A smell of burning wood, must, and chicken broth swirled in the air. Elvira opened her eyes slowly, and a vague yellow light came into sight that turned out to be a lantern. She got up from the small bed and scanned her environment. Something was cooking in a pot. Logs were burning in a small old fireplace. And a small kitchen with a few utensils lying around. There were only a few old pieces of furniture in a hut only the size of a medium room.
She had no recollection of how she got there. Where was her family? Did Leona bring her there? She got up. "Leona!" she shouted her name twice. The sound of the hut door opening startled her. The person who entered was Wivior.
The moment she looked at his face, all the memories came rushing back. When Wivior used the red staff on those warlocks, its power burned her alive, and she somehow lost consciousness. She was in serious trouble! Was that hut some jail? Or had they nursed her back to health so that they could punish her healthy self? It was the perfect plan for more misery and pain.
"How are you feeling?" asked Wivior.
"I don't know. What happened to me? I don't remember a thing. Did I fall? I think that's what happened. I fell and hurt myself." Elvira's voice came out all edgy and squeaky.
Wivior walked towards her. "I think you should sit down for this." She took a seat immediately. Her heart was pounding, and her legs were trembling.
He took a seat next to her on the small bed and took her hand. "I used the staff, and you got hurt. You were unconscious for almost a day."
"What about Ezra and Quinn? Are they okay?" Elvira asked.
"They are fine. Except for the three warlocks, only you got affected by it." Wivior's gaze made it seem like he was expecting an explanation from her.
"If I had known that it could hurt a human, I would have left," said Elvira.
The sound of someone opening the door distracted them.
"I think we should have known better as well," said Quinn, walking in. "Because this weapon has been used around humans as well, but this is the first time it has ever hurt someone other than a warlock or a witch."
She stopped before them and folded her arms. "Quite unusual behavior from a staff incapable of hurting humans. Don't you think?"
Elvira gulped in fear. It would have been so much easier to convince Wivior alone, but the wizardess was now suspicious of her, which meant she had to do something to prove her innocence, or else she might poison his head with doubt, too.
"I don't know anything about magical staffs. So you must know better," Elvira spoke with confused innocence.
"Oh, believe me, I will ask a professional about it. Doctor Oliver will give us the true reason behind it, and then we'll know." Quinn's tone was brimming with doubt and anger. She was not going to forget about it any time soon.
"Are you sure you don't have witch blood inside you?" Quinn attacked her with a direct question.
"What kind of question is this?" Elvira spoke calmly, even though her mind was all over the place. She kept reminding herself that confidence is the key to good lying. "Wouldn't that make me a witch? And if I were a witch, wouldn't you have found out? I have heard magical creatures know these things. They can't be fooled, like us humans."
"Oh, I know! But you could be half and half. A witch and a human's daughter. A half-bred witch," said Quinn.
"Quinn!" Wivior intervened. "You know there is no such thing as a half-bred witch. If a human marries a witch or a wizard, their child would be born with magic or a simple human. There is no in-between."
"I know." Quinn rolled her eyes. "I am just trying to go through every single possibility since your grandfather himself told you that it can never hurt a human, and she was burning when its light touched her. The attack wasn't even directed towards her, and yet...."
"It could be different for cursed humans," said Wivior.
"Then we're in luck because we are standing in the middle of a village full of them. So why don't you try it on someone else and see if that theory is, in fact, true or not?" Quinn proposed.
"I don't want to hurt anyone. These people already have miserable lives. We have already gone through this before Quinn. If she were a witch, we would have sensed it by now. So, I don't want to hear anything else on this subject!" Wivior spoke firmly.
"Fine! Doctor Goldberg would conclude the rest." Quinn walked out of the door and slammed it shut.
Elvira looked at Wivior. He was worried and perplexed, but she was glad he believed her. She couldn't let Quinn get into his head, no matter what. He needed to be on her side.
"Was I burning? How did I survive?" Elvira asked to strengthen her innocent image.
"When you fell, I put the staff away. I was able to take away the marks and pain with some medicine I had on me."
"The good news is that I was able to hurt one warlock, but the others got away," Wivior added.
"What! What was he wearing? I heard their conversation, and I think I know their leader," said Elvira.
"He was wearing a hood and had a strange tattoo on his wrist," replied Wivior.
"That was their leader! He was scolding the other two. And they were shivering in his presence," Elvira told him.
Wivior nodded. "That's good news. The warlock was weak, so Ezra took him someplace he could be held captive and questioned."
He paused and exhaled audibly. "Quinn gets a little scary and aggressive, but it was odd that the staff burned your skin exactly like the warlock. Of course, we didn't heal him, and he lost consciousness. What could be the reason? I think..."
