Chapter Three (Isla)

The room emptied. Isla walked over, “Thank you. I wasn’t expecting to be bombarded.”

“You are their goddess's daughter; understandable, they would be a bit star struck.” Omen commented.

With the room emptied, Anders and I sat in our chairs as everyone else grabbed a chair to join us at our table.

This situation made me uncomfortable. Was I supposed to say something? I have never been around large groups, or the center of one.

“I’ll get right to the point. Your mother was the blood heir to our throne. When she left, her husband took over and attempted to track her down but was unable to.” Omen shared.

“Her husband? My mother never said she was married before she met my dad and she told me that witches, and especially covens, would hunt us down and kill us.” Isla defended.

“Our former King was quite ticked when she disappeared, and spent years looking for her before telling us that she had perished at the hands of the Blood Moon Pack. To my knowledge, he just wanted his wife back. Did she share anything else with you?”

I looked at Anders; he looked angry but said nothing.

"No, just that the witches would not welcome a hybrid, just like the werewolves wouldn’t." I shared, as I fidgeted in my chair.

“We believed what the King said about her death but then over a month ago we received a message from her asking that we protect her daughter, she believed that an enemy was closing in and explained how she and her mate had run from them and that she had never planned to abandon her coven. We would never harm a hybrid. They are considered blessed.”

“That was what I was told, she never mentioned her coven much, only that she had to remove her brand so she couldn’t be tracked and if we had gone to her coven, we would be put to death.”

“Removing a brand is unheard of. It takes big magic and is considered treason for her to do that. She must’ve felt her life was in danger from one of our coven members.”

“Why are you here, Omen?” I finally asked.

“The King is dead, and you are next in line to rule, I am here to take my Queen back to her coven. I thought I said that already.”

Anders growled in disapproval, "What makes you think you can take her?”

"She is our Queen and needs to be with her Coven." Omen retorted calmly.

“Finally, I get to go home!” Zemira cheered in my mind.

“No way are we leaving here without our mate!” Daciana roared at her.

“Do I have a say in this?” I asked them as my head started to pound.

“No!” they spat as they continued to bicker. I placed my hands on my temples, trying to focus and block out the noise of their fight.

“What’s going on?” Omen asked, moving towards me.

I shook my head, "Sorry, just give me a minute." I apologized as I looked at him and he stared in shock.

“How many spirits do you have?”

“She has two, her wolf and witch spirit. They don’t get along.” Anders answered for me as he rubbed my back.

“If her spirits are fighting and can’t find a way to come to some agreement, it could be problematic.” He stated as he watched me. “If they keep fighting for dominance and if Isla can’t rein them in, they could kill her and essentially themselves."

The voices in my head stopped talking to listen to Omen. “Well, damn, guess we need to figure this out.” Daciana remarked.

“Do what I say, and we won’t have a problem.” Zemira bit out.

“You have experience with hybrids?” I asked him, curious.

He nodded, “They seek us out for protection and to help teach them to balance their abilities. It is why I was surprised your mother ran instead of raising you within the coven.”

I wanted to learn about my mother's coven and get help to control my magic, but I felt torn. I didn’t want to leave Anders and with the skank hanging around; I was worried about what she would try.

Omen seemed to sense my unease, “Why don’t you both you and Anders come with me, if you are together and are bound together not only by your claim, but by coven traditions as well? You will be our King ruling with our Queen." He told Anders. "Come stay with us for the month and in that time, we can come to some kind of arrangement on how you and Anders fit into your roles and how the pack and coven will fit into it as well."

I looked at Anders as he thought about the offer, his mind linked with Thane and I. “Thane, can you handle the pack until I get back?”

“Yeah, as long as you come back.” Thane replied.

“Thank-you.” I spoke to him, and he nodded in response.

“We will come with you for one month, then we will go from there.” Anders answered as I nodded.

Omen looked at me, “You agree with this Queen Isla?”

“Yes, one month and we will figure out how this will work, but I have one condition.”

“What’s that?”

“I need to find two people, they are supposed to help with an upcoming war and are the key to a gift that I need to unlock, will you help me find them?”

“I will do my best; we have many gifted witches, and I am sure one of them will be able to help you scry for them. I also suggest you use this month to learn about your abilities so your witch spirit can’t take over without your consent. Witch spirits can be a bit overbearing, and it is a constant power struggle because they like to be in control. I have someone who can help you hone your skills and teach you what you need to know.”

“Over my dead spirit.” Zemira snapped, as Daciana laughed.

"They are going to put a leash on you." Daciana sang, then cackled.

“Thank you. I would like to meet with them and see what they have to say.” As I smiled at Daciana's comment.

“When would you like to leave?” Omen asked.

“We can leave in the morning. We have things we need to settle here first.” Anders put in and I nodded.

“Very well, I will be ready to travel in the morning. Your highness.”

He bowed to me and left the room.

“Do you think he is telling the truth about everything?” Thane asked, as he watched him leave.

“I guess we will find out.” I replied, a little suspicious of him, why would my mother say the coven wasn’t safe when it was unless she had an enemy there that she knew would be a danger to my father and me?