The Devil's Cursed Witch

For the rest of the day, Ember had nothing to do. Though Yula recommended her to rest due to her weak condition, she merely tossed and turned in bed. She tried to rest but the excitement of being in a new place could not let her do so.

Thus, she roamed inside her bedchamber.

‘Are all these sparkly stones on the surface real jewels? They look so delicate like colourful glass.’

‘This large antique statue has weird engravings on it. I wonder if it’s the same language as that book…’

‘These curtains feel so heavenly to touch… What kind of fabric is this?’

‘So the view outside this window overlooks the Forest of the Elves. I wonder if I can see the city from here…’

She was only interrupted from her wandering when she heard someone knock and realized it was already nighttime. After dinner, Yula came by again to check on her before having the servants help wash her so she could retire for the night.

However, her body refused to listen and she could still not sleep.

‘I give up.’

While pulling her blanket along with her, Ember climbed down from the bed and went towards the large window nearest to it. She opened the glass panels to allow the cold breeze to enter the chamber. After taking in several deep breaths, she heaved herself up the window.

‘This is more comfortable.’

The huge windows of her chamber had a wide sill similar to a platform at the base where one could put flower vases or ornamental pots. Since they were currently empty, a person of her size could sit comfortably on the window sill.

Satisfied, she wrapped herself in her thick blanket and sat with her back resting on the window frame.

‘I wonder how I should live my life from now on.’

She no longer had to live her life alone in hiding, and she was under the protection of the King of this kingdom so there was nothing for her to be worried about.

‘Tomorrow, shall I look around the palace, maybe that huge garden as well? I am sure it will take me more than a day to explore this beautiful palace. Later on, I can go around the kingdom and see other cities. In Valor, Gaia doesn’t let me leave the forest, and I was not allowed to enter the villages around the mountain. I wonder if the other cities are as lively as Ronan.

‘Once my body becomes normal, first, I must go to Ronan to visit the Elder. Afterwards, I can also visit Lady Cornelia and thank her for her potions. After that… can I go to the other territories? Elder Leeora said the most magical-looking place is the land of the fairies. Maybe I can ask Morpheus to show the other parts of this kingdom from the sky…’

As she enjoyed the fresh night air, she continued to work on her long ‘to do’ list, and unknown to her, her eyes began to feel heavy until she gradually dozed off while sitting at the window.

That innocent happy smile didn’t leave her lips even when she was sleeping.

——

Draven had just come out of his bath and was about to retire for the night, but he heard the loud hoot of Midnight just as he was about to get in bed.

Frown lines appeared on his forehead. ‘That thing! So careless!’

Annoyed, he disappeared from his bed-chamber and appeared inside a certain chamber on the southwest wing of the palace.

Draven glared at the human who was sleeping carelessly at the window. Her mahogany hair fell like curtains over her body, and they fluttered along with the evening breeze, but such a tender scene received no appreciation from the red-eyed man who was approaching her.

His thoughts were getting darker with each step.

‘What if she falls down from the window? There is nothing that could stop her from falling. Not even the bushes below could cushion her fall.’

He stopped in front of that window and observed her sleeping face.

‘How can she be so careless? Does she plan to wake up straight away in the afterlife?’

Despite his irritation, he scooped her in his arms and carried her to the bed, her scent playing dangerously with his senses as he held her close. Being in the same room as her was torturous as it was, and now, there was contact between their bodies. Even though there was a blanket wrapped around her, he could feel her body in his strong arms. His senses were highly responsive to his mate.

He put her in the centre of the bed and secured the blanket over her as he sat at the edge of the bed. His red eyes stuck to her face.

‘I try to keep my distance from you but you keep making me come to you. Are you asking for trouble?’

Though his words were for her, they affected him more. The kind of trouble he meant made his mind chaotic again with thoughts he didn’t wish to have.

‘I should leave.’

But his actions betrayed the rational part of his mind. The sweet yet refreshing scent coming from her was seductive to his senses, asking him to get closer to her. His heart beating faster, his eyes darkened a little as his gaze observed her delicate face which still had faint scars.

‘She’s smiling? Is she having a good dream?’

His gaze was stuck on her lips and his hand moved on its own to touch those delicate lips, but he stopped midway and pulled back his hands. He closed his eyes for a moment, and he opened them only to have his anger be unleashed on something else.

Draven stood up from the bed and threw his glare at those windows of the room. He shut the window where he found her using his powers and closed the latches of all the other windows as well.

‘I shall have them shut permanently so she won’t dare sleep there like this. Careless human!’

He then looked at the fireplace which had a low fire burning within it, mere moments from going out.

He turned his attention to the door of the chamber and flung it open with force, causing the two female servants standing outside the chamber to be startled. They immediately entered inside to see why the door opened.

The moment they saw the King standing by the bed of his mate, they immediately lowered their heads. “G-Greetings, Y-Your Majesty.”

Draven glared at them with a gaze scary enough for them to start trembling. He didn’t even know why he was angry but he needed to vent it out.

“Shall I start sitting by the fireplace to check the fire all night, every night?”

The servants looked at the fireplace and shivers ran across their spines in fear. “A-Apologies, Your Majesty. We will take care of it.”

Those elves were not at fault either as it was the normal temperature for them and the current temperature in the room was in fact too warm for them. Ember was the first human they had interacted with, and they didn’t have a grasp over how exactly the ideal temperature was for a human body.

As the two servants started putting on more logs, Draven took a last look at the human who could do nothing but worry him all the time. He sighed and disappeared from the chamber while controlling what he was feeling inside.

If he had stayed for longer in that room filled with her scent, he was sure he would end up doing something unwanted.