CHAPTER 93: ARTEMASIA

~AMBROSE’S POV~

I was so relieved to hear her results came back normal, there was nothing physically to be concerned with, so whatever was happening to my little princess was magic related. Not medical.

Which meant Artemasia would know.

"Yes, now we go see the witch." I chuckled at her enthusiasm. She was so cute when she looked at me like a doe eyed child, full of curiosity and wonder.

"Thank the goddess. I’m tired of waiting for answers." She exhaled and grunted when she spoke.

"Damon, is Artemasia ready for us?" I asked opening the channel with my beta.

"Yes, alpha king, she is waiting your arrival." Damon confirmed in the channel.

"Good."

We left the infirmary, it was late in the night, close to the witching hour. I told Damon to not speak about who she’d be meeting with, just that I needed to speak with her.

Artemasia lived in a private home on palace grounds.

Her home wasn’t what you’d expect a witch’s home to look like on the outside. She had a soft wooden picket fence and a flower garden out front. The house was a shade of a very light blue with a white trim.

I walked up and knocked on the door.

The door opened quickly, a woman with bangs and a black medium length bob greeted us at the door.

She had changed her look again.

I never knew what face I would see behind this door.

I guess maybe that’s also why I liked her and kept her as our pack witch. Because she does what she wants in the moment, lives carefree, unafraid to be herself.

Kind of like Odette.

I didn’t have any feelings like that for Artemasia, and neither did she for me. She didn’t like men it made it easy for us to be friends with her. There was no pressure. She was a bitch, and most people disliked her careless attitude. But I found it refreshing.

When she saw Odette behind me, a look of surprise and shock sat on her faxe, but I saw, for a second, her eyes flickered with fear.

Why?

"What the fuck did you do Ambrose?" She shouted at me in her usual informal tone; she rarely used my title. And when she did, it was only for show. She hated titles. Thought names were enough.

"What?" I asked her confused but unsurprised by her yelling.

"Fuck Ambrose. Fuck. Tell me you are stupid, and you don’t know what you’ve done and who you’ve pissed off?" Artemasia was yelling me from outside the door, rude of her to not wait until we at least got inside.

"Can you let me in and then yell at your king. What would they think if they saw one of my subjects getting away with yelling at me." I said calmly and with indifference.

"Fuck. Come on, bring her inside, you have some explaining to do." She opened the door to us and stepped aside.

"Come to the back room." She sounded annoyed and a little anxious. I could see a small tremor in her hand.

She had a parlor lined with 2 parallel walls of books and little knickknacks, the back wall had paintings of spells hung on either side of a small fireplace.

She walked us through the familiar hall, photos of her cat and and little wall ornaments and plaques.

The hall was a maze that had been straightened out, and it seemed endless. It was a spell to dishearten intruders. Only she could pass straight through unharmed in this endless hall.

We reached a tall dark wooden door covered in symbols.

"Wow, this is pretty detailed. The protection on this place is top notch. I’m impressed." Odette’s mouth was gaping and her eyes wide with appreciation.

I smiled and looked to Artemasia, and right there tugging at the corner of her lip, was a tiny little smirk. Barely noticeable.

"Yes. It is." Was all she responded with, her tone cold as ever.

The door opened when she stepped close enough to it without her even having to touch it.

We stepped inside the room and it looked exactly like anyone would expect a witch’s lair to look like.

It had hanging herbs, a cauldron, a table with experiments and books, an alter in the back. And a window for a ceiling.

"This room is protected. We can freely speak, mostly." Her face quickly changed, and she glared daggers me and then she stormed over to me stomping her feet.

"You bring her here to your kingdom and my house, you have no idea what she is do you?"

"I do, Princess Odette, a vampire."

Artemasia busted out in a hysterical laughter, throwing her head back the sound erupted from her. But not one that came after a good joke, this was a twisted laugh.

"Oh, she’s so much more than that. You... Ugh... I can’t even say it..." Artemasia sounded like someone who was about to go crazy. Pacing the room frantically. "Well I guess that’s fate. Funny how it works?"

I looked at Odette and she looked so confused and concerned even.

"Excuse me, but um... What are you talking about?" Odette asked.

Exactly what I was wondering. She’s speaking in riddles. Making it possible to understand what she’s thinking.

"Oh, dear girl. Your mother and father never told you?" She asked Odette.

"Told me what? How do you know them?" Odette was puzzled, her little nose was scrunched, said it all. None of what Artemasia was saying made any sense.

"Wow, what selfish, delusional assholes. Unbelievable." Artemasia yelled throwing her hands up in annoyance.

"I’m sworn by an oath. I can’t speak of it. Can’t write it down. I can’t tell you anything, like it’s physically impossible. I need time to gather the things to do a Blanket of Silence spell, I can dance around it, however, since I don’t have the added members of a coven, the spell is strong and needs a lot of juice." She confessed "I don’t have enough juice to do this spell alone. I have to block out the whole world and other worlds, the gods themselves."

"Are you serious?" I couldn’t believe she had to go through such extremes to just talk about something. What could be so serious she’d need such a powerful spell?

"This is starting to freak me out, how long will it take you to get what you to get those things?" I impatiently asked.

"Two days." She said.

"We’ll be back then." I took Odette’s hand and pulled her toward the exit, but she stopped, pulling her arm back.

"I still have questions; did you forget the main reason we’re here?" She asked me, her eyes could have burned a whole in my face, with how intense her glare was.

"Oh shit, you’re right. Fuck me, we came here with a purpose, you distracted me." I turned back around "We have some questions."

"Yes, I had a really horrifying and realistic nightmare recently one that shook even my bones and when Ambrose woke me up, I cried tears of blood." Odette quickly added.

"Really?" Artemasia raised her right eyebrow in peaked curiosity.

"Yes, and I’m physically all fine, so it must be magical." Odette stated.

"Sounds like it could be one of two things, a past life reenactment or a future event. Those are the only reason eyes bleed with a vision. Because that’s what you’re nightmare was. It was a vision." Artemasia answered.

She was moving around the room searching for different things. I’m assuming for the spell.

Artemasia stopped at her altar, put her things down and looked at Odette, sizing her up and down, her face detached and emotionless "You look nothing like I would have expected."

"What is that supposed to even mean, what the hell is going on? I don’t understand."

"I’m going to make a spell to replay your dream so we can see what you saw and know if it’s the future or the past." She answered with a frown, like it was obvious what she was doing.

"Oh, you could have said that I’m not my mother, I can’t read thoughts or feelings. I work with telekinesis and elements. Not psychic abilities."

She rolled her eyes.

I watched as the two of them interacted. Funny seeing them giving each other a taste of their own medicine. I had to hold back a chuckle.

"What did you mean by, "I’m not what you expected?" Odette crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. I could see the insult written all over her face.

"I don’t know I guess I expected you to be more." She said not looking up from her alter.

Odette was practically steaming now.

"Excuse me? More? You don’t even know what I can do." Odette snapped back.

"And neither do you, darling. Now be quiet I’m trying to focus." She still didn’t look up, she kept her eyes focused on the alter and what powders she was mixing and herbs she was grinding.

"Finished." She said. "Now, let’s build a fire."