The Blind Witch

Darkness... That is all there was. Not a single beam of light could pierce it. It disoriented the senses. To touch the darkness, you give up a part of yourself. You become more than yourself. The darkness takes hold and grips the soul. Once in it, there is no escaping. Hope is the only thing keeping the darkness from devouring everything. Will she sink, giving into the darkness? Or will she rise above it, conquering it?

The sound of leaves crumpling underfoot filled the air. Twigs snapped, and branches creaked as he ran through the forest. The cold mud squished beneath his feet, and sharp branches scratched at his arms as he rushed past the trees.

Then suddenly, he slipped. He fell onto the forest floor with a thud, his ankle throbbing in pain. It was tender to the touch, but a hand grabbed his arm, urging him forward. Running. He needed to keep running. Why was he running? He didn’t know. His ankle pained him, forcing him to drag his foot since only his toes could bear any weight — but he needed to keep running.

Aiden gasped as he shot up in his bed, panting heavily. Running. He had been running. Unable to catch his breath, he began to look around, noticing he was in his room. No... He wasn’t running; it was just a nightmare.

He pulled the covers off, feeling like he was burning up — as if he had been on fire moments before. Leaning back against his headboard, Aiden attempted to steady his breathing. Nightmares were not uncommon for him, but this one was different. It wasn't like any of his other dreams.

After taking a moment to calm down, relief finally washed over Aiden. Whatever had happened in the nightmare was gone, like a distant memory. However, as he sat there, parting his lips, he realized how dry his mouth was. He stood from the bed, walking across the room as his feet made loud thuds on the floor below. Taking the pitcher of water in his hands, Aiden drank from it, emptying its contents without any hesitation. The burning sensation slowly dissipated as the cool water soothed his parched throat. He set the empty pitcher back on the table with a satisfied sigh.

Looking out the window, Aiden noticed the sun was already in the sky. With a dramatic sigh, he closed his eyes, knowing that he was going to be late to Morning Court once again. Dragging his feet, he went to the mirror, taking a moment to run his hands through his short, disheveled sandy blonde hair. Taking one last look at the looking glass, he surveyed his work as his hazel eyes sparkled in the candlelight. In a rush, he put on his clothes, hurrying out of his room across the palace.

Aiden was a sixteen-year-old prince and the sole heir to his uncle, Azrael, the King of Kings. His uncle ruled over the human kings, the Alphas of the wolves, the high priests and priestesses of the witches, and the vampire lords. During the time of the Darkened War, one man was given this title; he not only would rule over the known world but he was tasked with protecting it, playing mediator to the rulers under him. However, there was one stipulation to being named the King of Kings: you had to be of a mixed race. How could you rule over a land of many peoples when you were just of one pure race? Aiden was a mixture of three races, though he was predominantly wolf, with some witch and a little bit of human in his blood.

Aiden walked into the throne room from a side door, and it was instantly apparent that he was late. The Morning Court had already begun, with dozens of people standing in the room before the throne. He quietly walked up beside his uncle, his face flushed with embarrassment.

"Forgive me for my tardiness, Your Majesty," he murmured with a deep bow.

"You haven't missed much — just some burnt crops. Go sit," King Azrael whispered.

Aiden smirked to himself as he went to his small throne, which sat a few steps down from his uncle. After sitting down, his smile began to fade away as boredom began to settle in. Morning Court was not something that the prince enjoyed, since it was primarily a time for complaints. Anyone, whether of high or low status, could come before the King of Kings to file a grievance. For hours, he would sit there, listening as others begged for assistance. As the king, his uncle would be the one to respond, so Aiden could only sit and watch. Partway through the gathering, a fat man slowly approached the steps that the thrones sat upon. With a low grunt, he knelt down on one knee.

"Azrael, King of Kings, I request permission to enter the King's Woods. I am a slaver, and last night, my camp caught fire. I had several slaves escape, running deep within your woods. Despite the loss of my property, I would not dare enter without your say."

Aiden looked up at his uncle upon hearing the request. The King’s Woods was the hunting grounds for the Royal family, sacred ground dating back to the first king. Slaves hiding in there meant an opportunity to hunt while in wolf form, which excited the prince. When Aiden turned 16, like other wolves, he gained the ability to shift into his wolf form, and until now, the only thing he has ever hunted was deer. He watched anxiously as his uncle pondered to himself, however, Azrael saw no harm in allowing the slaver to get his slaves.

