A L M I R A

Chapter 25
Almira Davenport

I sat beside Calix in the meeting room, waiting for everybody else to come. "So let me get this straight, you have a list of things to discuss?"

"Yeah, and we go in order. If you have any questions or concerns, you bring them up immediately so nothing goes unnoticed," Calix answered, looking at the notes he wrote.

"So are we gonna talk about my blood and the attacks?" I asked, glancing at him.

"It's on the list of topics, yes. Why?"

"I was just wondering," I mumbled.

Ambrielle and Alexander walked into the room along with a girl I didn't recognize and a man I didn't recognize. Everybody sat down. Ambrielle smiled at me and I smiled back, a little nervous. However, there was an empty seat beside Ambrielle.

The room fell quiet before Calix cleared his throat. "Good morning, everybody. Thank you for coming. We have many things to dis— Where is Cole?"

So that's who the empty seat belonged to: Cole.

Ambrielle spoke up. "I've not seen him since he walked off with Lauren, your majesty."

"Right, speaking of Lauren, we'll talk about her first. While Lady Almira and her designated guards were out in the town, Alastor invaded the castle. He left behind a weakened and abused girl, who we've come to the realization is named Lauren Davenport, Lady Almira's sister," Calix said, looking around the room.

Alexander would occasionally glance at me and Ambrielle would slyly tap his hand. "So what are you going to do with her, Calix?"

I turned my attention to Calix, awaiting his answer. Was he going to let her stay or let her go?

Calix glanced at me before sighing. "Almira, is she mated?"

I shook my head. "No, she's not found her mate. She's the same thing as me, a rare hybrid."

Calix stiffened. "Same hybrid?"

I nodded.

"Lauren is allowed to stay as long as she doesn't cause trouble or get in the way of the war. If she so much as oversteps her boundaries, I'll rip her to shreds."

My jaw dropped. I didn't say anything against it in fear he would change his mind and let her go. I glared at him until Ambrielle cleared her throat. "Moving on?"

Calix modded, setting a couple papers aside. "Almira is the next topic, since we are on the broad spectrum of the Davenport bloodline."

"What about me?" I asked curiously.

"Your blood. Alastor has grown much stronger since he almost drank you dry. You and your sister are a rare hybrid. That being said, you cannot be harmed or even touched by Alastor," Calix declared, looking at me.

"Your blood can perform strong spells, right Almira?" the unfamiliar girl questioned, leaning on her hands.

"That's right..." I slowly responded, eying her.

"So hypothetically, if Alastor had containers for your blood, he could possibly wipe out the kingdom or even the world with magic. Strong magic." She continued. "Wouldn't that be a plus to you, Calix?"

Calix's brows furrowed, his head tilted. "What do
you mean, Gwendolyn?"

"What Gwen is saying, Your Majesty, would you not benefit from using her blood for strong spells?" The mysterious man spoke, glancing at Gwendolyn.

"I could, but I won't do that, Floyd."

"Why not? She could strengthen your armies, double the protection, seal a permanent barrier, perform a life-ending spell, hell, she could channel the God and Goddess's original spells with the right amount of blood," Floyd explained.

My blood ran cold. He wanted to practically drain me to benefit Calix.

"Do you know how much sacrifice and blood it takes to perform one spell written from the God and Goddess? A lot! It would kill her, Floyd!" Ambrielle defended, glaring.

"The whole war is over her, isn't it? Wouldn't killing her solve all your problems?" Gwendolyn persisted, siding with Floyd.

"You'd be best to mind your mouth. The war is over Alastor and Wryler's hatred for me and the past. Almira is simply the main target to kill," Calix snapped, glaring at the two.

The two bowed. "Sorry, Your Highness," They both mumbled.

"I think we should move on to the next topic," I nervously commented, glancing at everyone in the room. It was pretty awkward since it's a tug-of-war on whether I got to live or die.

Calix pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "We need strengths for the war. Any ideas?"

"Ambrielle and I could do a couple spells and pull a few things out of our sleeves. I can also teach Lauren a little bit of magic. Or at least enough to keep herself alive," I offered, smiling lightly.

Calix looked at me for a moment before nodding. "Magic sources, those will work. Anything else?"

Alexander glanced between me and Calix before shaking his head. I let out a breath of relief. I got worried he was going to tell Calix about drinking my blood.

"If that's it, we're dismissed. Almira, you're coming with me," Calix dismissed. He grabbed my hand and led me out of the room.

"Is everything okay?" I questioned, looking at him.

