The next morning, just as the sky was beginning to lighten, and my head was pounding from a sleepless night, the door was slammed open with a bang!
"Someone! Help! Someone!"
It was Clara. Behind her were the new matron and several fully armed guards.
"Seize her!" Clara shrieked, pointing at me. "Don't let her escape!"
The guards immediately moved in, grabbing me from both sides. I had no time to resist.
"Clara! What is the meaning of this?!" I asked coldly.
"Meaning?" Clara turned to me, her face triumphant. "You have the nerve to ask? Lisa has disappeared. Don't you dare say you have nothing to do with it!"
"What?"
"Search!" Clara didn't explain, just ordered the guards behind her. "This witch's room must be hiding the evidence of her sorcery!"
My heart sank. So, they had prepared for this.
The guards immediately began to ransack the room and, very quickly, from the deepest part of my bedding, they found the black cloth-wrapped doll.
Clara took the bundle and walked to the center of the courtyard, in front of all the concubines who had gathered at the commotion, and ripped it open.
Thud. The contents fell to the ground.
It was a crude doll made of straw and scraps of cloth. A few strands of my own silver hair were wrapped around it. Its chest was pierced by a rusty iron nail, and a name was written on it in charcoal—"Kaelen." Scattered around the doll were some animal bones, dried herbs, and a few black feathers.
A collective gasp came from the courtyard.
"Everyone, look! What is this?!" Clara's voice was sharp and inflammatory. "This is the sorcery of the southern curse! The evidence is right here! This witch has been cursing our Alpha!"
She turned to me, her eyes burning with a vicious fire.
I ignored her, my gaze fixed on the matron standing to the side.
"Yesterday morning, as soon as I was released from confinement, I found Lisa missing and immediately came to ask you," I said, enunciating each word. "You told me yourself that she had been sent to the High Priestess for 'blessing.' How is it that today, I am accused of her murder?"
The matron replied, her face expressionless, "I was merely relaying an order. Who knows if you didn't act first and then deliberately came to ask me, a thief crying thief."
"And what about this?" Clara kicked the doll on the ground. "How do you explain the sorcery to curse the Alpha found in your room?"
"I was in confinement for three days," I retorted coldly. "Who knows who put this thing in my room while I was away?"
"Still arguing!" Clara's voice grew even more shrill. "Do you dare say you don't resent the Alpha? Do you dare say you don't want to harm him?!"
"Why would I do that?"
"Because the Lord Alpha doesn't even look at you!" Clara said viciously. "So you turned to hate out of unrequited love and wanted to curse him! Once he's dead, you can be with the one who's always been fawning over you, Lord Liam!"
"Your thoughts are truly despicable."
"Despicable?" Clara sneered, her voice suddenly rising, ensuring everyone could hear. "Then why did you two have a secret rendezvous in the courtyard at midnight last night?! Don't think you did it in secret!"
A gasp of shock and a wave of murmurs rippled through the crowd.
A chill ran through me. I snapped my head up and stared at her.
"So, the eyes that were watching us in the dark all along were yours!"
"A clear conscience fears no accusation!" Clara said, seeing my pale face and knowing she had won. "Take this shameless witch away and send her to the council hall to await the judgment of the council of elders!"
Two guards immediately stepped forward, twisting my arms behind my back even more roughly and shoving me forward.
I stumbled, my body lurching forward, and fell hard onto the cold stone ground.
In the brief chaos of my fall and being pulled up, Nuoya, who had been standing at the back of the crowd, looking terrified, instinctively rushed to the front.
In a flash, using my body as a shield, I unstrapped the "Moon Shadow's Sting" from my leg. The moment the guards hauled me up from the ground, I brushed past the rushing Nuoya and shoved the cold dagger into the hem of her wide, old clothes.
Her body stiffened.
I was steadied by the guards. I looked up and, with my eyes, signaled to her, silently mouthing a few words: "Hide it. Protect yourself."
Then, I stopped struggling.
"Let's go."
The guards took hold of me again and led me out of the courtyard. As I was being led away, I looked back one last time. Nuoya was clutching the dagger tightly to her chest, looking at me with a mixture of terror and determination, and she nodded heavily.
I was escorted all the way to the council hall.
