Four

They dragged her out of the prison, and she followed them obediently, not wanting to hurt anyone else. She repeatedly asked about Daphne's condition, but met with silence.

Aloha was shoved to the ground inside a hall and winced in pain. She scanned her surroundings, wondering what was going to happen to her. She thought that Ragnar, whose woman she had hurt, was going to punish or kill her today.

Aloha had concluded that Daphne was his woman because she had heard Daphne call him her man. Although Aloha had heard a rumor that Ragnar was gay, seeing a beautiful woman beside him made her question the truthfulness of the rumor.

Ragnar burst into the room with Daphne beside him. Aloha sighed deeply, relieved that Daphne was alive. Seeing Ragnar up close, Aloha noticed that he was very handsome. He wore a black tuxedo suit that brought justice to his tall, well-built physique. Just by looking at him, he brought joy to girls' hearts, including hers.

But the coldness that surrounded him would scare girls away; Aloha thought as she watched him sit down on a high chair while his mistress seated beside him.

He gestured to a guard, and they dragged Aloha close to him. She lowered her head, unable to look into his scary eyes.

“Can you kindly explain to me the reason you used your power against her? I would love to know why,” Ragnar started.

Aloha scoffed as he mentioned power. If she had powers, he would have been the first person she would use it to kill. Moreover, Aloha loves reading supernatural books, so she understands what powers mean, though she counted them as human fiction.

Aloha hadn't settled with the thought in her mind when a slap brushed her cheeks.

“You don't scoff in the King's presence. You are a slave here, and he is your master. Get that in your damn head,” one of the guards said.

“Don't make me repeat myself,” Ragnar said calmly, startling everyone in the room. They all knew that he didn't have enough patience.

“I don't have any power. I don't know how it happened, and I never meant to hurt her. Moreover, a human can't possess any supernatural power,” Aloha explained.

“It happened because you are a witch. No human would hurt a wolf, which is why I want to know why you used your power against her,” Ragnar said.

Aloha couldn't understand what he meant. She wondered what he was talking about. Maybe he was a lover of supernatural fiction like herself, she thought.

Just then, Daphne whispered to Ragnar's ear, and with the fuming anger expressed on her face, Aloha knew that whatever she told Ragnar would not be anything good.

“For the last time, why did you use your power against her?” Ragnar thundered, making the atmosphere even more tense.

Aloha looked around to check if anyone would plead on her behalf, but the cold gaze on the faces of the people inside the hall made her realize that they were as bad as their boss.

Ragnar's command came swiftly, filling the air with dread. "Go and behead her, I want to avoid hearing her breath again."

Aloha screamed, "No! No way!" She tried to crawl towards him, but the guards blocked her path.

“You can't kill a human, it is against the government rule. You will be charged in court if you kill me. They will kill you too,” she shouted, hoping to reason with them.

The room erupted in laughter at her words, and Aloha felt a sinking feeling in her gut. This was it. This was how she was going to die.

Ragnar froze in his tracks, his face darkening as he turned to face Aloha. "I'd love to see that, but they'd have to behead your head before I could go to jail. And that's happening now."

Aloha wondered if this was the end for her. "Is this how I'm going to die? Am I dying today?" she asked herself a rhetorical question.

As Ragnar turned to leave, Aloha's desperate thoughts turned to confession. She blurted out, “I'm a witch. I killed my father. I hurt my bullied classmate. I hurt your woman. Everyone hates me. My mother hates me because I'm a witch.”

The room fell silent, and Aloha's eyes widened with shock at what she had just revealed. But maybe, just maybe, this would save her life.

Ragnar turned back to face her, and Aloha's heart sank again as he approached her. He lifted her chin and spoke in a low, deadly voice.

“Declaring that you are a witch is not enough to save you again. You have missed the opportunity. The only way you can save yourself now is to perform a healing spell on a small child. She's dying, and only a witch can save her. If you save her, you won't die. But if she dies, you will die too.”

He released her chin and walked away, leaving Aloha trembling and terrified.

“Spell...I'm not a witch. Why can't they believe me? I don't have powers,” Aloha sobbed, her anguish laughter bringing tears to her eyes.

Outside the hall, Daphne halted Ragnar with her questions.

“Why would you want to trust her with Effa? She's a liar, and I can't trust her,” Daphne stated, her voice heavy with suspicion.

"I know witches are betrayers, but she's not lying. I read her thoughts. She didn't know she had her powers, but I could feel the weight of her powers. She might be able to help Effa if she can activate her powers,” Ragnar explained, his voice low and grave.

“But I don't...”

“I don't want to hear anything concerning her again. If she fails, I will kill her,” Ragnar interrupted, his voice firm and unyielding.

Daphne clenched her fist in fury, the thought of Aloha's impending death piercing her soul. “She can't! I won't allow it. She will die,” she whispered, her eyes burning with determination.