Stolen by the Beastly Lycan King-Chapter 86: The Witch

Witchcraft and sorcery—two terms whose distinctions had been blurred and blended long ago.

Sorcery was considered a more sophisticated practice, associated with white magic and the pursuit of light. Witchcraft, by contrast, was rooted in black magic and the casting of curses.

Sorcery was officially taught, revered, and protected by the Holy Temple, while witchcraft remained a hereditary skill, safeguarded by the secretive members of covens and often hidden from the outside world.

Over time, however, magic itself began to fade. Genuine sorcerers became increasingly rare, with fewer and fewer born into each successive generation. Yet, intriguingly, the number of witches did not diminish.

It was during this decline that the distinction between sorcery and witchcraft began to erode. Desperation led to compromise. The Temple needed magic to maintain its influence, while royalty needed magic to ensure their protection. Ultimately, neither cared much about the source of that magic.

As a result, witches began to roam the continent openly, offering their skills to those wealthy enough to afford them—or, on rare occasions, to those who simply needed them, free of charge.

Their offerings included casting powerful spells and curses.

Yet, tragically, few understood a critical truth: only the witch who cast a curse held the power to break it.

***

"It paints an interesting picture," Rhaegar said thoughtfully, leading Alim away from the sunlight into the comfort of a long, cooling shade. "The ghouls were exterminated alongside the vampires long ago. If Althea is the original ghoul, it means she is also half a witch. That, of course, makes things a lot more complicated."

Alim gave a short nod, his brows knitting together in concern.

"As a ghoul, she can disguise her scent by consuming human blood or flesh. I suppose that explains why King Yanis suddenly fell ill the moment she arrived at the palace. It also explains how she managed to ensure her son, the crown prince, inherited the king’s green eyes—convincing the Temple that he was indeed of royal blood."

"Exactly," the lycan king replied, his tone cold and grim. "The chain reaction began with the king. After so many years of draining his blood... it is no wonder he is now on the brink of death. Lorelai has it too."

"Has it too? What does she have?"

"The scars. Althea must have been draining Lorelai’s blood too, especially after the king’s blood was no longer enough for both of them. And the former queen... I’d wager Althea consumed her flesh to preserve the color of her eyes. The former queen had brown eyes as well."

"Still..." Alim’s brows furrowed as he tried to piece everything together. "Even if she managed to survive the ghoul extermination, how is the crown prince a ghoul too? Ghouls cannot give birth to children. That means she must have found him and fed him a ghoul’s heart to transform him into one of her kind. But whose heart did she feed him?"

Rhaegar sighed heavily, shaking his head.

"I don’t have that answer yet," he admitted bitterly. "We will need to uncover more about the queen. Ghoul or not, she is wielding a dangerously high level of power. I might have turned a blind eye if her goal was merely revenge against those who obliterated her clan, but now that we have confirmed she stole the gold... I have a feeling her ambitions stretch far beyond mere vengeance."

"Ugh," Alim muttered, frowning deeply as he clenched his fists, as though bracing for a fight. "Ever since we set foot in this kingdom, it’s been one disaster after another. I can’t wait to leave this hellhole. Humans are supposed to be the more sophisticated ones, but I guess we, the animals, are now the sanest creatures on this forsaken continent."

He glanced at Rhaegar with a hopeful look, expecting the king to lighten up a little at his attempt at humor. But the king remained silent and serious, clearly bothered by the fact that there was some truth to Alim’s words.

"The most sane ones..." Rhaegar repeated his aide’s remark in a thoughtful tone. He began pacing slowly back and forth beneath the large oak tree that cast a shadow over them. "You might be onto something, Alim."

"Pardon? Me?" Alim blinked, genuinely confused by the king’s cryptic response. Still, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of satisfaction that his silly joke had struck some sort of chord with Rhaegar.

"I knew it was strange that Lorelai didn’t remember me," Rhaegar continued, halting his movement. "We were old enough back then, and the memory we shared was too strong to be erased from someone’s mind so easily. Lorelai... and perhaps most of the others too... must be under a spell."

"A spell? What kind of spell could that even be? The sheer amount of power the queen would have had to use to—"

"The blood," Rhaegar interrupted. "Apart from the royal blood, we have no idea whose blood and flesh she’s been consuming all these years. And the Gypsy girls... I suspect she knows about it too. She knows the legend and is searching for the offspring of the Gypsy witch—the one who can resist all forms of witchcraft."

"But that ’offspring’..." Alim hesitated, his words cut short as he met Rhaegar’s glare, which was sharp and full of warning.

"Regardless of her power, she is still afraid. She is terrified that Tanya’s offspring could crush all her plans and kill her. That’s why she wants to kill them first."

"Well, good luck with––" Alim’s sentence was abruptly cut off as the king’s large, heavy hand landed firmly on his shoulder.

"Send someone to fetch Naveen. She must be here as soon as possible."

"What?" The king’s aide nearly shouted in bewilderment. "Rhaegar, it will take too long for her to arrive! And more importantly, the queen will sense her immediately! Do you even realize the consequences of bringing our own witch into this kingdom? The moment they find out, it will be disastrous!"

"It has to be done immediately," Rhaegar’s eyes narrowed, the amber glow in them intensifying. "If I have to leave her here, I need to ensure she will be safe."