It was already filled with the elders who had gathered upon hearing the news. The atmosphere was grim. Barton sat high on the Regent's throne, with High Priestess Morgana standing like a shadow at his side. The Greymane elder stood below the main throne, acting as the chief judge.
Liam and Ulf had also been "invited" to the scene. They stood to one side of the hall, their faces ashen.
I was roughly pushed to the center of the hall by the guards.
The Greymane elder glanced at Barton, then turned to me, his voice like thunder.
"Aila! Do you plead guilty?!"
"I am not guilty," I replied calmly.
"Not guilty?" he sneered, gesturing to Clara.
Clara immediately stepped forward and presented the curse doll and the so-called "spell components." Morgana, who had been silent all along, stepped forward, picked up a black feather and crumbled it between her fingers, then sniffed the dried herbs before nodding to Barton and the elders.
"It is the southern 'Blood Curse'," her voice was as calm as a still well. "A very ancient sorcery."
"Elder Greymane," Clara immediately said in a loud voice, "this is the sorcery doll found in Aila's room! She has been using evil southern magic to curse Lord Alpha!"
"And not only that!" she turned to Liam, a vicious glint in her eye. "Last night, at midnight, I personally saw her having a secret rendezvous with Lord Liam in the courtyard! Lisa must have stumbled upon their affair, which is why she was silenced!"
The hall erupted in an uproar.
"Silence!" The Greymane elder's gaze was as sharp as a knife as he turned to Liam. "Liam! Is what Clara says true?"
"It is true that I met with Aila," Liam stepped forward, his voice calm and firm. "But we were discussing the investigation into the missing concubines! The so-called 'curse doll' is utter nonsense! Aila was in confinement for three days. How could she have made this thing? This is clearly a frame-up!"
"A frame-up?" Clara immediately retorted. "Everyone knows how devious southern witches are! She probably planned it all along! As for the investigation? It was just an excuse for you to have a secret rendezvous with the 'Luna' in the middle of the night. Don't you think that's improper?"
"Improper?" Liam sneered. "Then what about the concubines disappearing one after another, and the former matron's mysterious death? I, as the prince, am investigating a mystery within the pack. What is wrong with that?"
"A secret meeting in the courtyard in the middle of the night with your brother's woman is what's wrong!" Clara's voice grew shrill. "Does an investigation require dismissing all the guards? Lord Liam, stop deceiving yourself!"
"Watch your words, Clara!" Liam's voice dropped. "Aila is the Luna of the North, not anyone's private property. She asked for my help, and I helped her. It is perfectly reasonable."
"Asked for your help?" Clara pressed on. "I think you two have been in love for a long time! If you don't believe me, you can ask the new matron of the Moon Shadow Courtyard!"
At that moment, the new matron of the Moon Shadow Courtyard stepped forward and bowed to the elders.
"Elder, what Miss Clara says is true," her voice was flat and emotionless. "Since I took office, Lord Liam has indeed tried to visit Miss Aila several times. On the afternoon of the Lord Alpha's departure, Lord Liam went to Miss Aila's room as soon as he returned to the castle. And even while Miss Aila was in confinement, Lord Liam often tried to come under various pretexts, but was stopped by the guards at the door."
This "testimony" instantly cast a shadow of ambiguity over all of Liam's explanations.
The Greymane elder stroked his beard and looked at Liam, his eyes filled with disappointment.
"Liam, you have disappointed me greatly. The Alpha entrusted the North to you. Is this how you repay his trust? By getting entangled with his woman while he is away?"
"I did not!" Liam's face instantly turned ashen.
"Whether you did or not, you know in your heart!" Clara seized the opportunity, her voice growing even more shrill. "I think you and this southern witch have been plotting together all along! She curses the Alpha, and you take advantage of the situation! The two of you, one as king, and the other as queen!"
Clara's words plunged the entire hall into a dead silence. Even Liam was too angry to speak.
"Silence!" Ulf finally roared, unable to contain himself. "You are all talking nonsense! The Lord Alpha cherishes the Luna very much! In the Wailing Canyon, it was the Lord Alpha who was poisoned to save Lady Luna, and it was Lady Luna who, despite the danger to herself, exhausted her strength to heal him! Their feelings for each other are not something you petty people can fathom!"
"Who do you think you are? Do you have the right to speak here?! Guards! Take him away!" Clara immediately shrieked.
Two guards immediately stepped forward and tried to restrain the agitated Ulf.
