Fated to Reign: The Alpha King's Sacred Mate

Chapter Eleven

Axel's POV

We all stopped when we heard the voices of children from the bush.

The grieving man immediately ran into the bush towards the direction of the voice.

“Maya!”

“Maya!”

He called out frantically as he ran, and we followed him closely. It could be one of the dark witches trying to trick us.

“Papa!” Came the tiny voice of a little girl.

We all turned to look and saw a little centaur girl of about six years running towards us.

“Maya!” the man yelled and lifted her up into a tight hug.

“Papa, little Maya was so scared” she said with an adorable pout.

“How did you get here, Yaya?” the man asked softly. We were all curious too.

“Granny Pat brought us here to play” she stops, as if to think.

“Brother is also here and Grandma Pat has been sleeping” she said, while pointing to an area covered by trees and shrubs.

“Can you take us there?” The man asked and she nodded.

We followed the little girl to a hidden cave. It was so well hidden that it would have been impossible to find it.

“Brother, look who is with little Maya” she called out sweetly to a little boy who was peeking out of the cave worriedly.

“Uncle” the boy hugs the man too.

Their voices seemed to have attracted the rest of the kids in the cave. Six children, four boys and two girls walked out of the cave vigilantly.

“Where is the person that brought you here?” I asked the boy who seemed to be the oldest among them.

“She is resting inside” he replied.

We went into the cave and came to a place that looked like a sitting room, which was very shocking.

“Kiara” one of the centaurs called out as he ran to the other side of the room where an old woman was lying down.

“Are you okay?” He asked, and the old woman turned slowly to face him.

Her face was very pale, but it couldn't hide her beauty. She seemed to be in a lot of pain.

“I am so happy that you are here” she said, then coughed up a black liquid.

“What is wrong with you?” The man asked worriedly.

“ Kunan and I fought with the black witches when they attacked, they were so powerful beyond what I could ever imagine possible. They seemed to be doing the forbidden rituals that draw power from nature, killing any living thing around them. We…” she coughed and vomited another mouthful of black liquid.

“We fought with all the spells we knew but couldn't stop them. They…they ripped out Kunan’s heart”. She said and vomited another mouth full of black liquid.

“I teleported the few children that I could” she said and coughed out more black liquids.

“Is there a treatment for your sickness?” I asked out of concern, after learning how she risked her life for others.

“No, a dark witch put a soul-eating spell on me. My organs will rot one by one until I eventually die”, she explained, and coughed up a mouthful of black liquid again.

“Take care of the children, at least when I die, I can tell Kunan that he didn't die in vain” she said, then coughed weakly and closed her eyes.

We all bowed our heads in silence to honor her passing.

“We will dig a grave for her”, three of the centaurs volunteered, and I nodded to give them permission.

I was quite curious as to how a witch started living in the centaurs village. As centaurs can be very unwelcoming to other creatures.

“How long has she lived among you?” I asked the little girl’s father.

“She has been here since she was ten years old. According to what I know, her family were banished from Celesterra for performing black magic. Her mother, knowing the fate that awaits every banished witch, didn't want to see her suffer such a cruel fate and brought her to our village. She begged our people to take her child, but of course we refused at first. Then she knelt a whole day in front of the village head's house and after a night of heavy rain she passed out.

We thought she had passed out from the cold and took her and her child in, but a few hours later, her mother woke up with a different look, her eyes were pitch black, and her skin was unusually pale. That was when we figured out that she was actually telling the truth all along. She didn't do black magic but was used for black magic”. The man paused when his daughter asked him to open a nut for her.

“The mother, fearing that she would hurt her daughter, stabbed a knife into her own heart”, the man concluded.

“So, your people took her in?” I asked, and he answered with a nod.

“Who is Kunan?” I asked, remembering that the woman had mentioned this name.

“He was a witch boy she adopted few years ago” he replied while covering the woman's body.

“Papa, is Grandma Pat sleeping? His daughter asked him curiously.

“Yes, Maya, she will be sleeping for a very long time” he replied while patting her head.

The three men that went to dig the grave came back to announce that they were done. We moved her body out of the cave and carefully placed it in the grave.

“May the gods accept her soul”. The centaurs performed a farewell ritual.

We cover the grave and moved out of the forest with the children.

We continued to the next village and found that it was empty. The buildings were burnt down and there were charred bodies lying on the ground. It was obvious that the dark witches also attacked them.

“We are close to the capital city of Drakestone now” I announced.

“Be on alert!” I commanded.

I don't want to take chances because we don't know what is waiting for us in the city.

A few hours later, we got to the gate of the capital city. An old centaur stepped out of the gate with a little bowl in his hand.

“We bring greetings from King Grayson of Darkwood” I said to him while raising a royal command scroll.

The man moved forward and sprinkled the liquid from the little bowl on us. After a few minutes, he made a gesture and the gate opened.

“This is just a little precautionary method, we have put in place because of the black witches” the man explained as we walked towards the palace.

“Is it some kind of dark witch repellent?” I asked curiously.

“It is a potion that was given to us by Queen Ursula. It burns off disguised and reveals a person’s true form”, he explained.

“That's nice, I would like some for our journey to Moonshire” I said.

“I will inform the king of your request” he replied.

When we got to the palace, the king was already out to receive us. He is a good friend of Grayson.

“Your highness” we all greeted in unison.

“Gamma Axel, it has been a while since we last saw” he replied, and signaled us to follow him into the palace.

We were taken to a large dining hall. After a little while, food was brought in.

“Wow, I want that one” Little Maya said, which made everyone laugh.

“You can eat whatever you want, little one” the queen said with a smile.

“Your highness, I have a favor to ask”, I said, with a serious tone.

“Go ahead,” he permitted.

“These men and children are the only ones that survived the attack of dark witches on the village close to the border of Darkwood” I said, then turned to the men to see if they had any objections as I had already told them my plans.

“It will be a great favor if they get a place to stay here in the capital”, I concluded my request and looked at the King expectantly.

“I had already made plans for them when I saw them” he replied, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

“The little girls will be taken to the queen’s quarters and will be well cared for while the men and boys can stay in the soldiers' unit” he announced, and we all cheered.

“Am I going to be living with a pretty aunty?” Maya asked with excitement and the queen nodded adoringly.

I have to admit that this little girl has a way of making people like her. I even find it hard not to pinch her cute little face.

We rested in the palace for the night. Early the next morning, my warriors and I said goodbye to the centaurs and the children, before heading to the kingdom of Celesterra.

A few miles from the capital city, we suddenly heard hurried footsteps coming our way.

I made a signal to my men for them to hide in the bush and prepare to fight.