Page 47 of His Blazing Witch (The Silver City #3)

"Oh, right..."

I take a deep breath, and as we separate, Liam hands me my mug back. He sips some of his too. Yeah, I'm going to need more hot chocolate while I tell him everything...

Maybe because it was a magic one, this dream is still so vivid in my mind, so I have no problem reciting each detail to Liam. He doesn't say a word while I tell him everything, simply sipping his hot cocoa and gently rubbing my leg, worried that I might still be too cold. I'm good, though. Actually, telling him about that horrible dream, or nightmare, is like pouring out all that angst I got from it. The more I share with him, the more relieved and detached from it I finally feel.

I had to start all over with the story told by Clarissa's mom, but Liam gets really angry when I get to the curse taking Sylviana and Nephera's appearances to trick me.

"Damn it," he growls. "Well, at least now we know what that shit was all about..."

"Yeah... It really was much older than Nephera herself. Even I almost gave in to it. This... bundle of dark feelings, it has probably grown from all those it affected, witch after witch."

Liam sighs and nods.

"Damn, I wonder how many witches were... betrayed by werewolves before."

"Liam, I have a theory, but... it's a bit... crazy."

He chuckles and caresses my hair gently.

"Babe, if I had ever stopped at crazy... I wouldn't be crazy about a witch."

I smile and blush, but this is serious.

"Liam, Nephera was... betrayed by your father, right?"

"Yeah, I mean... yeah."

"...So the curse was activated with her, and it fueled her anger. But it didn't really... affect you and your brothers, right?"

He hesitates, frowning, and from his expression, heˇs probably looking through his memories as well.

"I mean, it's not like we had a... good childhood. Our dad was crazy, to begin with, and not the good kind of crazy. Our mother spent all the time I knew her in a hospital, so..."

"Yes, I mean, I know, but it's... Look at little Mara, who wasn't even able to be born, and Clarissa, born with a sick body. I think they lived the same thing."

"You think Clarissa's father betrayed her mother?"

"Either him, or her motherˇs father betrayed her mother," I nod, thinking. "...I don't know... I mean, I don't think Clarissa's dad is a werewolf, Amy would have told me. Or maybe she doesn't know herself... I'm really not sure. But, even if he wasn't the one to betray her, I think Clarissa's mother could have been a cursed child herself. If her own mother was abandoned herself by a man, unfortunately, it passed on to her own daughter, and to Clarissa after... Clarissa did mention that her mom was always weak too, and she... died young, of disease. It sounds odd for a witch, especially a good witch. I think Clarissa's mom struggled her whole life to buy them time, and it was some miracle in itself that Clarissa was born at all. Maybe she gave her life to extend Clarissaˇs, just like she and little Mara were later able to survive on each other's strength. I think the curse just... doesn't let go like that at once. But I think... you and your brothers were protected."

"What do you mean?"

I don't answer yet. I have all my gears spinning like crazy right now, I feel like my brain is going to explode, but... damn, thanks to that dream, all the pieces are slowly coming into place. Not just Liam and his brothers, but even Selena and Nora's story. Moon Goddess, if... if I look at it from a witch's perspective, everything makes sense.

I take a deep breath and look up at Liam again.

"Liam, the story repeated itself, not just once, but twice. Nephera was betrayed by your father, and he went... insane, right?

"Y-yeah..."

"But you and your brothers were fine. I mean, you... endured his madness, but you were all born healthy, even long after your father had betrayed Nephera. The curse didn't pass onto you."

"Okay... I mean, yeah, I suppose that's true. So how do you explain the curse didn't work? Plus, you said it happened twice...?"

"Yeah, the other time is with Queen Diane."

"Q-Queen Diane? Nora and Selena's ancestor? ...I don't follow, babe. I mean, even if there was a man, Queen Diane wasn't a witch, she was"

"A Luna. A Royal, and the reincarnation of the Moon Goddess," I finish. "The most powerful werewolf ever known, right? In that dream, Luna, the werewolf Luna, had powers akin to a witch, but she wasn't a witch herself. She was a powerful werewolf, the first female of her kind. I know this sounds insane, but... what if three generations ago, the story had been repeated? And the descendants of Luna had awakened this power she had?"

