Chapter 85

****MIHAI POV****

I can’t find Mae.
I can’t fucking find her.
There are only so many places she can be on the grounds, i do not have endless land, and yet, she is nowhere to be fucking found. I know, because i have been searching for hours, and the sun is due to set anytime now and i still haven’t found her. I won’t admit it to Luthor, or his son, Dren, but i am starting to worry. What is something has happened to her? What if the council has got her and i am just stood around in the yard whilst she is fighting for her life?
Fuck. I cannot stand this. I need her to be ok. I need it more than i need fucking air.
If i find her, i am never letting her out of my sight again, not today, not tomorrow, not in fifty years. She will stay glued to my hip if that is what it takes to keep her safe.
“The guards all say the same thing.” Luthor growls, walking towards me, “They all say the trail dies right outside the cabin.” he shakes his head, “How can that even be possible? She was with us one moment and gone the next. Like magic.”
Like magic. Of course, of fucking course. No wonder we cannot find her, she trapped in there somewhere with a witch. But why would a witch target Mae?
Did she attack a coven when she was a huntress? I really hope not. Witches are extremely vengeful creatures, and they never kill you fast, it is always slow. They trap you in their web like a spider does a fly, and they do not let you go, for any reason.
Witches are only kind to their own people, no one else. They have a truce with my kind, but that does not mean that they won’t break it the first chance that they get.
Fuck. If Mae really has been trapped by a witch, there is only one way to save her, and that is to swap places.
“You are right, Luthor.” i say, slowly scanning the trees, “This is indeed the work of magic.”
Luthor stares at me, his eyes widening, “It cannot be, they haven’t attacked a Nati in a hundred years.”
“Until now.” i say, my mind already made up.
I will gladly take her place, but i need to know that she will be protected whilst i am gone. A witch won’t kill me, but I'll be in her trap for at least fifty years.
All i can do is hope that she accepts me as a replacement, though i do not even know what crime i will be paying for. Mae never mentioned a run in with them. She never even let on that she knew witches existed.
Luthor follows my gaze into the trees, “If a witch has taken her, then she is already lost inside of her web.” he says with a sigh, “We have to figure out how to get inside of the trap and get Mae out.”
“There is no getting her out.” i say, growing angry at his stupidity, “Not unless i take her place.”
He turns to me, “You would do that for her?”
“I would burn the entire world for her.” i state, walking forward, ignoring the calls of my guards.
Luthor follows after me, “You would be trapped in there for several centuries.”
I roll my eyes, “Yeah, i know.”
I catch movement from my left and stop, certain that i saw her, even if it was only for a second. But just as i begin to walk again, Mae rushes out of the trees, screaming my name as loud as she can.
A guard tries to stop her, grabbing her upper arm, and i promise myself that when she isn’t looking i will take off his fucking hand. How dare he touch what is mine?!
“Let her go.” I growl at the guard, and he does, he releases her like her skin physically burnt him.
That's ok. I can burn him alive when i get him alone.
Mae looks at the guard, confused, but when her eyes go back to mine, she smiles, “Mihai.” she breathes, and i can tell that she is relieved to see me.
I walk towards her, pulling her into my arms and holding her there, my head dropping to her hair as i inhale the familiar scent of her mint shampoo. It is really her. It isn’t a trick.
I pull back, looking down at her, “What happened to you?” i ask.
Luthor is at my side, and Dren isn’t far behind, they are both watching, waiting for her answer.
“We were all caught in a witches trap.” she says, panting a little as she catches her breath, “I bargained with her to let the both of you go, and then, she said some weird things, like, really fucking weird.”
I frown, leading her towards the house, and ordering her a glass of blood, a witch's trap makes any Nati hungry, she would be starving right about now.
“Tell me everything.” i say, sitting her down on one of the chairs in the kitchen and handing her a cold glass of blood.
She looks at the blood, her eyes widening before she picks it up and devours the entire glass in less than a second, her eyes almost red with hunger.
“Can i have more?” she asks, licking her lips.
I smile down at her, and nod, quickly collecting her another glass and placing it on the table. Luthor is here now, and so is his son. They are both silent, waiting for her to explain. They are allowing me to take the lead.
I am glad about that. Otherwise, i would probably bite their heads off. Or worse, make myself look like a lovesick fool.
She sips the second glass, moaning with each slurp she takes, it shouldn’t be attractive, but it is. It's fucking hot.
“Tell me what the witch said.” i urge her, growing impatient.
I need to know what to expect in the coming days.
She looks at Luthor, “Was my mother a witch?” she asks him, ignoring my question.
Luthor looks at me, then her, and sighs, “Yes, she was a witch.” he says, “I didn’t find out until after she had vanished.”
Mae nods, “The witch is the woods said that i am one of them, and she will come to me, and train me.” she turns to me, “They want to help us destroy the council.”
“You can’t be a witch, Mae.” i tell her, trying to be gentle, “You are a Nati, there is no such thing as feet in both graves.”
“you’re wrong.” she says, “The witch could sense the magic in me, it was only awakened the second i drank blood, and now it is a part of me, just like being a Nati is a part of me.”
I stare at her, finding her words hard to believe, but Mae has never lied to me about something important, and i do not think she is lying now.
“We can’t talk about this here.” i say, closing the back door. “Come to my office, all of you.”
We are in more danger than i thought, and not just from the council, this changes everything.