The Witch's Shadow
556 Words
(Halima pov)
She watched her enter like a storm pretending to be silk.
Antonia’s hips swayed with quiet rebellion, her gown clinging to her like a second skin. The red fabric shimmered under the morning light, split high at the thigh, cut low at the chest.
Halima’s fingers tightened around her goblet.
She didn’t need magic to see it. The shift.
Adrian looked at her differently now. Not with detachment. Not with cruelty.
But with hunger.
Real hunger.
Antonia sat gracefully at the long obsidian table, her head held high as if she belonged there. As if she wasn’t born to burn beneath it.
“You arrogant little mortal.”
Halima sipped her bloodwine slowly, masking her sneer behind the rim.
She had seen queens. She had broken queens.
But this one… this fire born brat, she was something else.
---
For years, Halima had been beside Adrian.
His advisor.
His keeper.
The only one who could soothe the beast when the blood curse twisted his mind into something wild.
He came to her when the rage took him. When his body ached for blood and his soul forgot what it once was.
She knew his curse better than he did.
And now she was being replaced by a trembling, wide eyed girl in stolen silks.
Adrian didn’t even speak to her anymore. Not unless forced. Not unless he needed control.
And even now, he wasn’t controlling anything.
The bond was awakening. Too fast. Too deep.
“She’s getting under his skin.”
“And if she completes the bond…”
Halima’s throat tightened.
She knew what would happen if Adrian gave in. If he claimed Antonia fully. If he marked her not just with magic but with soul and body.
The prophecy would begin.
The chains around Adrian’s heart would shatter.
And everything Halima had built her power, her place, her hold on him would collapse.
And she wouldn’t let that happen.
Not again.
Not like the last time.
---
She smiled, but her teeth were sharp behind the curve.
“I see our little flame is adjusting well,” she said smoothly, swirling her wine.
Antonia didn’t even flinch. “Your witches have excellent taste in clothing. Or perhaps you don’t keep a tight leash on your wardrobe.”
Bold.
Halima’s smile twitched, brittle. Her magic itched beneath her skin.
Adrian didn’t defend her.
Didn’t even look her way.
She watched the way his eyes followed Antonia’s every movement like a starving wolf watching prey that dared to bare its throat.
Except this prey… was inviting the bite.
Halima stood slowly after Adrian left the table. She watched his shoulders tense as he disappeared through the door.
Antonia pretended not to notice. But Halima saw the flicker of satisfaction in her gaze.
You think you’re winning.
You don’t know what I know.
---
As the dining hall emptied, Halima lingered.
She pressed her hand to the cold wall, closing her eyes. Whispered words curled from her lips, ancient and binding.
“Reveal what’s hidden.”
A shimmer of blue light flickered across the stones, revealing a secret seal only she could read.
The prophecy.
The bond.
The truth.
It was still incomplete.
There was still time to destroy it.
And if Antonia wouldn’t burn on her own...
I Halima would light the fire herself.
- Writer
