Chapter Four
After leaving the palace, every step I took away from my town showed how deep my hatred for humans had become. I swore never to love or pity anyone again, because mercy had never saved me.
When I reached the jungle, fear was no longer my problem. I walked as if I were one of the family members among the wild beasts.
To my surprise, this time I did not lose my way, nor was I attacked by wild animals. I walked quietly, as if I was being guided by some invisible angels.
The next morning, I arrived at the witch covenant. My heart skipped a beat when I saw my godmother's unreadable expression.
Was she going to punish me for escaping?
No matter what punishment she gave me, I would rather endure it than live among the wicked creatures called human beings.
What if she made me their dinner tonight?
The thought made me tremble as I remembered the two strange men who had been slaughtered before my eyes.
My thoughts were interrupted when my godmother stood before me and gently patted my back.
"Do not worry, my princess," she said softly. "Everything will be fine. Those who hurt and humiliated you will taste the bitterness of their own medicine."
She then asked me if I had made up my mind about joining their covenant.
This time I did not wait for her to finish asking. I immediately told her that I was more than ready.
She laughed, as if she had already known my answer.
She hugged me and kissed my forehead before asking if I was ready to cut ties with humans and swear never to love again.
I nodded.
"Then I will fulfill your wish," she said. "But before that, I will give you two days to think carefully. After that, you will decide."
"For now, you will accompany us during our hunting and attend some of our ceremonies and rituals. I want you to witness everything a witch does with your own eyes. After that, you will tell me your final decision about becoming one of us."
I agreed.
From that day on, I witnessed horrors with my own eyes. I saw humans slaughtered like animals. During the ceremonies, the witches drank human blood and fed on human flesh as if it were a delicacy.
It was terrifying.
I was scared.
But whenever I remembered how humans had treated me, I forced myself to accept it.
During the rituals, every witch went through a terrifying and painful marking ceremony.
They were marked with a dagger pulled from the fire.
Each witch carried a wild animal mark on their shoulder.
I asked my godmother what the marks meant.
She explained that the mark revealed which pack you belonged to. If you had the mark of a tiger, lion, snake, or another animal, it meant you belonged to that family.
The system also helped prevent witches from marrying within the same family. For example, someone with a snake mark could not marry another witch with the same mark.
After two days, I made up my mind.
Even though everything in the covenant felt terrifying, I could not ignore the warmth and strange kindness the witches showed me.
I agreed to join them.
My godmother decided that the ritual would take place the following night.
The night of the ritual arrived beneath a moon as red as spilled blood.
The witches gathered in a wide circle deep inside the forest, their black cloaks swaying like restless shadows in the wind. Torches burned with green flames, casting unnatural light across the clearing. Strange symbols were carved into the earth, glowing faintly as if something beneath the ground was breathing.
I stood in the center of the circle.
Barefoot.
Alone.
The cold soil beneath my feet felt alive, as if the earth itself was waiting for my answer.
The witches began to chant.
Low voices. Ancient words older than the kingdom itself.
Their voices rose and fell like a dark tide. The sound crawled into my ears and wrapped around my heart.
My godmother stepped forward, holding a silver dagger.
Its blade glowed with a faint black mist.
"Tanya," she said slowly, her voice echoing unnaturally in the clearing. "Tonight you must abandon your past life. Once this ritual begins, the child who cried for mercy will die."
Her eyes burned into mine.
"In her place… a witch will rise."
The chanting grew louder.
Wind rushed through the forest, shaking the tall trees as if unseen spirits had awakened.
My godmother sliced the dagger across her palm. Dark blood dripped onto the symbols carved in the earth.
The ground trembled.
The torches flared violently, their flames twisting into shapes that looked like screaming faces.
"Tanya," she commanded. "Offer your blood."
My hands trembled.
Not from fear.
But from rage.
From the memories of hunger, beatings, and betrayal.
I took the dagger.
For a moment, I saw my reflection in the blade.
A broken child.
I dragged the dagger across my palm.
Blood spilled onto the ground.
The moment it touched the symbols, the earth screamed.
A deep roar burst from beneath the soil, and shadows exploded from the circle like living creatures. The wind howled violently, extinguishing half the torches.
Something cold wrapped around my legs.
Invisible hands.
Pulling.
Claiming.
My body lifted slightly from the ground as black mist poured from the symbols beneath me.
The witches' chanting turned wild and frantic.
Their voices echoed through the forest like a storm of ghosts.
Pain exploded through my chest.
My eyes burned.
When I opened them again, the world looked different.
Darker.
Sharper.
Alive.
Gasps rose from the witches.
"Tanya…" one of them whispered.
"The demons have answered her call."
I raised my hands slowly.
Black energy curled around my fingers like smoke.
Somewhere deep inside me, something ancient had awakened.
And it was smiling.
The chanting slowly faded.
One by one, the witches fell silent.
The wind died.
Only the sound of my breathing remained in the clearing.
My godmother stepped closer, her expression filled with both pride and unease. The other witches watched me carefully, as if they were no longer sure what stood before them.
"Tanya," my godmother said softly. "Tell us what you feel."
For a moment, I said nothing.
Then I lifted my head.
The world looked different now.
I could hear the heartbeat of every witch around me.
I could smell the iron scent of their blood.
I could feel the darkness moving beneath the soil like sleeping creatures waiting for my command.
A slow smile spread across my lips.
But it did not feel like my smile.
Something inside me laughed quietly.
When I spoke, my voice sounded deeper… almost like two voices speaking at once.
"I feel…" I whispered.
I raised my hand, and the torches around the circle suddenly burst into violent black flames.
Gasps filled the clearing.
"I feel alive."
The witches stepped back instinctively.
Even my godmother stared at me in silence.
Because in that moment they all realized something terrifying.
They had not simply created a new witch.
They had awakened something far more dangerous.
And none of them knew if they could control it.
The fire in the center of the ritual circle burned higher, its flames twisting unnaturally as if alive.
One of the elder witches stepped forward and pushed a long dagger deep into the fire.
The blade slowly turned red.
Then orange.
Then white-hot.
The witches began chanting again, their voices rising into the night like a storm calling something ancient from the darkness.
My godmother lifted the burning dagger from the flames.
The metal hissed as if it were alive.
"This mark will decide your bloodline in our covenant," she said. "Each witch belongs to a family. The animal that burns into your flesh will show where you belong."
I watched silently as the other new witches stepped forward one by one.
The blade touched their skin.
A scream tore through the forest.
When the smoke cleared, a dark mark appeared on their shoulders.
A snake.
A tiger.
A wolf.
Each animal marked the family they would serve forever.
Then my godmother turned to me.
The chanting stopped.
Even the wind seemed to hold its breath.
She pressed the burning dagger against my shoulder.
Pain exploded through my body like lightning tearing through my bones.
I bit my lip to stop myself from screaming.
The smell of burning flesh filled the air.
For a moment, the flames around us roared violently, as if the fire itself had recognized something inside me.
When the dagger finally lifted from my skin, thick smoke curled into the night.
My godmother stared at the mark in silence.
Then her eyes widened.
"A lion…" one of the witches whispered.
The symbol burned deep into my shoulder, glowing faintly beneath my skin.
The lion.
The mark of my godmother's bloodline.
But something about it was different.
The mark pulsed like a living creature.
And when the firelight touched it, the lion's eyes seemed to glow.
A low murmur spread among the witches.
Because they all knew one thing.
The lion was not only the mark of a family.
It was the mark of a ruler.
END OF CHAPTER FOUR