Talia walked through the garden and observed the colors changing as dawn cracked.
Just as Talia feared, sleep didn't come to her. Whenever she closed her eyes, mental images of Damon and Marcy plagued her mind, so she gave up on sleeping and decided to take a walk.
She sat at the edge of a circular basin of a fountain and looked at the still water. In the middle was a sculpture of a woman and a wolf. The wolf was on his hind legs, two creatures leaning on each other while reaching up for something in the sky, and Talia guessed that from there water would flow if the fountain was working.
Talia dipped her fingers in the chilly water and tried to think how much time passed for Damon.
Since Damon passed through the portal, one day for Talia should be about one hour for Damon.
Axel predicted that Damon would need at least one day to reach the Dark Howlers pack, but Talia knew that Damon would reach there in less. He was the fastest and the strongest guy she knew and in his wolf form, he was like a flash. Talia remembered her vision just before she passed out while opening the portal. Damon didn't wander. He was moving in one direction, with purpose. He knew where he was going, straight toward the territory of the Dark Howlers pack.
Talia's heart tightened at the memory when she saw him the last time, in the cave.
She knew that Damon was not himself when he pushed her away, but it still hurt.
Liseli told her not to worry about it because Damon didn't remember her and she shouldn't blame him. But Talia remembered clearly all the gentle words and caresses and promises, and then it was all gone as he pushed her away with disgust like she has some disease.
It made her wonder if he even liked her or if it was just the bond. Talia snorted. How is she supposed to believe in a relationship that was relying only on a bond that was put there by the Moon Goddess?
'Don't go there', Liseli said. 'Sure, the bond was the reason why it started, but then Damon got to know you and he saw that you are kind and generous and fierce and...'
'And he forgot about it, so why does it matter?', Talia interrupted Liseli.
'It matters. Didn't you think of him as a scary brute at first? If someone erased the memories of your time at the Dark Howlers pack, you would be glad that he left.'
Well, Talia agreed with that. But, was she supposed to forgive him for the harsh treatment because he didn't remember her? And what if he ends up cozying up with Marcy? Should Talia overlook that as well? Her insides churned at that thought.
"Can't sleep?"
Talia turned to see Evanora approaching her.
It was obvious that she couldn't sleep, but Talia didn't want to share her thoughts.
"When will the potion and the spell be ready?", Talia asked.
"By lunchtime, it should be ready, but I recommend that you give us time to test the effectiveness before you leave."
Talia was surprised by this. "Test it? Like… on a person?"
"Mhm…", Evanora hummed and stood by Talia while looking at the unmoving statue of the woman and the wolf.
"You have a person willing to get under the effect of black runes in order to test dispelling it?"
Evanora cocked an eyebrow. "We have a person who made a deal to be helpful."
Talia's stomach tightened when she realized that Evanora was talking about Cassandra.
"How do your deals work?"
"Our magic bounds us to stick to the agreement."
"How?"
"Cassandra won't be able to leave this place until conditions are met."
Talia was alarmed. She didn't care about Cassandra, but what about Axel? The deal was a mate for a mate. Were they planning to keep Axel here until he finds his mate? And then what? And what if Yasmin was not his mate?
"How would that impact Axel?", Talia asked, and Evanora's expression tightened.
"If I knew this would happen, I would make a deal with you."
"Me? Why me?"
Evanora shook her head, refusing to answer. "Don't worry about your brother, Talia. He is the soulmate of my daughter. I would never harm her."
'Holy-moly!', Liseli exclaimed in Talia's head. 'I think they wanted to keep Axel here as a breeding stud.'
'As a what!?'
'Didn't you notice they are lacking males?', Liseli asked. 'But now that Yasmin's future is tied to Axel's, Evanora won't force Axel into fornicating with other witches.'
'Axel would never get intimate with a woman who is not his mate because that would be giving up on his powers.'
'Evanora doesn't know that.', Liseli said.
Talia's expression tightened. 'But what if she does know?' Another level of panic swelled in Talia. 'How would that work if I made the deal? Would they take my mate away?'
Liseli growled. 'He wouldn't touch another woman. Not with the bond, but...'
'But?'
'If the breeding is for creating offspring, they could drug him or cast a spell to think it was you. Or they could collect samples without the act of coupling.'
Talia's insides churned. Was she close to putting Damon in another hell because she was reckless?
'Don't worry about things that didn't happen.', Liseli said. 'Things worked out. Selena is watching over us, Talia.'
Talia cringed. If the Moon Goddess was watching, they wouldn't end up in this mess.
"Is something wrong?", Evanora noticed changes in Talia's expression.
Talia scrambled her brain for a way to answer this without exposing her conversation with Liseli. "I was just thinking about Cassandra. Will she be OK during the test?"
"You are worried about her?", Evanora asked with amusement in her voice. "That woman cursed your mate. He is in a bad condition, and you are probably wondering if that's because you interrupted the spell before it was over. If you didn't intervene, he would be in a much worse state. Maybe dead. Shouldn't you be angry at Cassandra? Eager for revenge?"
Talia shook her head. "That won't get my mate back."
"You are letting her go unpunished?"
Talia took a moment to think about it. Cassandra did wrong, but Talia was so busy with getting Damon back that she didn't think about punishing the Oracle. But then, if not for Cassandra, they wouldn't know about runes and witches, and they would definitely not be here.
The last few days felt like a painful eternity, but there was something good in it, like Axel finding his mate, and that wouldn't happen if Cassandra didn't cooperate.
"I believe that everyone should get a chance for redemption.", Talia said. "What Cassandra did was wrong, but she followed orders. And after that, she was helpful. I won't punish her for what happened. I believe that the Moon Goddess is watching, and Cassandra will get what she deserved. It's not on me to judge her."