"I mean... I can totally understand that Nora and Selena are basically descendants of the first Luna through Diane, but why would they have anything to do with the curse?"

"Liam, a woman with power akin to the Moon Goddess didn't just appear out of the blue! ...If you look at it from the witchˇs perspective, it all makes sense! I mean, we know there's magic, and it has its own rules, but the Royals are basically magic werewolves! Nora and Selena have powers the others don't have because of their parents, right? Because Queen Diane was their grandmother, she was the powerful Royal Luna. That curse doesn't work on them, and I'm sure they protect their partners too."

He stays quiet for a long moment, frowning and thinking about my words.

Liam takes a deep breath, and grabs his hot cocoa to empty it in one go.

"Let me sum it up," he says. "The first Luna was the first female werewolf, but she was created as... the first Royal, to counter a very, very old curse created by that other Luna, the witch on the Witchesˇ Ancestral Tree. Since that... story, every time a witch was betrayed by a male werewolf..."

"The curse grew stronger, poisoning her descendants, and driving the male werewolf to insanity."

"But my brothers and I weren't... poisoned."

"Because your mother protected you, Liam. I think she and Queen Diane were able to defeat the curse. Queen Diane was even stronger because she basically awoke the powers of the First Luna."

"Queen Diane wasn't betrayed!"

"She wasn't the one that was betrayed, Liam! Think about the story, for the curse to happen, Diane wasn't the one betrayed, a witch was!"

He stays mute for several long seconds.

"Wait... you mean... Danica? Sylviana's... mother?"

I nod.

"Liam, think about it. Do you seriously think Diane had children out of the blue? No matter what powers she had, even witches can't have children by themselves!"

He stares at me, completely dumbfounded for a while.

"So your theory is... the twins' father..."

"Betrayed Danica, the witch. Or, another witch, if there was one around. Maybe Nephera's father...? Well, I don't know, but in any case, if Diane forgave that witch, and they got over their hatred..."

"The curse would have been weakened again," Liam whispers.

"Exactly."

"Holy Moon Goddess, Mara, that's... a lot," he let out.

"I know, it's a lot of supposition, but it all makes sense. Diane was stronger because she made exactly the same decisions as her ancestor, Luna. She awoke the strongest part of her bloodline, the one that made her a stronger werewolf with some magic powers, and protected her children at the same time. The twins were born fine. Unfortunately, the curse probably hit her back using Nephera, but... that explains why Nora and Selena are so strong. They get their bloodline almost from the First Luna herself."

"...What about my mother, then? I don't believe she... forgave Nephera."

"Did she resent her?"

He stays quiet for a moment.

"...Not really. She didn't even blame her..."

"Then that's the same, Liam. Your mother unknowingly protected you three by not holding it against Nephera, so the curse only worked on Nephera, who couldn't forgive, and your father. If you think about it, all the curse's victims were people who couldn't forgive. Clarissa's mother, or grandmother, and Nephera. Your father. The people who were fine or stronger are the ones who did. Your mother and Queen Diane. Both forgave and thus, protected their descendants, just like Luna did by forgiving the witch."

He stays silent for a long time. From all the frowning and pouting, I can tell he is definitely thinking about everything I said, trying to make sense out of my crazy theories.

I do admit it's far-fetched, but I believe that story. I believe in it like I believe in the curse, and I know for such a bad thing to ever be created, there ought to be some strong sentiments behind it. Resentment, hatred, but also the pain and jealousy of a broken-hearted witch. I felt echoes of that pain and that hatred during my first fight against the curse when it was possessing my body. The saddest thing is... there is no real culprit, to begin with. That wolf didn't purposely break the witch's heart, but it also couldn't control the strength of her love either. She was a lonely woman who fell for someone who gave her attention. It's so similar to Nephera's story, it's obvious in my eyes, the curse found the perfect vessel through her, but it also feared its enemies: the Lunas who forgave. The people who cared about those witches, like Sylviana who was the only one to feel sorry for her own sister...

"...Liam, say something please," I sigh after a long time has passed. "...Do you think I'm wrong somewhere?"

He slowly shakes his head, and grabs my hands, rubbing them with his fingers.

