CHAPTER 513: THE GRAND VILLAINESS

The sorcerers it was an organisation of dark magic practitioners who didn’t have an official name. An anonymous association who were the core villain of the novel Priestess and Dragons written by Hazel Walters.

Although the main book revolved around the Von Drakkar family politics the existence of the group shaped the events for everything.

In the original plot, Callista was the one who uncovered the mystery with the help of Lucian and Cedric, making her the heroine of this world.

Callista found out the Dark sorcerers were an ancient group who had been operating in the shadows, their goal was simple: to take down the royal family and rewrite Draconia’s history.

Lives were lost in these plots, slaughtered, assassinated, poisoned and plagued. They were behind several events.

The winter hunt

The crop poisoning

The plague which ravaged during the last winter

The perfectly coordinated attack during the spring festival

And other minor events.

The question lies, is this still the world Hazel envisioned ???

Who was behind it all? They need a sponsor and a true goal to drive them.

"Come on, will I blackmail you over the death of a consort? If that was my intention I would have used the fact you are the head sorceress." Eleanor’s face went pale. How did Callista know?

"The entire sorcerer’s facade of poisoning crops, the plague is all your doing to force Kaiden to step down, but that wasn’t enough..."

Callista’s soft voice chimed, Eleanor stood struck. It was a grave accusation. One, her position can’t save her if the people found out about it.

Her fingers curled up, and her face went red as she flared up. " How dare you accuse me of something like that? " Eleanor said through her gritted teeth.

She seemed pretty mad. Callista arched her brow at the fluming queen. She looked rather comical. Still, Callista remained calm with a smile.

Eleanor’s chest heaved; her fingers were pointing at Callista. "You can lose your head for such a careless accusation. Why would I be associated with such an evil group?" She huffed. Her chest was rising and falling.

Callista giggled, completely amused. "You tell me. Why did you do it?" Callista threw back the question. "You don’t have to be shy. It’s just us. I got rid of the guards."

Eleanor was puzzled as to why Callista was adamant about her involvement. "You are mistaken. I have nothing to do with the sorcerers or Head sorceress, as you say." She scoffed.

"I haven’t practised magic in years, and besides, my speciality is healing magic." Eleanor defended herself, she reined back her anger and started to approach the matter from a logical point of view.

Soft footsteps followed the priestess, and her feet moved to the window. The snow was pretty brutal tonight.

Her mind drifted off, It has already been a year since she stepped foot into this palace. The winter prayers were close. It would be held alongside the funeral

"You can’t differentiate and identify poison. That’s why you have a food tester, but you can recognise someone suffering the effects of poison. Am I right, your majesty?" Callista asked. Eleanor was puzzled about where she was going with these accusations.

She didn’t reply and let the priest rant away. "Kaiden was suffering from long-term poisoning. You knew all along, didn’t you but went ahead to accuse Abrielle." Callista’s heavy words fell on Eleanor’s shoulders.

"The king wasn’t poisoned," Eleanor argued. "He was murdered by Cedric and his wife."

Callista glanced at Eleanor. "Are you going to argue it to the end?" Her brow was arched at the queen.

"Let me jog your memory then." Callista’s voice came from behind Eleanor. The priestess suddenly appeared behind her leaving the window.

"You remember the servant Sarah you sent to poison Kaiden slowly, the same one you sent after Abrielle to kill her and even summoned the khaos during their honeymoon... Your favourite pawn, the little girl you used to run your sorcerers." Callista mentioned.

Eleanor’s face went pale, and her head snapped to Callista. Callista laughed. The queen’s facade was falling slowly.

"Do you also know your favourite sorceress, Sarah, died over a year ago, yet you have been giving her instructions and she fulfilled everything?" The more questions Callista asked the more puzzled Eleanor became.

"What you speak of are all lies. Kaiden didn’t die of poisoning." Eleanor was still trying to defend herself. But her face betrayed her.

"We can always run an autopsy on the late king, but you forbade the physicians from touching his body because this was all a grand scheme by you."

"You wanted to get rid of the man you always loved but never cared about you. First, you tried using the sorcerers, but changed your tactics when I started to close in during my investigation to poison Kaiden and frame the death on Cedric. Killing two birds with one stone "

It was that simple. The grand villainess was Eleanor all along. The queen who wanted to secure the crown by all means. The one who wanted to get rid of the man who never appreciated her.

The story fitted so perfectly. Eleanor burst into a laugh. Her eyes sparkled. "Those are all accusations with no proof. I will have you locked up for treason to lay such a grand accusation on the queen." Eleanor’s voice was heavy with authority.

"You forgot I was the one heading the sorcerer’s investigation. The same sorcerers who went quiet after Kaiden’s death..."

Callista’s speculation was clear. Eleanor’s intentions matched everything perfectly. The sorcerers were a means to force Kaiden off the throne and put Lucian on. The just crown prince whom she could easily manipulate

But she had to be careful when the same Lucian she was trying to protect was catching up on her plans. With his intellect and Callista’s bravery, they were very close to discovering everything. So she went for a direct approach to kill Kaiden.

Suspiciously, the group which terrorised Draconia suddenly became quiet...the reason was simple, the one who pulled the strings didn’t need them again.

.

"The sorcerers haven’t acted in months after Kaiden’s death, like they disappeared," Callista stated. She spoke confidently, certain of every word.

"That’s because you don’t need them again...." She paused. Then muttered in incantation. Runes formed under her feet. Slowly Callista’s appearance morphed

.

Eleanor’s heartbeat dropped to her stomach. Then she realised. She could not deny it anymore....