Barton, high on his throne, heard Ulf's defense and a triumphant smile flashed in his eyes.
"Let him go!" I spoke for the first time, my voice not loud, but exceptionally cold. "This has nothing to do with Ulf."
I looked around at the elders, my gaze finally resting on Clara and Barton, who was behind her.
"And it has nothing to do with Prince Liam. Your target is me. There is no need to involve innocent people."
"Clever words!" the Greymane elder cut off all argument, his gaze finally settling on me. "Even if the Alpha was once saved by you, it cannot absolve you of the crime of sorcery and treason! The witnesses and evidence are all here! Aila, what else do you have to say?"
I watched them, one singing the lead, the other the chorus, clearly determined to see me dead.
I knew any defense was useless.
"I have nothing to say."
"Good!" the Greymane elder said, as if he had been waiting for those words. "Since you have nothing to say, then you have admitted your guilt!"
He turned to Barton and knelt on one knee. "Lord Regent! This witch is guilty of heinous crimes, colluding with the prince, cursing the sovereign, and harming her companions! I implore you to order her execution by fire immediately, as a warning to others!"
"We implore the Lord Regent to give the order!"
Behind him, all the elders knelt in unison.
Liam's face went deathly pale.
At this critical moment, Barton, who had been silent all along, finally spoke.
"Rise, Elder," he said, slowly standing, his gaze falling on Liam.
"Liam, I remember my order was for you to report to the military intelligence office and to have no contact with anyone. You have openly defied my order and met with a suspect in private. According to the law, you must be punished."
Liam's lips moved, but he could not argue.
Barton then turned to the elders, his tone changing. "As for Aila, the evidence is conclusive, and she should be severely punished. But, she is, after all, the blood pact offering the Alpha brought back. We do not have the authority to deal with her without his consent, before his triumphant return."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over everyone, and finally delivered his verdict:
"Effective immediately, the witch Aila is to be thrown into the Lethe water prison and handed over to the High Priestess for purification and guarding! At the same time, Prince Liam is to be placed under house arrest. He is not to leave his room without my order! As for Ulf, he is to be thrown into the dungeon to await the Alpha's return!"
A rough, black cloth was tied over my eyes.
The guards roughly hauled me up and dragged me towards the deepest, underground part of the castle. On the way, I could hear the other guards and servants scurrying away as if from a plague.
The further down we went, the more humid the air became, laced with the smell of rust and blood. I began to hear suppressed, inhuman moans and groans, as if from the depths of hell.
After some time, we stopped before a heavy iron door.
"Lord Regent," the guards bowed respectfully.
It was Barton. I could feel him walk up to me.
"Aila, I gave you a chance," his voice was filled with a false regret. "If you had chosen to cooperate with me, you would not have ended up like this. Have you changed your mind now?"
I didn't answer, just turned my head to the side.
"Hmph, as stubborn as your mother," he sneered. "Open the cell door!"
The iron door scraped open with a piercing sound. A smell of mold and a pungent chemical filled the air.
The next second, I was pushed hard from behind, and I stumbled forward, falling hard into the bone-chillingly cold water.
SPLASH—!
The cold water instantly filled my mouth and nose, and I coughed, my lungs burning. The blindfold was washed away, and I struggled to lift my head, finally seeing my surroundings.
It was a circular stone room with no exits, only a few drains set into the walls, from which a strange, green-glowing liquid was constantly flowing. The water was not deep, only up to my ankles, but the floor was covered in slippery moss and unknown bone fragments. My hands were chained to the walls, my movements restricted to the center of the water prison.
"Enjoy the 'purification' the High Priestess has prepared for you," Barton's mocking voice came from outside the door.
BANG—!
The rune-covered cell door slowly closed, shutting out the last of the light.
I was left alone in the darkness and the cold.
After some time, a figure emerged from a stone opening in the wall.
It was Morgana.
She wore a priest's robe and a stark white mask, like a ghost from the abyss.
She said nothing, just took a crystal vial from her sleeve and slowly poured the thick, black-smoking liquid into the water at my feet.
Sizzle—
The water's surface was like boiling oil. An indescribable pain shot up from the old wound on my calf from the hunt. The just-healed wound, as if being eaten by countless ants, tore open, becoming a bloody, mangled mess once more.
I could no longer hold back and let out a pained scream.