Lilliana stood silently as Rhistel’s words echoed in the night air. The carriage wheels creaked slightly as Damon shifted inside, adjusting Olivia’s limp form against him.
Lilliana’s gaze lifted upward, her expression unreadable as the clouds churned, restless and heavy.
"It’s not over," she murmured.
Rhistel, already moving toward the front of the carriage, paused. "What did you say?"
She turned to him slowly, her face pale and solemn. "The witches will co again. Now that Ilzera is dead, they have lost the one who held them together. But not their purpose. Olivia was never their enemy, Rhistel. She was their hope but she had rejected them like her mother. But now Oriana could not be turned into a blood witch anymore. If they have truly given up on Oriana, then they will turn their eyes to Olivia."
Rhistel’s brow furrowed. "They’ll hunt her? After everything they just did to her?"
"No," Lilliana said, her voice low and pained. "They will try to claim her. It is the only source of their freedom."
She stepped away from the carriage, as if the weight of truth demanded space. "You don’t understand the desperation of witches like them. We live in hiding, in deep woods where no human dares to step into. We are scattered covens, broken from persecution and centuries of loss. Most of us have no lineage left to draw power from. But a Blood Witch... She is a beacon. A fire in the dark."
Rhistel swore under his breath and glanced back at the carriage. Olivia and Oriana, both unconscious, both fragile in their own way.
"They’ll co for her," Lilliana whispered again, her voice almost lost in the wind. "And they won’t care who stands in their way. They’ll tell her she belongs to them. That she was ant for them."
"She belongs to no one," Rhistel said sharply. "Not to Ilzera. Not to prophecy. And certainly not to blood-hungry witches hiding in the woods."
Lilliana looked at him, surprised at the fury behind his words. But then her eyes softened.
"Then you’ll have to protect her, Rhistel. From them... and from herself."
He t her gaze for a long, silent mont. Then finally, he asked, quieter, "And what about you? Where do you belong now?"
She looked away. "Nowhere, I suppose. I helped destroy what I once swore to protect. I burned my bridges. My sisters will never forgive ."
He stepped closer, his voice still rough but laced with sothing gentler. "Then stay where you are needed. With us."
Her eyes widened.
"I don’t offer this out of pity," he added quickly. "You’re powerful. More than you realize. And if what you’ve said is true, we’ll need soone who understands their ways, their magic and their thoughts."
She looked at his extended hand, and then at the dark forest line in the distance, where danger surely brewed.
Slowly, she reached out and took his hand. Rhistel gave a single nod, then turned toward the horses. "Then let’s not waste more ti. We ride before the rest of them realize Ilzera isn’t coming back."
As he climbed up, Lilliana moved to sit on the outer bench of the carriage. Inside, Damon stroked Olivia’s hair, her head still cradled in his lap. Oriana lay peacefully across from them, pale but no longer cold.
Lilliana looked toward the sky one last ti. As the carriage started, Rhistel could not keep his silence.
"Do the witches often kidnap from the village? The villagers said they have lost kids before." Lilliana frowned, not liking that they were accused.
"We do need human blood for most of our rituals." Lilliana’s lips pressed into a thin line. "But we do not kidnap kids, we do not take it from the living,at least not usually. We seek out those beyond healing: the terminally ill, the dying, the ones the world has given up on. we believe it’s rcy... and in so twisted way, we may be right.
"But they do not ask." he reminded her and she frowned deeper.
"No one had asked us before burning us." she refuted loudly, regretting the decision of joining him instantly. But Rhistel did not mind her rage, to her surprise he nodded with a look of guilt.
"I will stop hunting the witches. And put my life at stake to save them as long as they did not kill any of us and did not harm my family." Liliana smiled softly, knowing well that it was not possible anymore.
The carriage moved silently but she could feel Rhistel wanted to say more.
"What is it?" he sighed, feeling guilty.
"I have tried to help Olivia but I didn’t know much ab0ut magic and rituals. She had been reading books and doing experints but if a war was waiting for her, it would not be enough. I want you to help her. To train her with everything you know. In exchange, I will fulfill your anywish as long as it is in my hands." liliana was surprised. A promise from the lord of the land would bring her imnse benefit.
"My sisters need land and safety. We also need a permanent source of earning." Rhistel laughed soft and gently. He could not believe she was still thinking about coven when she had fought against them.
"I see! I will provide you a territory and make one of you, my vassal family so that you could control that territory by yourself. You would be safe there." Liliana’s eyes widened. She had never thought that it would be so easy to ask for help.
"Then.." her voice trembled. "We could live freely?" he nodded without a thought. It made her dazed!
"But they have to give up on the Witherland sisters too." Lillianna nodded, though she knew it would be difficult. For centuries humans had broken their trust. It would be hard to believe them now.
When they reached the nearest village, Rhistel looked at Liliana. "I will ask the guards to reach the girls. You can drive the carriage to the nearest inn?"
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