Within the next few hours the once silent bedroom was noisy, with people rus.h.i.+ng to and out the room. Elize pursed her lips in irritation. When she told Agatha the solution to her problems, she hoped that it would be a silent affair, with the witches concocting some icky potion for her to drink. What she didn"t expect was a huge group of people invading their private s.p.a.ce, stopping every now and then to stare at her weak figure leaning against Zack"s chest."Are you sure about this? I mean I don"t want you to feel like you"re sacrificing your mother for me." She said, feeling guilty about the whole affair.
Zack sighed. "It"s just a few drops of her blood. Mother can spare that much after what she has done to you." he replied, maintaining a neutral tone.
Elize noticed that his att.i.tude towards his mother had hanged ever since that incident. It was true that whatever Aileen told had made an impact on her mind as well, but Elize didn"t hate the woman. After all, she was not the one who plotted all those evil plans- it was her father. Being filial is not a crime, and maybe she had her own other reasons as well. And before she got to know them, Elize didn"t want to judge her. She knew what getting the traitor"s blood meant. Unlike what Zack said, it wouldn"t be a few drops of blood. She felt bad for her mate. His head would probably e filled with all kinds of conflicts right now, Elize thought.
"I"m sorry that I put you in this position." She said, squeezing his hand.
Zack squeezed her hand back gently, as if he was scared to hurt her. "Don"t think too much." He said with a weak smile.
Elize noticed that his smile didn"t reach his eyes . Her heart ached, seeing him like that. She looked at him with eyes full of sadness. Zack bent down and placed a kiss on her forehead, answering her worried expression through his actions.
"Ready?" Agatha"s chirpy voice stood out in the noisy room, making Elize look towards the direction.
The blonde witch looked tired, walking towards the bed. But her expression painted another picture altogether. She had the look of an overtly excited child, going to eat their favorite ice cream. It annoyed Elize. Agatha had earlier explained how she"d never performed a freeing ritual before. Although this particular remedy was known t most witches, most never performed it in their life time, as such conditions were extremely rare and people who were afflicted with such illnesses tended to die instantaneously- unlike Elize, who was magically still alive.
When Aileen came in to prepare the ritual, she had asked Elize about where she had been to in her sleep and how she knew about the remedy. For some reason, Elize kept quiet. Not that she didn"t trust them, but she felt that it was not the right time to tell them about Luna and the spirit realm. Hence she had made up a lie that she doesn"t remember anything about what happened and that she had no clue why she knew the remedy. Aileen had stared at her as if she didn��t buy the lie, but since Elize refused to budge from her position, she had no other option than to give up. As the time was quite limited, the head witch had hurried off to prepare the bath for the ritual, leaving Elize alone with Zack.
Elize looked around the room, grudgingly at the people filing in and out of the room. Looking back at Agatha"s excited face, she rolled her eyes.
"How ready can a person be for these things?" She asked.
Agatha chuckled, seeing her friend"s expression. "Don"t worry. It will just be a few of us." She said, trying to rea.s.sure the young witch.
Elize huffed. As if that made a difference. Stripping in front of people was not an ideal situation, whatever their numbers might be. But since her life depended on it, she felt like she had no other choice.
"Fine. Let"s just get this over with." She said, turning towards her mate.
"Clear the room!" Zack"s command resonated through the entire room. Elize s.h.i.+vered in excitement, hearing the power in his voice. Within the next few minutes, the whole room was empty, leaving only Agatha and Aileen inside with them. Zack gently picked Elize up in his arms and carried her towards the bathroom. Elize could feel his heartbeat increasing in pace.
"I"m okay." Elize whispered, reaching her hand out to caress his face.
Zack gave her a tight smile and turned towards the door of the bathroom without giving her a reply. Aileen was waiting near the tub for them, the yellow light of the numerous candles placed around the area illuminating her sharp dominating features. The green ceremonious turban that she wore only for important occasions was sitting on her head royally, reminding Elize once more of the status of the woman in front of her. She looked every inch a head witch, a leader among the powerful. Elize felt rea.s.sured for a moment. She was sure that Aileen knew what she was doing. There was nothing to worry about.
"Alpha, please put her in and step aside." Aileen said in a serious tone.
Zack nodded. In the blink of an eye, he got her out of her clothes and s.h.i.+fted her to the tub, immersing her body up to her neck in the strange liquid that filled it. As soon as Zack"s hands left her, she felt a tingling sensation all over body. Elize looked at the white colored liquid that covered her nakedness and felt thankful for it. She was wondering about the contents of the tub when she heard two footsteps approaching the room. Elize peered out of the tub to see who the visitors were.
"Mother, Nina." Zack acknowledged the two as they came into their sight.
Elize looked at the former Luna. Her face had dried tear marks all over, dulling her otherwise ethereal beauty. Nina had a firm grip on the woman"s arm, as if she was handling a prisoner. It was tough to watch, even for Elize. She could only imagine how Zack might be feeling right now. Elize smiled weakly at her future mother in law. The woman smiled back at her, her expression tinged with a sadness that she was all too able to imagine.
"As we have everything we need, let us begin." Aileen said, looking at Meiling. She then nodded towards Nina, who released her grip on the older woman. Without saying a word, Meiling walked towards the tub and sat down beside it on the floor of the bathroom.
"I"m sorry." Elize murmured weakly.
"It"s okay. I understand." She replied with nod.
Aileen came forward and handled the she wolf a dagger. Elize could feel a small amount of magic emanating from it. There was no doubt that it was a magical object. She looked at it with much curiosity. It was a small weapon with a decorated hilt. The hilt had inlays of many stones, which sparkled in the light of the candles. Elize did"t feel much power emanating from the dagger itself, although its blade caught her attention. It appeared as if it was made of silver and had a really sharp edge. She looked at the head witch with an alarmed expression.
"Wait! Won"t silver kill her?" Elize exclaimed, unable to contain her fears.