Bound in grey leather, cracked and dry with age, the thick book smelled faintly of dust. It took exactly two drops of Conrad's blood for the book to come alive.

The gilded star in the centre of the book started to glow; a bright aureate light spread across the room as the book started to rise. Stepping back, I raised my head to find the book twirling in the air. The intensity of light increased and the book fell open with an avalanche of pages, their snowy whiteness surrounded by a halo of bright light.

"Goddess of Shadows, I summon you to hear my plea,
At this right hour,
Fill the pages with thy power.
But let no dark eye see,
The secrets which stays hidden inside."

Conrad's voice boomed through the room. It didn't affect the book at all; the plain pages were still turning rapidly. Stepping closer to me, he extended his hand.

"I'll need your help," he said.

Without wasting a minute, I nodded and held his hand. My hands were getting clammy but he clutched them tighly. Conrad began chanting again, my heartbeart raising along with his strong voice.

"Guardians of the elements,
Hear me and lend thy protection.
May these truths of Earth and skies,
Be shaded from prying eyes.
But to the witches whose path is laid in it,
May the map be clear to read.
And through all the coming ages,
May we find home in these pages.
This is our will and so it shall be!"

I looked at our hands in shock. Pulsing from our fingertips was a strange, bright light. I watched it flicker, changing colour from amber, to ruby, then back to gold. I held Conrad's hand firmly, my nails digging into his palm. My attention was snatched back by the book when I heard a gasp echoing through the room. The book had stopped rotating as a flurry of black ink was tumbling down the crisp white pages.

"Words are appearing!" Nick exclaimed, jumping up and down.

I was still mesmerized by the book as it slowly started to descend, resting peacefully on the table.

"You can see?"

Conrad's voice broke me out of my trance. He was frowning at Nick, who was lazily smirking back at him.

"Yes, I can," Nicolai said, still smirking.

Conrad's furrow deepened as he turned towards Selene.

"I asked the Goddess to only let the witches see this," he said.

I sighed frustratingly, pinching the bridge of my nose. Now, I understood why Nick looked like he had just won a war.

"He is a witch, Alpha," Selene replied and quickly rushed towards the book.

Conrad turned towards me, a puzzled expression on his face.

"He's a hybrid," I informed him, "Nicolai Xanthus is the offspring of one of the most powerful ice witch, Conrad. He has both the powers, just like you."

He stared at me as if I'd just produced a magical unicorn. The expression on his face closely resembled a pop-eyed toy. I could imagine the sparks in his brain, desperately trying to connect the dots.

"Princess! Have a look at this!"

Selene's excited voice grabbed my attention. She was pointing frantically  towards the book, with Nick sitting comfortably on the table. His eyes widened as he picked up the book and placed it his lap. Sighing, I went close to him.

"Nick! Let me see!"

He jumped slightly. Quickly, placing the book at the table, he pointed at the second paragraph.

Onyx, the birthstone for Leos, is said to be originated from the nail of the Goddess of love, Venus. The myth says that the Goddess was resting on the banks of Indus river, when the Cupid used the point of one of his enchanted arrows to cut and shape her nails.
The pieces of her nail fell into the sacred river, gaving birth to the Onyx stone.

A powerful protection stone, black Onyx absorbs the negative energy around a person. If someone is covering his negative aura using dark shadow magic, the Onyx, paired with the magic of a healer, will absorb the dark magic, revealing his true form.

"Selene, you have this stone!" I exclaimed.

"And you are a healer!" Nick added, looking at her with wide eyes.

Selene smiled gently and nodded. She looked behind us, her smile faltering. I followed her eyes, stopping at Conrad, who was staring at Selene with a frown on his face.

"Do you know how to use it?" he asked.

"Yes, Alpha, I have learnt about stone magic," Selene assured him.

Nick and I looked at each other. He seemed as confused as I felt. Conrad's questions weren't making any sense to me.

"If you knew about it, then why did you make me open this book?" he asked, gritting his teeth in silent fury.

"You're misunderstanding me, Alpha King," Selene said, looking directly in Conrad's eyes.

I smiled at her strength, feeling proud of my friend. She was gentle and polite but her politeness wasn't her weakness. Even when Conrad was glaring at her, she stood straight with her head held high, looking directly into the eyes of the Alpha King.

"I know how to use the stones," she continued, "Stone magic teaches you to extract the powers of every stone but the purpose of each stone isn't known to everyone. As a half witch, I expected you to be aware of this information."

Soon, Conrad realized his mistake. He cleared his throat, faint red tints appearing on his cheeks. I grinned at the sight of his ashamed expression.

"I am sorry, Selene," Conrad said, staring at the dirty ground.

"Apology accepted," she replied, "now, I want you to call your high ranking wolves to the library."

Conrad nodded swifly, eyes glazing while Selene took out a black stone attached to her silver chain. She closed her eyes. Keeping the stone close to her heart, she began to silently chant something.

"Daniel and Agnor are waiting in the library," Conrad informed.

Selene nodded and quickly went out of the room with Conrad.

"Let's go! I don't want to miss anything," Nick said, running behind them. I swiftly followed him to library. But we were already late.

As soon as I left the room, a dark aura hit me, making me cringe. A loud growl reverberated through the room and I looked at Conrad. He was holding a man's arm, who had a the Dark Witchling emblem glinting on his skin.

My magic simmered and shock ran through my body when I saw his face.
He screamed out in agony when Conrad started to break his finger, one by one.

I smiled as he screamed. He deserved to be in pain. I walked closer to him, looking into his eyes. The eyes that were once filled with admiration and respect were now replaced with bitterness and hate.

I looked at Nick, our eyes meeting in a silent promise. We would make him pay.

Agnor or Daniel, who is he? 🤔

Thank you for reading!