Everything that had happened since the prince had returned felt unreal like it couldn't be happening. Astasha was drained of everything in her, her energy levels had never been so low and she was pale and downtrodden.
Errant had indeed heard her call and had arrived just in time as she had just enough energy to mutter the words 'prince' and 'demon' before she lost consciousness.
He had revived her but not before reading her. Something was wrong, however. Some parts, such as the demon revealing himself, were clear as if they were happening in front of him, but most of the rest was blurred, out of focus, and unsure. Whatever had happened to his young fire witch had shaken her so deeply it had shaken the very foundation of her energy.
Astasha had come to in a panic, partially because of what had happened, and partly because she was sure her secret had been discovered. But when Errant began questioning her, nothing seemed to point to him knowing about her and the Prince.
Now she sat in a small anti-chamber in the King's quarters, confused and uncertain. The entire Magic Advisory was there as well as King Josnen and all wore worry as clear as day on their faces.
"I don't understand." Said the King for what seemed the hundredth time.
"The lore exists your highness, therefore we can only assume it came to be from something that had actually happened." Explained Errant.
"I understand that what is happening is possible, what I don't understand is how none of you save this poor child even began to pick up on the fact that a demon has been using my son as a puppet!" The King rarely raised his voice but when he did even the mightiest trembled.
Astasha was too numb to be frightened.
"The demon called her Tasha." If it was possible for Astasha to get paler she might have disappeared altogether. Cordelia was watching her, smug and proud.
"What are you talking about Cordelia?" Errant's brow was so furrowed it looked as though his forehead was eating itself.
"When I ran into her in the hall, I felt a memory of the demon calling her Tasha. Perhaps our young fire witch has more hidden than we thought."
Errant opened his mouth to speak but Astasha beat him to it. "If you are accusing me of being in league with a demon do you think I would have told the High Sorcerer of his existence?"
"Perhaps you had a deal, and he broke his word, angering you? You've clearly been hiding something, and if it is that you knew he was a demon that is punishable by—"
"Enough!" The King's face was red with furry and even Errant was caught off guard. "I may not have magical abilities to read people's thoughts and emotions but I have common sense and this young woman working with a demon and then betraying it is as far fetched as the land across the sea." Cordelia cast her eyes down but her anger and embarrassment were clear. "Now, I do not care about anything other than getting this thing out of my son!"
There was silence. From all of the readings any of them had done, nothing had ever been mentioned of how to extract a demon that had inhabited a human body.
"There is one ritual we could try your highness. Though it was designed for a different purpose, it may be able to be altered to fit our needs." Errant looked to the King who waited for him to continue. "When a witch is stripped of her power, an extraction ritual is performed. We could potentially rework it to pull the demon out instead of magic."
Astasha's jaw dropped. The ritual in itself was much like surgery, gently separating the magic from its host before pulling it out, through the person's soul, a process that involved literally cutting them open and more often than not ended in death. "No!" The word was out of her mouth before she even realized she's said it.
Everyone turned to look at her.
Desperately Astasha looked around. Did no one understand the risk?
"Astasha, it could be the only way—"
"It could kill him! In fact, it probably would kill him! There has to be another way!"
"I have studied every magical ritual practiced and in theory and there are none that could possibly work as well as that." Responded Errant.
Astasha's mind flew through every possibility she could think of, everything she had studied, every whisper of magic she had heard of. Finally one came to mind. "Blood magic. We could use blood magic to lure it out—"
It was Errant's turn to silence the room. "Absolutely not! That is forbidden magic used by the dark witches of old. We cannot— I will not allow its use within the borders of this realm!"
"So instead you would cut open the prince and attempt to rip the demon out through his soul? What kind of a man do you think would be left? How is that any better, any safer than the magic used—"
"I have said no and my word is final!"
Silence filled the room again. Tears were in Astasha's eyes and she hadn't realized she was shaking.
"I would like to speak with the girl alone." The King's face was somber but stern.
"Your majesty—" Errant tried to object but the look from the King silenced him. "As you wish my lord. Come. You all must prepare yourselves should the ritual need to be performed immediately."
And with that, he left the room, the three other sorcerers with him. The doors closed behind them and Astasha found herself alone with the king. He took a deep breath and suddenly, he seemed tired. She was so depleted of energy she couldn't read him but she could see it in his eyes; he was frightened.
He didn't look at her, only sat in a large chair across from her. "Have you ever heard the story of the Ill Queen?"
Astasha was confused. "Yes, your majesty. She was one of the most powerful queens to ever sit beside a king until she fell ill. No healer or witch could cure her. They said it was a sickness of another world that was untreatable. It is said that she withered away to nothingness."
The king almost smiled. "So they say."
Astasha looked curiously at King Josnen. "My lord?"
"Only the royal family knows the truth. The real story has been passed down for generations. You see, Queen Yasla was indeed the most powerful of rulers. She was the one who truly ran the kingdom. But she became obsessed with acquiring more power. She became obsessed with magic and longed to possess it herself. She searched the world for a way to imbue herself with it and finally came across a witch, a dark witch, who in fact, gave the Queen the power she sought... using blood magic." He turned to look at her, his face determined. "The king having realized what she had done locked her away, but afraid for his kingdom's reputation, and his own spread the rumor that she was ill. The High Sorcerer at the time attempted to perform the ritual that our own Errant so wishes to use. It killed her, but not as quickly as most. Because of the blood magic, something went wrong, and she withered away, much as the story goes, into nothingness."
"Your highness—"
"My lady Astasha, I am no fool. I can tell that you care deeply for my son, otherwise, no woman of your position would have risked treason to save him." Astasha didn't know what to think. She knew then that their love affair was in fact still partly a secret, but the King seemed to care more for his son's survival than a scandal involving a witch.
"The ritual will kill him, my lord. The demon is too powerful and even if they could draw him out he will claw the Prince's soul to shreds on his way."
"Can you save my son Astasha?"
The two looked at one another for a moment, a father asking a lover to save the one they both cared for. "I believe I can."
He nodded slowly. "Good." He took a deep breath and looked at her with a serious face. "You know to use this magic is punishable by death?"
Astasha nodded. "Yes my lord, but to save the Prince's life is worth the sentence."
The king leaned toward her. "I do not understand the bond you have with Calder, but it seems it may do many great things in the future. Therefore, I highly recommend you don't get caught."
What was the King telling her? "Your majesty, they would know someone—"
"Exactly. They would know someone had done it, but under my laws, unless there is proof, no crime can be punished." Astasha began to realize what the King was saying. "They will prepare to do the ritual soon. I can delay it until the morning after next by requesting they use another fire witch as you are too depleted and it must be done with precision, but that is all the time I can get you. If you cannot find a way by two sunrises from now, we shall both watch him die."
Astasha looked into the old man's eyes. He was pleading silently with her and she knew what had to be done. "I will find a way."