“I assume you have proper documentation on these slaves?” Azrael inquired curiously.

“On most, Your Majesty,” the man replied as he reached within his satchel, pulling out a stack of parchment. But, it appeared as though most of the papers had soot and smoke on them. “Unfortunately, I was not able to save all of my documents. I hope you can forgive me for this oversight.”

“Nonsense!” Azrael boomed, his voice carrying throughout the hall. “It is not as if you set the fire! You have my permission. Hunt down your slaves, but none are to be harmed while in the woods. Understood?”

“Uncle?” Aiden interjected quickly. “Might I offer my assistance to help? It would be a great training session for me. I can shift into Cyrus and help to sniff out the slaves?”

“Do you object, Slaver?” Azrael questioned as he turned his gaze from his nephew to the man at the bottom of the steps.

“Not at all!” The man smiled. “If the prince of princes offers to help me, I’d be more than happy to take it!”

“Aiden, you may go. Take a guard with you.” Azrael instructed with a wave of his hand.

The prince stood, rushing to stand before his uncle to offer a quick bow. After that, he rushed down the steps, placing a hand on the Slaver's back. Aiden led the way out of the throne room, guiding the man all the way down to the King’s Woods, where a few of the Slaver’s men were waiting on the edge. Following close behind was a guard — a wolf, someone who could shift and hunt alongside the prince.

“Werelia inttum,” Aiden whispered while waving his hand over his clothes.

This was a simple incantation that all wolves knew. It preserved your clothes when you shifted ensuring that you weren't naked when you returned to your human form. This incantation did not require much magic, allowing for any wolf to be able to use it, so long as they knew the words.

Aiden groaned as he shifted into his honey-blonde wolf, Cyrus. Even at sixteen, he was quite large, his form towering over the guard who accompanied him. For every wolf in this world, size determines your status amongst the ranks; in this case, Cyrus was considered an Alpha, while his guard was a Gamma.

After the Slaver informed him that the slaves were humans, Cyrus began to sniff the air. The nearest humans were miles away in the city of Sella, so it would be easy to distinguish their scent from the smell of the forest. Without any delay, the wolf took off, running deep into the woods. In a matter of minutes, Cyrus was able to sniff out the first intruder: a middle-aged man with shackles around his ankles.

Aiden’s guard led the man back to the forest's edge, returning him to the Slaver. For over an hour, Aiden and his wolf hunted. He enjoyed the thrill of being out of the palace, away from the stifling air and the strict rules. Ever since he became the heir to his uncle, he was restricted in what he did. Though Aiden despised being kept within the palace walls, he would never complain — especially when the price of becoming the heir meant the death of his father.

As the sun rose high overhead, it became increasingly hot. It was toward the end of the summer, nearing the eighth moon of the year. Cyrus began to slow down in the heat, no longer enjoying the hunt, which was now becoming more and more of a chore. As Aiden prepared to end his search, he caught sight of an old woman sprinting past him. Since his wolf didn't want to chase, he sent his guard to run after her instead. She was old, after all; it didn't require two of them to chase her down. While he watched them run, Cyrus eventually caught the scent of something else. It drew his attention to where the older woman had initially come from.

As he moved closer, the smell of cedar and jasmine filled his nose. Aiden was confused, looking around at the large sequoia trees that surrounded him. There were no cedar trees in this forest, so why did he smell it? Cyrus followed the scent, intrigued by the smell. He walked along a path of broken twigs and crumpled leaves until he reached a large, dead tree. However, as he circled around it, he froze — on one side of the tree stood a large wall of fire.

Aiden shifted back into his human form, staring at the flames before him. His eyes were wide with shock, for the tree was not smoking more was the fire spreading. And as he got closer, he could feel that it was not just naturally occurring fire, but one conjured by magic. The prince looked down at his hands, whispering to himself until small flames appeared on his fingers. The magic that ran through his veins was fire magic, however, the wall before him was more powerful than anything he could produce.

With his own flames engulfing his hand, he inserted his fingers into the fire. He was able to slip through without any pain, and it was then that he realized that the wall of fire had been covering a hole — an entrance into the hollow tree. Aiden furrowed his brows as he created a small shield of flames across his whole body, allowing for him to breach through the wall. Once inside, he saw a teenage girl, huddling in a corner. With a gasp, he extinguished his flames, rushing over to her side. But before he could reach her, he fell to his knees, struggling to breathe. The girl was beautiful in every sense of the word, but there was something about her... something that wasn't physical.

