Unwanted Mate Of The Lycan Kings (by jessica hall) novel Chapter 75

~~Zirah~~

Finally, the last vision comes and a wave of déjà vu washes over me when I find myself standing in the city center.

The city center was packed with a frenzied crowd, their faces twisted with hatred and fear as they watched the Queen Litha— a witch’s high Priestess be dragged to a pillar. They chanted for her death, and chanted for the end of the bloodshed and war that tainted their kingdom.

As the flames licked up the woods, then her feet. Litha’s eyes remained defiant, her gaze sweeping over the three kings before settling on King Theron. Her voice, though strained by pain, rang out with eerie clarity.

“By the flame that consumes me, I curse you all with the seven sins that taint your souls! As I burn, so shall you burn!”

Her words hung heavy in the air, her power infusing them with an undeniable weight as thunder rolled across sky as if the end of times was coming. The crowd recoiled, their excitement dampened by the palpable energy that surrounded Litha as she spoke.

Turning her gaze to King Theron, she smiled, an unsettling sight amidst the flickering firelight. “To break the curse, you must find the oracle. Kill the oracle, and the seven virtues will be revealed. Only then will another female Lycan be born.” my mother warned when suddenly her dress caught fire.

Theron laughs. “You think you can curse an entire species, Litha. You’re powerless or you would have escaped. You’re no witch. No real witch ever burned at the stake.”

Litha laughs at his words, but I find myself almost unable to watch. The scene is horrific as her legs burned, but she did not stomp her feet or scream. Instead, she lifted her head to the sky and smiled.

“You’re right.”

King Theron huffed with smug satisfaction while the flames grew higher, sweat beaded on my mother’s face, neck and chest. Her pain could be seen; it is obvious as her breathing was becoming labored and in her voice when she speaks.

“Witches don’t burn at your stake…. Unless we choose to,” Theron's manic laughter cuts off. Murmurs break out when the sound of eerie humming charges the air. Then my mother chants.

“In the shadows cast by a fire’s glow, where sinners hide, and virtues grow” Lightning cracks like a whip across the sky.

“I call upon the fate’s powers to weave my magic in this hour.

Seven sins, born from dark, your immortal souls now bear by my mark!”

The moment she spoke the words, Regan, Lyon, and Zeke scream, dropping to their knees, ripping at their flesh as if they too were burning by the invisible flames. However, before Litha could finish the curse, she slumped forward, and screams her anguish trying to again. Regan, Zeke and Lyon stop their screaming, and everyone looks around when the brewing storm suddenly stops, the night sky clearing. Murmurs break out, and suddenly a woman in a black cloak steps forward, her arms raised to the moon, tears streaming down her face.

“In the shadows cast by a fire’s glow, where sinners hide, and virtues grow, I call upon the ancient powers to weave my magic in this hour.” Her voice rings clearly. No!...No!” my mother screams at the woman.

“We stand with you,” the woman speaks and my mother shakes her head as she screams when another woman steps forward out of the crowd and her chant joins her.

Her coven.

“Seven sins, born from dark. Your immortal souls now bear her my mark.”

A third woman comes forward.

“Amidst your vices, she’ll burn brightly. Within the seven virtues, she shall stand, her light shining throughout the land.”

“No,” Litha chokes out, lifting her head, her face burned, and skin turning to charcoal. Yet the witches keep stepping forward and end up taking center stage, refusing to let her death be in vain as they continue to chant.

“A woman of virtue, pure and strong, to right the wrongs and end our priestess’ song. Chosen by fate, her heart aflame, she’ll be your salvation or your condemnation!” Power singes the air as storm so brutal rips, through the place, screaming their anger and devastation.

Screaming their vengeance.

The next second, the entire city square erupts in chaos when her coven set themselves on fire, to burn along with her.

My entire body jolts as I’m ripped out my mother’s past and plunged into a reality where history is about to repeat itself.

I’m haunted by the memory of my mother's death, her last moments spent burning at the stake. I can still hear her screams, the screams of her coven, her curses filling the air as the memory fades.

But now I find myself back in the present, trapped by the very curse my mother had set in motion so long ago. As the flames rise higher, threatening to consume me, I wonder if there is any hope for escape, or if my fate is sealed just like hers was.

The crowd watches with bated breath, their eyes wide and fearful. Some shout for mercy, while others call for my death, their voices blending into a cacophony of noise that threatens to drown out my thoughts. The torches close in on me, their flames just inches away from my skin, and I close my eyes, bracing myself for the pain.