Page 5 of Bewitched By the Voodoo King (The Bewitching Hour #7)
For a moment, the room was silent. Then Adelle sighed.
“Fair enough. Let’s start with the basics.
” She gestured for me to sit, and I hesitated before perching on the edge of a nearby chair, still acutely aware of my pajamas while everyone else was in what seemed to be formal attire.
Adelle leaned against the table, her silver braids catching the light as she spoke.
“The Supernatural world has always co-existed with other races, with very little to no issues until a few years ago. Our witches started going missing and then before we knew it, our magic started acting funny.” Adelle’s shoulders slumped.
“I wish we could tell you what the problem is but at this moment, we don’t know.
The wolves are growing in rapid numbers, our witch population is dwindling, and the wolves are kidnapping the rest of us. ”
“Kidnapping? Has this been brought to the Supernatural Council?” I asked boldly.
Adelle nodded as her eyes skipped over to Rune who now positioned himself in the corner. “The leader of the wolves hasn’t been seen in ten years and every missive for comment gets returned.”
“I mean not to state the obvious but has anyone thought to visit the wolves then?”
“They’re nomadic and don’t exactly have an address on file,” Rune snorted with a roll of his eyes, as if this was obvious.
And maybe to anyone else it was, but not to me.
I hadn’t had a formal witch education and that meant there were many key details about the other supernatural races that I knew nothing about.
Louis’ chair creaked as he leaned back in it. “We have tried everything. They just keep disappearing.”
I stared at them all with a look of boredom and confusion. “And I’m supposed to help how?”
Rune gritted his teeth. “That’s the secret my father went to the grave with.”
I pressed my lips together. “So this means the marriage contract doesn’t matter…”
Rune’s light eyes jumped to me. “You’re the last person I want to marry, but it was my father’s dying wish. He said it was our only hope for our people.”
Well, so much for getting out of this unfortunate arrangement.
The room fell into an uncomfortable silence, everyone seemingly lost in their own thoughts. I, however, was still grappling with the horrifying realization that my fate was sealed by some dead guy’s last wish. Great.
“So, just to recap,” I said, breaking the quiet, “you have no idea why your magic is glitching, wolves are snatching witches left and right, and your solution to all of this is… me ?”
Adelle’s lips twitched, and she gave a small shrug. “The ancestors have their reasons.”
“The ancestors,” I muttered, leaning back in the chair. “Of course. Let me guess, they also suggested the marriage thing?”
“No,” Rune interjected, his voice sharp. “That was entirely my father’s idea.”
I arched a brow. “And you just went along with it?”
His jaw tightened, and for a moment, I thought he might actually explode. Instead, he stalked forward, his presence towering over me. I trained my neck back to get a good look at him. “I didn’t agree to this lightly, Maple. But my father believed?—”
Adelle stepped in, her tone calm but firm. “Maple, I know this is overwhelming. None of this is fair to you, and we don’t expect you to solve everything overnight. But we need to start somewhere.”
“And that somewhere is... where exactly?” I asked, crossing my arms.
“The Matriarch,” Rune said, his tone brockering no argument. “She’ll want to see you tomorrow.”
“Why not tonight?” I asked, a touch of defiance creeping into my voice. I looked around at all of the people staring at me. Why wasn’t she here tonight? Was her presence not needed that desperately?
“Because you need rest,” Adelle replied. “And because meeting the Matriarch isn’t something you do while wearing bunny slippers.”
I glanced down at my feet as my cheeks heated. “Fair point.”
Adelle smoothed her silver braids over her shoulder. “We’ll escort you to your quarters. Tomorrow, you’ll meet the Matriarch and begin to understand why you’re here.”
“Begin to understand?” I echoed. “So I’m not even getting a straight answer tonight?”
“Nothing about this is simple, Maple,” Adelle said gently. “But you’re stronger than you think. Otherwise, the ancestors and the previous Voodoo king wouldn’t have chosen you.”
I wanted to argue, to demand an explanation that actually made sense, but the weight of the day—and the sheer absurdity of it all—left me too drained to fight. So instead, I sighed and stood, following Adelle and Rune toward the door.
The hallways were dimly lit, the flickering sconces casting shadows that danced along the walls. Adelle walked ahead, her stride purposeful, while Rune fell into step beside me. For a while, the only sound was the soft creak of the floorboards beneath our feet.
“You’re really not thrilled about this marriage thing, are you?” I said, breaking the silence.
Rune’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t look at me. “No.”
“Well, for what it’s worth, I’m not exactly picking out wedding invitations either.”
He let out a low snort, the closest thing to a laugh I’d heard from him. “Good to know.”
We walked a few more steps in silence before I couldn’t hold back my curiosity any longer. “Why do you think your father wanted this? The marriage, I mean.”
Rune’s light eyes flicked toward me, his expression unreadable.
“My father believed in alliances and he knew we could no longer do this alone. The ancestors saw you— chose you. That is not something that is easily argued.” He stopped and cut eyes at me.
“Your parents could have said no. They didn’t have to send you.
Why did they if you are so against this?
Did they really want to get rid of you so badly?
” He took a step closer to me and leaned down to my eye level.
His gaze seemed to slice through me. “Was it something you did?” He cocked his head to the side as his gaze raked over my face. “Was it something you can’t do?”
I opened my mouth to answer but he turned on his heel and walked away quickly, catching up with Adelle with little effort. Me on the other hand? My little legs had to double time to keep up with their long strides.
“Is there a kitchen in this place?” I called after them but they didn’t answer or turn back to me. I guessed I would have to find it after my meeting with the big, scary matriarch in the morning.