"How much magic do you know?" He asked, looking down at me.

"Quite a bit, I guess," I responded, giving him a weary eye.

"I found a couple of old spells, I wanted to see if you could try them," He began. "You don't have to do anything you don't want to, but it would benefit the kingdom a lot."

"I'll do it."

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely."

"Almira, they're not the easiest spells to learn," He noted.

"Okay, and? I learned a healing spell, which takes a lot of focus and energy, I think I'll be fine. Whether you ever accept me and take me to be your queen or not, I don't want innocent people to die simply because of a couple grudges and some unresolved issues from the past. If I can do magic to help them, I will, alright?" I explained, crossing my arms.

Calix looked down at me and softly smiled. "You're loyal and dedicated, it's a nice change of scenery for once."

Calix grabbed my hand and led me to his office. I stood in front of his desk while he stood behind it, digging for the right papers. He pulled out some old looking papers and I gasped, quickly grabbing g them and analyzing them. "Where did you get these from?"

I traced the paper lightly, as if it would shrivel and vanish in a matter of seconds with the wrong touch. The ink was faded and the paper had turned hard around the edges. "I found it in an old book. Are they of any use to the kingdom?"

"Are they?" I lightly laughed. "The spells are for protection, perfection, strength, courage, and this last one is one the God and Goddess made. It's a spell that sends judgement from them to your enemy."

"That would be perfect for Alastor," Calix mumbled. He looked at me and then the spell. "Can you perform any of these?"

"I can, all except for the last one. I don't want to tamper with dark magic. I stay in the pure area of the field," I answered, setting it down. "I could easily perform it, but the ancestors would be highly disappointed in me. Possibly even come after me and rip away my magic."

"Rip away your magic? How so?" Calix inquired, picking up and looking at one of the spells.

"Old witches that were extremely powerful are called ancestors. They're dead, we all die at some point. Just depends on whether they're killed or do it to themselves. Ancestors can rip away our magic if they think we've done something to mock or take part in dark magic."

"Dark magic? But wasn't that made by a witch too?" He continued to ask questions, setting the papers down.

I looked up at him and sighed. "Partly. The witch walked away from the covenant she was in; a pure one. She created spells to cause harm, to ruin lives and beautiful things. The others found out and called it dark magic. The judgement spell was made by the God, the dark side of the two. Therefore I can't use it. Witches are divided. Ones who serve the God, and the ones, like me, who serve the Goddess. Spells created by the God and those who serve him are dark magic, spells created by the Goddess and those who serve her

"I see... So your type, the rare hybrids, can you be created or turned?" Calix wondered.

"The reason why witch-lycan hybrids are rare is because we cannot be created by transition. You bite a witch, she loses her magic. Wolves and vampires are dark, witches practice pure. Bite a witch and she loses her magic and turns, but if they're born, they have a leverage over other witches. We can practice small spells of dark magic if it's our last resort. That's how I was able to go to Hell."

Calix didn't say anything. He looked at me for a second before walking around the table. He stopped in front of me and sighed. "So you and your sister can't be killed unless magic or someone else murders you. Your breed can't be created, just born. You hybrids have a natural source of darkness so you can use so much of dark magic. Am I missing anything here?"

I looked at him and shook my head. "No, I don't think so."

"But if you have dark and light magic abilities in you, why can't you practice both? Why can't you do that spell?" Calix raved, looking at me with stormy eyes. What has gotten into him?

"Witches choose who to serve under. They either serve completely under the pure magic or completely under the dark magic. There is no in between unless excused or blessed by the God or Goddess themselves. Might I remind you, the last witch to even see or speak to our creators has been dead for 500 years. There's not even the slightest chance I could be as luck as she was," I revolted, my breath uneven. What would it take for him to understand that?

I looked at Calix, awaiting his response. The slightest reaction would be very appreciated right now. But he just looked at me with stormy, furious eyes. "I see."

"Look, Calix, if I could perform that spell, I would. But I swore my loyalty to the pure side. If I tamper with dark magic, I'll die," I reasoned, looking at him with pleading eyes. "Please don't be angry with me for something that's out of my control."

Calix looked down at me and sighed, putting his hand on my shoulder. "I'm not angry with you, I'm just in a tight position. You wouldn't understand." Calix turned his back on me and walked out of his office, stopping outside the door. "You should get something to eat, I'll see you tonight."

I sighed and sat down in one of the chairs, taking in everything. Life just became a lot more chaotic.

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