"No... I mean, everything you said does make sense. It's just that there are too many gray areas. I mean... I do get the thing about the curse using Nephera. It totally makes sense with what happened. I don't know about Queen Diane, to be honest, like Nora said, anyone who knew about her is dead now. I do believe it would be... more believable to think she had a man, secretly, rather than that she conceived the twins out of the blue. That part was odd from the start. Moreover, she was said to have powers of healing, divination, and the likes, which are basically witch powers. So the whole... super Luna part, I get that, and it fits Nora and Selena too. What I don't understand is the part about the children. Clarissa and little Mara too, Nephera's daughter. What did they have to do with this? They were witchesˇ daughters, why did they have to be cursed as well?"

...Liam has a good point.

I'm trying to remember what the Water Witch had said. She didn't see Clarissa and little Mara as the same, did she...? She called Clarissa a Cursed One, but considered Nephera's daughter a real little witch, although she was unborn. So what was the difference...?

"...Their father," I finally realize. "Nephera's daughter was the child of another wolf, one who hadn't betrayed her mother. While... Clarissa, or her mom, was the child of whoever had betrayed her. It would have explained why Clarissa and her mom were cursed as well. The curse wasn't... purged. It simply moved on to the next vessel that came its way. From the moment I woke up in Clarissa's body, the voices were there. The voices of all the witches from the curse, all those who had hated men and werewolves before. She mentioned it in her journal too, it was driving her crazy. Clarissa was constantly depressed and pushed into the darkness by those voices. Those voices were the curse's doing. Mara never had those voices, because her mother didn't pass the curse on to her. She was... unborn, and Nephera died still prey to the curse."

"It does... explain a lot," Liam nods, "even why the other witches don't like you in particular."

"Of course. Like the curse said, I'm basically a... patchwork of whatever survived it. Like we said, Clarissa wasn't even supposed to survive this far with what she was carrying. It's no wonder she wasn't born a witch, the curse probably took everything from her. Without her magic, her body struggled until the end..."

"...Until it was replaced with little Mara's Fire Magic."

"Exactly. There's absolutely no darkness in an unborn witch's magic, the curse couldn't do anything as soon as those two got together. Clarissa got a lot better as soon as she and Mara got together, and the curse even almost disappeared when I took over. It tried to attack me... psychologically. It reacted to male werewolves, in particular, or simply men trying to harm me. It reacted to feelings like anger, loneliness..."

"Basically all the components for a good curse," sighs Liam.

I nod.

He grabs my mug, and takes a gulp of my hot chocolate. When he lowers it, he has a little brown mustache above his lips... I can't resist, I lean in to kiss and lick it away. Liam looks at me with a little smile once I'm done, licking my own lips.

"...Miss Witch, I thought we were having a serious discussion right now?"

"We are," I chuckle, taking my half-empty mug from him.

Liam chuckles.

"Okay... Well, at least we definitely see clearer about that whole curse now, and even what was... wrong with you, if you don't mind the shitty wording."

"I get it."

"But the curse is completely gone from your body now, right?"

I hesitate. ...Is it?

"It's not... I mean, the more time I spent with you, the weaker the voices were. I haven't heard them in a while since we actually got together, so I think... getting a male partner helped a lot. But... it still surfaced through the mirror, and in that dream Sylviana gave me too."

"So what, it's just hanging around and waiting to do shit whenever it gets a chance?"

I sigh.

"Well, it's still there, one way or another. Remember the tale? The curse was stronger than the witch who had created it. If it got stronger with each witch that was betrayed by a male werewolf ever since, maybe now it's... trying to come back."

"Why would it come back? Anyone who... defeated it died. Queen Diane died, Nephera died, my mom too... I don't know what that curse is after. Why would it have clung on to you, of all witches? We already know there are Dark Witches out there, so why you? Does it have a grudge because of your rebirth of something?"

"Maybe it's just not so easy to transfer...?"

"Mara, you kicked the hell out of it just yesterday. For Moon Goddess' sake, you almost killed yourself just to get your body back! Why would that curse still hold on to you? There are at least three witches nearby!"

"...I guess I don't have all the answers yet," I sigh.

