The Veil of Darkness
Chapter 268: The Dark Witches

Chapter 268: The Dark Witches

"Who?" Valerius was the one who asked but his curiosity was matched by Damien, Kenric, and Annalise as they all wanted to know who could help them in freeing the guarding beasts from the painful confinement of the bond and the darkness that was slowly destroying their lives.

"The witches." Midnight Queen answered.

"Witches?" Annalise asked in surprise as she couldn’t hold back herself. As far as she recalled, the witches were living inside the magical sphere of the castle.

"Hmm. They are the dark practitioners who have been living in the farthest southern part of our realm for centuries. Though we don’t have much friendship with them, I’m sure you can succeed in getting their help if you find out a good enough way." The Queen’s last words were directed at Valerisu as undoubtedly, he was the best one among them all to handle such an issue.

Now, that made sense. The witches Midnight Queen was referring to here were the dark ones while those living inside the secret city of the castle were the light practitioners.

"Thank you, Mother. I will make sure to find a way to get their help." Valerius promised and the Queen nodded her head in acknowledgment.

"But let’s not be in too much hurry. We will leave tomorrow morning. You just completed your bond with our wife, you need to spend more time with her." Damien was quick to point out as he gave his brother a powerful look as if he was daring Valerius to go against him.

"Damien is right. While freeing those guarding beasts is important, you still can’t neglect your mate. Spending some more alone time with her to strengthen the bond is the least you can do after snatching the chance from her to enjoy the bonding ceremony." The Queen was also on the same page with Damien and from the constant nods from Kenric, it seemed like he too agreed with his mother and second brother.

Annalise was ready to side with Valerius and ask everyone to not worry too much about her as she was more than happy to set out to find the dark witches along with her mates but she never got the chance to do so because Valerius happily accepted his mother and brother’s advise.

"I know. I’m thinking about taking her out for a stroll through the city market and some nice places that I’m sure she will enjoy and I will love it if Damien and Kenric will join us." He looked at his brothers but realized that they were about to reject his offer, so he quickly added - "I can spend the rest of the day with her alone after returning to the palace. Let’s hang out together."

"Please...?" Annalise also added with puppy eyes as she looked at Damien and Kenric. She actually liked Valerius’ plan and she too would be happy to have all three of her husbands with her.

Eventually, the other two gave in to her and Valerius’ constant requests and agreed to tag along for the visit to the city.

The rest of the meal was filled with light talk about not all things and how life was at the dark castle. The Queen constantly showed warmth and love toward Annalise throughout the meal and by the time they all were done and ready to retire to their own quarters, Annalise had surely grown closer to the Queen.

"Enjoy the day. We will see each other again tomorrow morning before your departure." The Queen told them before she was the first one to leave.

After that, Annalise and her husbands also decided to rest for an hour or so before they would be heading out for the walk through the city.

"Where should we go? How about Kenric’s place? That’s the only one I haven’t seen at all." Annalise proposed as they step out of the main palace.

"Sounds like a good enough idea to me." Valerius responded and they all turned to look at Kenric.

"No."

"Huh?"

Kenric let out a sigh before he repeated - "I said no. You can’t come to my place."

Annalise shared a confused look with Valerius and Damien and found that those two were just as equily confused as she was.

"What are you talking about?" Damien asked his younger brother.

"Don’t give me that look, I’m not scared. I just want equality here." Kenric responded in determination as he folded his hands across his chest.

"Equality?" Annalise was even more confused now. She tried to recall if she had done anything to make him mad but no matter how hard she tried, she came up empty.

"You got to see their palaces after completing the bonding ceremony. How can you not give me the same choice?" Kenric finally spilled the beans.

Annalise let out the breath that she had been holding in and the first thing she did was to hit Kenric.

"What are you doing woman?" Kenric shouted in alarm as he tried to shield himself with his hands.

"Teaching you a lesson for being so dramatic. You could have said that simply instead of making me feel like I have done something something wrong." Annalise said as she continued to hit Kenric with her small hands knowing too well that she was hitting a stone wall with a paper.

Before she could realize what was happening, someone from behind took hold of her arms and locked her hands behind her before she was pulled against a hard chest. The next moment, she felt Damien’s warm breath fanning the exposed skin of her throat as he whispered close to her ear - "Enough, Princess."

And she stopped immediately, coming to a complete still and not daring to even breath loudly.

Her eyes followed the evil smirk that made its way to Kenric’s lips as he started walking toward her. Once he was close enough with barely any space left between them, he placed both his hands on Damien’s shoulders on either side of Annalise and brought his face closer.

His breath fanned her cheeks as he whispered - "My Little Bird can never disappoint me. So don’t worry about that."

Annalise slowly nodded her head but her action caused her lips to brush against his chin. The immediate sparks that erupted over her skin made her push her head backward but she was stopped when Kenric’s hand found the back of her head and he pulled her into a small kiss.

When he finally pulled away a few seconds later, Annalise was already feeling hot all over and also out of breath.

"Enough for now. How about we find a private place first?" Valerius spoke from somewhere nearby and all three of them finally separated.

"Looks like someone is jealous." Damien commented with a little chuckle and received a very unimpressed look from his brother.

"Then let’s go to the Shadow Palace since Autumn Palace isn’t an opportunity anymore. I can stay in Winter Palace after returning from the city." Annalise suggested and her husbands agreed eagerly.

* * *

"I don’t remember much of this place but it’s definitely beautiful." Annalise said as she took in the beauty of Shadow Palace as they walked through the long hallways and corridors.

"You find this place beautiful?" Damien asked and his tone sounded like he was surprised by her words.

"Why won’t I?" Annalise sounded even more surprised from his question than he was from her words. "Look at these obsidian walls with ancient designs. Every inch of this palace is filled with energy. The shadows here are soothing and welcoming. Besides, the contrast of colors against the dark ethics of this place is just beautiful."

Annalise realized that she could talk about the beauty of the Shadow Palace for hours and this realization made her chuckle.

The four of them made their way to Damien’s private quarters and Annalise found herself in a circular resting area with a floor to ceiling window out-looking at the beautiful gardens surrounding the palace.

She moved closer to the window to enjoy the outside scenery and felt someone following behind her. The very next moment, a strong pair of arms surrounded her as she was pulled into a back hug.

"You always smells so good." Valerius whispered as he nuzzles his face into the crook of her neck before taking a deep breath.

Annalise relaxed against Valerius as she closed her eyes and allowed herself to enjoy the company of her mates.

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