Protection from a caring parent

Magic could be considered an art, a science or even a practice founded on the absolute certainty of influencing facts and producing effects even if not natural.

Witches or sorcerers were masters in the art of witchcraft, their powers were linked to nature and linked to the five elements: fire, earth, water, air and spirit. They possessed an innate ability to invoke occult and natural forces. The use of natural forces, spells, incantations, as well as spiritual invocations produced impossible effects on objects or people.

Being a sorcerer was a genetic gift of heredity. Magic could be innate when a sorcerer resorted to it, and it was arguably the most convenient or quickest, though it caused pain or discomfort from overuse. That's why it was essential to learn to channel it. Channelling allowed a sorcerer to use the magic of an equal through an object or source of connection such as the bloodline.

But black magic had always been feared. Fueled by the powers of darkness and a sorcerer's negative emotions, it defied the authority of the nature spirits.

Its excessive use could bring various problems such as nosebleeds, headaches, fainting and in more serious cases death. The oldest legends said that the use of salt or steel could weaken their powers. So the wolves had created the tear powder for defence.

Cassie hadn't learned any of that in her few years aboard a ship. Her magic was innate as any child gifted with the skill that had not been instructed. The demonstrations were spontaneous. Excessive use of the Gift could lead to an instantaneous death of a sorcerer, just as a wolf's bite could extinguish one's powers. Fear was a cruel enemy. As well as empathy. Her extremely sensitive personality allowed him to capture emotions around him.

The first sensation she'd picked up on waking up in the castle had been desperate anxiety and sudden, intense fear. There were consequences of real danger. The ancients brought the dreaded tear powder. There was no need for words as she watched the stern faces before her.

Her spontaneous and unexpected reaction had been surprising. The magic had manifested as a self-defence mechanism to the elders' utter surprise. She was in that room in an instant. She would hear the proposal to receive money so that she would leave the castle for good... and the next...

A loud bang echoed again, only this time in the silence of the forest and it was followed by a flock of frightened birds. The afternoon showed a dark sky full of clouds and cut by thunder, followed by electrical discharges.

The guards that had once surrounded her were gone. She was alone and without any notion of where she was. It wasn't the castle. Memories slowly surfaced in her mind. That time the elders didn't just bring the tear powder It was something more...

There was still the image of monstrous figures and their prominent canines that moved with surprising agility before he had appeared. It was him.

Cassie had never been this close to him before, yet Richard Morgan filled his youthful dreams with impossible desires.

For years, the caves located near the mountains were also used as a refuge in winter times by the gipsies of the region.

There they kept stocks and provisions for the cold, stored food in preserves and bundles of firewood. Sheep farming also offered a lucrative trade in making blankets and warm fabrics for outerwear.

The rumours that circulated in the city about the forest were fueled by the ignorance of the population and the peasants. They believed they were lands haunted by sorcerers, dangerous animals and even robbers. The Gypsies had taken advantage of their fear to settle there safely for the hard times brought on by winter. There was an irrational fear of humans when talking about sorcerers and wizards.

The slightly sore shoulder, however, told her it was all very real. Had Morgan left his mark on her skin? God! The man was certainly arrogant and arrogant to have used her like that and then send his lackeys to offer money to leave the castle. This was her worst disappointment. Had allowed herself to be deluded into believing that he was a decent man.

Not even a concubine was treated so unseemly.

Kassandra...

Cassie cringed with a new shudder as he looked around. There was no one there! Since when had started hearing voices?

"The caves... There is protection in the caves..."

The caves?

Could safely stay there before winter came without worrying that the Gypsies would find her. He wasn't going to ask Madame Lili for help anyway. What a mess! Would have to arrange money somehow. Her thin dress didn't keep her warm from the cold. At least until Jackie got to Chabone.

She will have shelter in the caves from the cold. Soon... very soon I will find ...

-Who are you? Cassie shouted into the silence of the forest.

