Riven was unable to sleep the entire night. Layla's body boiled with so much heat and whatever caused her such intense pain wouldn't let go of her. Her screams tore at his heart and he felt useless, knowing there was nothing he could do.
Henrietta had tried all the magic spells she knew. Even the healing incantations and pain relief spells. None worked. Something was blocking her spells from working and it frustrated her because she didn't know what else to do. The sight of Riven as he held Layla close to him was so touching that she turned away, unable to look.
Layla went through so much pain that her screams woke the entire shifters in the mansion. No one dared go close to Riven's chambers though. They knew he would be in a foul mood.
At the early hours of the morning, the pain finally released Layla and she settled in Riven's embrace, crying uncontrollably until she fell asleep. Her burning temperature gradually cooled down until it was back to normal, and Henrietta wiped her body with a cool cloth. For a long time, they remained in Riven's room. Riven, Cade and Henrietta. Waiting to see if Layla would go into another phase of pain.
When another hour passed without her waking up and the sun began to peek out of the horizon, they finally relaxed and the tense atmosphere reduced. Riven ordered Cade and Henrietta to wait outside for him.
Alone in the room with Layla in his arms, Riven watched his mate. Her chest rose and fell in deep slumber and she showed no signs of waking up soon. He gently placed her on the bed and pulled the sheets over her body. Layla stirred and mumbled in her sleep, then she went quiet again.
Finally assured that his mate was fine and wouldn't wake up for a long while, he exited the room and joined Henrietta and Cade in the hallway.
The three of them looked exhausted, after being awake through out the night with no sleep.
"Henrietta, can you explain what happened earlier?",Riven asked, getting straight to the point. His face looked exhausted and worried and he ran a hand through his golden hair.
"I have never seen anything like that Riven", Henrietta said. "My powers didn't work. And that has never happened. It seemed something was blocking it from working"
"The only creatures your powers don't work on are shifters",Riven reminded her. "Are you saying Layla is a shifter?".
"It can't be possible",Henrietta said. "If she was a shifter, you would know right? You would feel it. And she would have shifted by now. It's all so confusing"
"What about the colour of her eyes?",Cade asked. He remembered staring into her eerie golden coloured eyes and the memory made him shiver.
"Only powerful shifters have that peculiar eye colour",Riven said in a thoughtful tone. "And no shifter has it in the whole of this island". How then did Layla have it? She wasn't a shifter, was she?
Henrietta was at a loss of what to say. Something like this had never happened in all her years of being a witch. It was bizarre. But she wasn't too surprised. She knew there was something peculiar about Riven's mate. She just couldn't put a finger on it.
"I think what's best is for us to watch her",she said finally. "If she's indeed a shifter, we would know with time. Something is clearly strange here, and with time we would figure it out. For now, we can only wait".
"Alpha if I may",Cade said.
"Speak Cade"
"I think we would learn something if we know a little about Luna's past",Cade said. "We still don't know how she arrived here".
"Yes Riven", Henrietta said. "We would definitely learn something from her past. Maybe her parents weren't human. Maybe they were shifters".
"No shifter ever left this island",Riven said. "The only creatures who fled to the human world were the witches".
"Has any other strange event occured? Has she showed any sign of having powers?",Henrietta asked.
Riven was quiet for a while. He didn't know if he should tell the witch of what he suspected. He didn't want to endanger his mate the more.
"Riven whatever you tell me will remain with me",Henrietta said when she noticed Riven's reluctance to speak. "I know you're worried about her. But right now, I need all the information I can get in order to know what's wrong with Layla"
Riven sighed heavily. Finding out what was wrong was better than trying to keep it a secret from everyone.
"I think she's a Sorceress",he said.
"What?",Henrietta was clearly shocked. "You and I know that's not possible. The race of the Sorcerers were annihilated centuries ago".
"That's what I thought too",Riven said. He moved closer to the large window in the hallway and stared into the horizon, where the sun was slowly peeking through the clouds. His eyes stared far into the distance.
"What made you think she might be a Sorceress?",Henrietta asked.
Riven explained what occured with Cara and elaborated on how Layla crushed Cara with just a flick of her hand. Witches didn't have such powers. They had to recite spells in their minds or say it out loud before they could use their magic.
But the Sorcerers were much more powerful. They could control creatures with their minds, take over a creature's mind with just a single look. They were deadly and dangerous. Which was why Riven had to annihilate them before they would become a threat to his reign. And yet, he knew Layla was one with the way she killed Cara.
Henrietta went silent after Riven's explanation. If what he said was true, then it meant Layla was really a Sorceress. And for her to be a Sorceress, it meant one of the Sorcerers had escaped the annihilation. And whoever the person was, they were still alive, hiding in plain sight. Her mind went back to what happened the previous night. If Layla was truly a Sorceress, how then did her eyes glow gold? Sorceress were known for their powerful purple eyes. Could Layla be a Sorceress and a shifter? A hybrid? She cast the idea from her mind. It couldn't be. To be a hybrid, a creature needed a strong body to be able to hold two strong bloodlines flowing though them. Layla was weak, so that ruled it out. She needed to do some serious research on it.
"Give me some time Riven",she finally said. "Let me do some research. I'm sure I'll find something".
"I hope you do. Brandon clearly wanted her for a reason. I think my mate is more than ordinary",Riven said. His shoulders remained tense with anxiety and worry and Henrietta could only feel sorry for him.
"I will do all I can",Henrietta said and walked away.
"Alpha please calm yourself",Cade pleaded. "Your beast might get aggravated by your worry for Luna".
"I will be fine Cade",Riven said and turned to walk back to his room. "My mate is clearly exhausted. And she won't be leaving the room for the rest of the day"
"Yes Alpha. Understood",Cade said.
"Her meals should be brought up here. And do not let word of what occured last night escape this mansion",Riven added. "Until I know what troubles my mate, I don't want other creatures taking an interest in her".
"Yes Alpha".
Riven entered his room and locked the door behind him. For a while he stood by the door, watching his mate sleep.
Did the moon goddess send his mate to him after so many years, just to make him suffer? Why would she have to go through such pain? Seeing her in pain made his beast go mad with worry and just like Cade said, he might get aggravated. And once he did, he would go feral. He couldn't let that happen.
Walking towards the bed, he pulled Layla into his arms and lay with her. And from the rise of the sun until dusk, Riven held his mate close and waited for her to come awake.
...
The human world...
Hidden under the shadow of dusk, a woman pushed a row boat towards the ocean. She was dressed in a black hooded cloak with the hood covering her hair. She stopped and looked behind her. Footsteps sounded close and instantly, she went invisible. Three men walked passed the shores of the ocean, talking at the top of their voices.
They were the patrol team that guarded the ship harbour of the city. They held oil lamps and local guns and none of them noticed the woman standing beside a boat. They literally passed through her and disappeared into the darkness.
Annabelle kept the invisibility spell in place and pushed the boat into the ocean. She quickly climbed aboard and began to paddle. And if one were to look towards the ocean, they would see an empty boat moving on its own.
Annabelle had one goal.
And that was to journey to the hidden island and take her daughter away.