Mate! Cyrus yelled within Aiden’s soul.

Mate... she is our mate... Aiden replied with wide eyes.

The prince looked at the girl, his gaze landing upon her bright red hair that was tangled with twigs and leaves. And then, as she looked up, their eyes meeting for the first time, Aiden's heart skipped a beat. Her eyes. They were pure black, with no white, no iris, just darkness. Once she saw that someone was in the tree with her, the girl held out her arm, pointing a fireball at Aiden.

“Don’t come near me!” She yelled with a hoarse voice that wavered as she spoke.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” he assured her gently. Aiden held out his arms, attempting to show that he wasn't a threat, that he held no weapons or anything else. But as he stared at her, he wondered if she could see him. He waved his hands, but her face never moved his face. However, as he silently moved to the left, testing her vision, her hand began to follow him.

“I’m Aiden. What is your name?”

“C-Clarissa,” she answered as the fireball in her hand grew a bit smaller. “Are you going to take me back to the Slaver?”

“No!” Aiden growled, causing Clarissa to flinch. He sat back, suddenly realizing that he had scared her. “I’m sorry. No. You won’t go back to the Slaver. I’m taking you home with me.”

“Why? What are you going to do?” She questioned with a trembling voice as she pulled her legs closer to her chest.

“Nothing, I promise," he reassured her. “You’ll be safe. Nothing shall happen to you.”

“How do you know?”

“You are my mate. I shall protect you, forever," Aiden answered with a soft smile.

“Mate?”

“Do you know what that is?”

Clarissa shook her head as she slowly began to relax. His voice... Aiden's voice was gentle, each word he spoke causing a burst of light to dance around in the darkness of her vision. She could not see, at least, not how everyone else saw the world. Clarissa could only see darkness, with only the occasional flickers of light to brighten her vision. And for Aiden, she could see orbs of various hues dancing around him, with a large mass forming someone around him. However, she could not see his body nor his face — only the orbs of light.

“A mate is someone you’re meant to spend the rest of your life with. Wolves get them.” He explained as he moved closer to the girl.

“But I’m not a wolf.”

“I know, you’re a witch,” Aiden chuckled as he watched the confused expressions grow across her face. “But I have witch in my blood. As well as wolf and human. The wolf in me means I have a mate. Someone I’m drawn to, someone whose smell warms my very core. We don’t get to choose who our fated mates are. The Moon Goddess, Bil, gives chooses them for us, and for me, that is you.”

“Are you sure? How do I know that you aren’t lying?” Clarissa questioned with furrowed brows.

“Give me your hand,” he instructed gently.

At first, the girl hesitated, but after a moment, she offered Aiden her right hand. There was dirt and some dried blood on it, but the prince didn't care. He reached out, gently touching her, causing tiny sparks to shock both of them. Clarissa gasped, recoiling her arm as she stared wide eyes in Aiden's direction.

“That’s how you know I’m not lying,” he laughed as he moved even closer to her. “When you are mated to a wolf, you get sparks when you touch, regardless of what the species of the mate is. Does that make sense?”

“I think so,” Clarissa nodded as she looked down at her hand, watching as the dark and bright orbs danced around her.

“Good. Now, let’s get you out of here and back to my home. You look rough.”

Aiden reached out his hands, grasping gently onto Clarissa's arms, helping her stand. However, as she attempted to walk, she fell against him, wincing in pain. He looked down, noticing that her left ankle was swollen and purple.

“It looks like I’ll need to carry you,” he murmured, unable to hide his smile. “Can you drop your fire so we can walk out?”

Clarissa nodded her head, holding out her hand as she recalled the fire back to her until it all disappeared into her palm. Aiden watched, amazed and taken aback by her powers. There was no way that she was older than him, so how could her fire magic be so powerful? His own flames were but a flickering candle compared to hers. As he pushed aside his thoughts, he leaned over, putting one arm behind her back and the other under her legs. Without any effort, he scooped her up, holding her tightly against his chest. But before he left the tree, Aiden took a moment to rest his head against hers, allowing for him to inhale her scent. He couldn't help but wonder how he came across his mate so early... and why was she out here, hiding in the woods amongst the slaves?

Below is a map of the world for this series. To see a map that you can zoom in on, go to my Inkitt page