364 Exchange (1/2)

They walked further into the pathway and eventually, it opened into a large, open space. She could see a throne sitting in the middle of the area. It was made of light blue crystal. Its back was carved into the shape of a tree and its armrests and legs looked to be in the shape of branches and roots. It looked so beautiful, so magical.

But something felt off.

It seemed like they were the only ones around. She couldn't hear any other heartbeats inside the cave and as she looked around, she didn't know why but she felt a little bit lonely. As beautiful as this place looked initially, she saw many small things to indicate that this place hadn't been used by many people or witches. Was this place abandoned or was the queen the only one living here?

”Y-you're the queen of the witches, right?” Abi asked.

The woman halted and she turned to face her.

”I am not,” she replied, causing Abi to look at her, eyes wide. ”I am the next queen in line.”

This revelation made Abi speechless. She wasn't the queen? Then, where was the queen? Who was the queen?

The silver-haired witch seemed to have read what she was thinking. ”Our queen…” she started, glancing up at the majestic empty throne with sad eyes. ”She disappeared three months ago and we don't know where she is even now.”

Abi creased her brows. Three months. That timeline was very suspicious. That was about the same time Alex disappeared. Could there be a connection?

”She disappeared the same night when the king of vampires was stabbed by you,” the silver-haired witch continued.

What the woman said made Abi's heart thud against her ribcage. It brought back the memories of that night, memories that her mind had tried so hard to forget. The memories of that single moment still affected her as if it just happened yesterday. It was the most traumatic time of her life.

”But we know she's still alive,” she added and Abi finally found her voice.

”How do you know that?” Abi asked, curious. If they didn't know where the queen was, how could they possibly know she was still alive?

”When the current queen dies, her powers will instantly be transferred to the next queen. This hasn't happened yet. I don't have her full powers so that's how I know she is still alive. Although, I do feel that there is something not quite right happening with her. I have received more than half of her strength in the last three months. It seems she is slowly dying. The queen isn't old enough to die through the natural aging process. I believe she was captured.”

”You think the vampires captured her?” Abi's gaze turned serious. Did this woman trick her into coming to use her as ransom for their queen?