Elvira covered his mouth with a deep, hungry kiss, and his eyes widened in shock. However, after a moment, she felt him kissing her back as well. Their tongues intertwined for a good amount of time before they moved away and gazed into each other's eyes. The steamy kiss had left them both breathless.
Initially, Elvira intended to shut him up with a kiss, but as she gazed into his enthralling eyes, looking back at her with equal desire, she realized she was no longer in control.
Before she knew it, their lips clashed again. Wivior gently pushed her onto the bed and got on top of her. While locked into a passionate kiss, she caressed his strong back, feeling every sensation of their hot bodies pressed together.
Her mind stopped thinking, and desire overcame her senses. She could no longer hold back her craving for his body. All she knew was that she wanted him right there and then.
His hot mouth moved away from hers and landed on her neck. He worked magic with his tongue and lips, stimulating the nerves on her neck as no one had ever done before. She closed her eyes, wishing that he would never stop pleasuring her.
He teased her with a few gentle bites but stopped for some reason. His hypnotic grey eyes looked into hers. "Elvira, I want to know how you feel about me and if you want this to happen between us because I won't be able to control myself if we go any further."
"I don't care. We can talk later." Elvira grabbed Wivior's face, pulled him closer, and kissed him deeply. He responded quickly, further deepening their kiss. The feeling of his hot mouth and soft, luscious lips against hers was so heavenly that she couldn't imagine why she hadn't been doing that all her life.
The loud sound of the door startled them both. He made haste to create distance and stood close to the boiling chicken broth pot. Elvira sat on the bed and saw a beautiful little girl, no more than six or seven, standing at the door. She was frozen and looked like she had just seen a ghost. She had seen more than a child her age should ever see.
"Adelaide!" A woman wearing a headpiece and a loose, long dress came rushing in and grabbed the little girl's hand. "I am sorry, Mr. Wivior, for barging in like this, but I had to get my daughter."
"It's okay," Wivior said, scratching his head. He looked more embarrassed than Elvira.
"What are you doing here? I told you not to come here. This hut is for the wizard's rest for now," the mother rebuked her daughter.
"Mother, I came here to look for my blanket," answered Adelaide. "You know I can't sleep without it!"
"I'll find it and bring it to you later," said the woman.
"Mother, wait, I don't think these people have enough space to rest here. This man here was lying on top of this woman on the bed," said the girl, pointing at them with her hand.
Elvira averted her gaze in embarrassment. Her eyes landed on Wivior, who blushed like a cherry while looking at the floor. They had kissed in a courtyard and even on a busy street, but getting caught by a small child made them the most uncomfortable.
"Let's go. Don't come back here again without my permission." The mother didn't look at them once and left the hut immediately with her daughter.
Wivior chuckled and walked toward Elvira. "I am not shy, but that child shouldn't have seen us like that."
Elvira smiled back at him. She could still feel the excitement and pleasure from the sweet kisses and the closeness of their bodies.
He sat beside her, cupped her face, and pressed his lips softly against hers. "Does this mean you like me now? I want to know because I have fallen in love with you."
A coy smile played on Elvira's lips. Those words created butterflies in her stomach. "I don't know about love, but I do admire you. I am fond of you." A huge weight was off her shoulders when she said that to him.
A charming smile of joy spread on Wivior's handsome face, revealing the cute dimples on both his cheeks. He grabbed her waist and gave her a quick yet deep kiss.
"Does this mean you'll stay with me?" he asked with hope.
Elvira's smile disappeared when she realized she couldn't stay with him because she needed to return to her family. Even if she decided to pursue a relationship with him, he would eventually figure out her true nature. Her body worked differently than a human, so she couldn't pretend to act like one for life. Even if she considered doing that, she could neither leave her family nor risk them finding out about it.
"If you're not sure. I can wait, Elvira. Right now, we need to find the doctor and cure you. I can even wait a lifetime for a woman like you," Wivior spoke like the gentleman he was.
Every word he said made her want him even more. She wondered if perhaps she could make him realize that she wasn't as bad as he deemed witches to be. Maybe then he'll be able to accept her true nature. Her friend Serena had successfully convinced a human and ran away with him. It was a long shot, and she would need to hide her relationship with him from everyone she knew, but did she like him enough to try?
Yes, she replied to herself mentally. She was ready to do anything to raise a witch's reputation in his eyes.
"I want to stay with you, Wivior," began Elvira. "But I have a lot to figure out first. I'll give you my final answer after my treatment. I hope..." Wivior hugged Elvira amorously. She put her arms around him and got lost in the sweet warmth of his body.