blistered her palms, it would definitely hurt for a while. While Demi struggled to get out of the stupid hole, the male just sat there, appartenly he'd helped enough. Damn males.

When Demi did finally reach the top, the weasel man took her hand and pulled Demi up. She was just about to thank him for the help and make a run for it, when he pushed her jacket sleeve up, exposing her brand. Shit. He sneered at the scar and tied Demi's hands together faster than she could process. The male still didn't say anything, only dragged her towards the forest, while she looked longingly over the border.

Demi, tripped for the umpteenth time, exhaustion and hunger were starting to wear her down. The weasel man said nothing, only continued to pull on her bindings. When Demi saw the man start to relax, she knew they were close to whatever camp he had.

The sun was starting to rise, meaning she had two days until the kids in camp would die. The first chance she got Demi would run like hell, but first, she needed her magic to hurry up and recharge. Of course, she could recharge it herself, using the surrounding forest, or Mr. Weasel in front of her. Though, if she did that she'd kill somebody and after that Demi wouldn't be able to stop. Taking in energy was addicting, and it was hard enough to sober up the first time. However, all those years ago she'd had her mother to help her through the process. Plus the magic draining cuffs.

When Demi spotted the camp weasel man was taking her to, she almost had a panic attack. It looked almost identical to Ura clan. For a solid minute, Demi stopped breathing, then started breathing way too fast. Hyperventilating probably. When her heart and breathing finally calmed, Demi was able to properly survey the camp. Tents and fires stretched for miles until she couldn't see them anymore. There must've been hundreds of warriors. Demi's heart almost stopped as the thought of her father being there crossed her mind. Things would get way too complicated, and she'd never escape. The kids would die, and Demi would once again be a weapon to the southern fae.

Shaking the idea from her head, Demi continued to walk into the camp, head held high. She may be bound, but she was sure as hell not weak. And she would make sure they knew that.

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"No sign of her," Logan said, defeated. Eric looked up at him and saw the regret in his eyes.

"It's not your fault." He said, "Any of your faults." Eric turned to the rest of the males. It was his job to protect his mate, and he had failed. But Eric held on to hope that Demi would walk into his tent at any moment. "She said she'd come back after she did what she needed to do. Whatever that meant."

"What about the kids?" Parker asked, "We have no healer, and they aren't getting any better."

"Demi said she was getting the cure," Doyle stated simply. Not that any of them were sure that that was what she was trying to do. They all knew that Demi wasn't herself when she made a run for it. Eric rubbed his face, he was on edge and needed his mate back. But he had to trust her.

"For now, we wait." It killed him to say it, but Eric needed to prioritize the camp. "If Demi isn't back in two days, we go after her." He had tracked her scent to the border. She had crossed over a fallen tree and beyond that Eric didn't know. He wanted to go over the border, to follow her, keep her from getting farther and farther away, but he had a lot of people to look after. And he couldn't leave them, not when his father was already watching his every move. 

"You sure?" Doyle asked. He knew what it was like having a mate, so he understood how hard the decision was for Eric. "I'm sure the camp can look after itself for a couple of days."

"Not with the King breathing down our necks," Parker said. They all were aware of the fact. If they made one slip up, they'd be replaced. And those who replaced them, wouldn't be diplomatic. They'd force the humans under their banner, just like the southern fae.

"We wait and see if Demi was telling the truth." Was all Eric said before walking out of the tent. He needed to clear his head and found himself walking toward the healer's tent. The smell of sickness was covered up by Demi's scent. It calmed and energized him at the same time.

Nobody else was in here, except the sick kids. Eric couldn't believe that Demi would leave them, she had to come back. If not for him or any of the others, then for the kids. Eric remembered when he had asked her why she'd heal a man that was about to kill her.

"Because I'm a healer." She had stated simply, "if I had stood by and watched him bleed out, while I knew perfectly well I could do something, then I would've been a murderer. It would be my fault that he died because I refused to do anything to try and save him." Demi had explained further. And deep down Eric knew that she'd do anything to get back here to heal the kids. Demi would find the cure and bring it back. If she had to break her oath as a healer and kill somebody she would. The thought somehow calmed him.

Eric reached her desk and looked at her grimoire. Most of it was herbs and such, but some of it was Demi's research. It was actually fascinating. The rest of it was another healer's research. Eric sat down and read through some of it. He found the name of the writer, Mitera Viitor. Demi's mother.

Flipping through the pages he found that she had researched witches, half-fae half-human hybrids. It was a strange topic for a healer to research, since there weren't many. Fae pregnancies were extremely hard, but a human carrying a fae child was even worse. If there wasn't a miscarriage, then the mother and child usually died in birth. And if the child survived, but the mother didn't they'd need a specific type of milk. The baby would only take their mother's milk or somebody with the same genetics as them, meaning they had to be a witch.

Eric had never heard of a mother and child surviving, but he supposed with the right healer it could happen. He'd met several witches in his life, all had pointed ears. Since fae genetics were a lot stronger than humans, witches always looked more like their fae parent.

Eric continued to search the book until he came across a diary of sorts. He knew that it was private, but he couldn't help his curiosity. At the top of the page was a date that was about a month away, with a different year.

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               I have just given birth to a beautiful baby girl, she looks like me but with Peter's eyes. Her father named her Demetria and seemed quite ecstatic that both of us had survived. Which I thought was strange considering he was having a child with me. But he seemed to be very happy about it, too happy. I hoped that it meant he would love her and that she would be taken care of, unlike me. But the second Peter held Demi (that's the nickname I have already given her) his eyes filled with something that was not love, but like a man being given the most powerful weapon he could imagine. I had tried to take her back, but Peter took her out of the room. Screaming and yelling for hours until he brought her back to me. I looked for any injuries or marks, but everything was fine, Demi was fine. Now we have both been locked in the tower, with guards at every door and every couple of feet in the stairwell, like he expected me to make a run for it. Gods know that I would if I could. We'd go north, to the capital, where we'd be protected by the King. Someday though, I would get us both out of this horrible prison I'd called home for the last year. But for now, I must be patient and wait for the right moment.

                                                                        ~ Mitera Viitor

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Eric read the page over and over, but he found no answers to the millions of questions spinning through his head. He looked for any other entries but found that they'd been ripped out. His mate was quite mysterious. But it seemed that his questions just kept piling up and the only person who could answer them was gone.


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