I put down my mug and grab Liam's torso, hugging and clinging on to him. I just need his presence, for him to comfort me right now. I feel a lot better thanks to the hot shower and the hot cocoa, but I'm still a bit... angsty from that dream. I hear him chuckle, and he hugs me back, putting a kiss on my head.

"...I like when you get all clingy," he whispers.

"You'd better not say you're tired of it anytime soon," I grumble on his shoulder.

"Nope."

We stay like this for a long time, simply hugging each other. Thank Moon Goddess I have Liam... I don't know where I'd be at if it wasn't for him. I feel sorry for all the witches who got let down by a werewolf. I don't know how I'd feel if Liam broke up with me. I already felt the worst when I had to watch him kiss a body I wasn't in...

"...Do you feel like going back to bed?" he whispers.

"Not really," I admit.

I feel like if I go back to bed now, I'll dream again, and I'm not ready for another round of that crap. I'm exhausted mentally but not physically, it's a strange sensation.

"...What time is it?"

"Uh... too late for delivery, too early for pancakes," he sighs.

"Your stomach is your clock?"

"Pretty much. Itˇs hungry o'clock right now."

I chuckle into his shoulder. My big hungry wolf...

"...I really don't wanna go back to bed," I confess.

"What do you want, then?"

"Hm... A late night ride. Just you, me, your bike. We can find fast food or something for your hungry stomach... and mine. I'm hungry too, actually. I think magic consumes calories."

"Damn," he chuckles. "You're really my girl. Come on, then."

He grabs me by the waist and lets me down on the kitchen floor with a smile, hugging me again.

"Alright, let's go get changed," he smiles. "I think I'm going to love the idea of a late-night date with you."

We ride around for a very long time without a specific destination in mind. It's so late in the night that there aren't many other vehicles. Liam can easily weave and speed on the highway, both of us enjoying the ride as one. I love the sensation. I could ride for hours with him, even if Iˇm just sitting behind him. This just feels amazing. No one but us, the star speckled sky, the howling wind, and the dark asphalt firm beneath us.

Liam takes the highway all around Silver City, and we do a full tour of it. It's amazing how each neighborhood's been marked by its inhabitants. The lights of the Arts District, with the colorful walls and their creative graffiti. The Hispanic neighborhood in the north and the few nightclubs still thumping with music. The business center is vast, with its skyscrapers and neon lights. The green outskirts, where the habitations are more scarce and the forest begins. The rural jungle of the Purple Moon Clan is amazing and after that, the white houses of the Sapphire Moon territory emerge. Traveling back down to the south, there are large green fields again. Probably hunting grounds for the majority of the wolves... We go by the university campus, covering much more land than I could have ever possibly visited by foot. I still don't want to give up on my studies. I'll need to look into that, after all of this is over...

As expected, our course brings us back to the seashore. I think this might be my favorite part of Silver City, which is strange for a Fire Witch, I'll admit. Yet, there's something about the tranquil waves and humid air that calms me. I lift my face shield and take deep breaths, the saltiness washing away the remnants of that nightmare from earlier. I notice Liam slow down a little around this area too. Maybe he feels the same. After all, he did used to spend a lot of time here...

We decide to go back downtown after maybe an hour or so. Liam is cautious not to make his bike any noisier than necessary, courteous to the people most likely sleeping in the buildings around us. He finally stops in a street with several little shops and a few bars still open. It must be close to closing time, though. Liam stops in the middle, and we attract the attention of a few young people standing outside. Hm...

"I'm starving," he grumbles while taking his helmet off.

"Me too. Damn, and it smells like food in the air too."

"I know, right? I used to come here when I craved a midnight snack..."

"You didn't come for the nightclubs?" I chuckle, putting my helmet down.

"I was never fond of dancing, or crowded places... That's more Nate's stuff. I just like to drink, so I'd accompany him from time to time, but nah..."

I smile, and as soon as we are both down from the bike, I step closer to him.

"Really?" I say, using my most seductive voice. "That's too bad, I was looking forward to a few nights out dancing with you... I think we missed our chance last time."

Liam gulps down, his eyes going down on me.

"I-I guess I can make an effort," he smiles. "Plus, I like it when you... dress up."

I raise an eyebrow, surprised.