Sir!

looked at the diffused image amid the vegetation little by little disappearing...She didn't have any weapons. Who intended to find her? They were sorcerers!

They could only be sorcerers and the thought made her shiver. They were never tolerant of wolves. She was a sorceress who had grown up among wolves. Naturally, she would not be welcomed among them.

Her breath quickened in her chest as stood up straightening what was left of her beautiful dress. The night was starting to fall and it would bring low temperatures. She needed shelter and food. Maybe with luck, she'd get some ...

Very soon, child... Very soon, everything you know is about to change. Get ready...

She continues to breathe, fighting the fear. It was starting to get dark. If taken too long she wouldn't find the path to the caves. Startled, Cassie gripped the hem of her dress resolutely as she made her way through the vegetation. She wasn't going to cry or give in to crying at a time like that thinking about her most intimate dreams. She needed to focus.

Resigned, she started walking in the late afternoon that brought dark and heavy clouds.

Richard Morgan was like any wolf!

Wolves were unpredictable.

That was a lesson she didn't intend to forget anytime soon.

But she was wrong...

Guardians. Some guardians guided her path protected by the Coven Regent's spell.

Not even fanatics of the Black order would dare challenge the most powerful sorcerer of recent times.

-Have you decided?!

She looked in frustration at a table littered with dishes that needed to be taken out before the kitchen service was ready to get some rest.

-Choose what? she asked annoyed.- Again the same?

Katie, the old cook, sighed in the smoky room, frowning as she shook her head.

- Mercy, you fool! Mary is telling you to choose. Just pick a man from the salon. With your beauty and those eyes, pick any man there.

Cassie laughed at the idea, unable to grasp the absurdity.

-To choose? And what would I do? - she sighed. There was still little water to wash the dishes, which meant she would also have to fetch water from the well. And firewood... and lots of work.

Mary smiled teasingly as she approached.

--Now! I would do whatever wanted, of course. It would make your life a lot easier. It would be easier... Let me guess... A broken heart? Has a handsome, charming, gallant young man been taking advantage?

Cassie stifled an indignant groan. She had made it very clear to a monsieur that her job would be to wait tables and help with the tedious chores in the kitchen. She needed an urgent miracle. Where the hell was the Unicorn? She didn't and couldn't possibly talk about him. Shouldn't hurt Richard's betrayals, but they did. The serrated inside. And she was still forced to put up with Philip's unbearable presence.

-Thank you for your suggestion, but... It wasn't any gallant...

One of the girls who worked at the tavern looked at her with displeasure as she adjusted her low-cut dress.

-You fool! It's not advice! You will need to choose a man! And don't lie. I know those sad, dreamy eyes out there well. Have you been getting into trouble for a charming conqueror?

Another blonde girl who catered to the male clientele more intimately smiled as she laughed uproariously.

-He wasn't...- She fell silent, remembering her conversation with Philip. The urge to cry... She took a deep breath, swallowing her tears.

- It's getting difficult. You are teasing men and you choose none of them. This is cheating. Men are just like that, Cassie. He had fun and it was over. That's why we do it to them before they do it to us. Firm pulse and a closed heart. You won't be disappointed again. I'll take care of keeping that captain of the black Coral away from you. The foreman can help. We always have unhappy miserable account protectors like that.

Cassie stopped in astonishment. Involuntarily her hand went to her shoulder. The mark on her skin seemed to burn.

-What do you mean, Katie?

- Never trust a man too much. Even more so if he spends a lot of time with explanations and is always full of stories and excuses. They're the worst kind. A real man makes decisions and never hangs around. He can even probe the territory beforehand and find out where is stepping. But they know how to make decisions. And the others... God have mercy. They pass for true saints. They're terrible. treacherous. They just wait for the moment to pounce on their prey. They come across as friends and understandable. Then they want you to obey and do everything like a simple maid. And you don't even have to be in the tavern. They turn a woman into a true unwilling slave.