Serefina could feel Fabian's strong hand strangled her with all his might. The pit darkness in his eyes clouded not only his eyes, but also his sane.
In her surprised and her attempt to push him away, Serefina could feel her consciousness started to fade.
The two battles between she and the witches and also the wizard hunter took a toll on her and wore her off.
The magic in her hand also started to disappear, losing it power.
And with the last breath that Serefina had, she chanted some spell before she welcomed the darkness that approached her.
When Serefina was awake later on, the moon shone brightly above her as if the moon goddess herself who had stood guard for her.
A wry smile appeared on the corner of her lips with that silly thought. There was no way the moon goddess has time for her.
The last spell that she chanted that saved her from the dreadful result of Fabian's assault.
Serefina touched her sore neck and tried to stand up because she had wasted enough time to heal herself by lost her consciousness.
She looked around and she was indeed alone in the same spot where Fabian had strangled her. This was a good sign, because it meant the wizard hunter had long gone and the bad news was; Fabian must have followed them.
Serefina slapped her forehead when she realized why Brad took his people to retreat so easily. Because he knew Fabian would follow him.
There was no way a person like Brad would leave a bounty like Fabian, the pure blood witch, so easily. If he could, Brad would choose to lose all of his people that he had brought here rather than to lose Fabian.
There must be something to do with the water that they had forced Fabian to drink it before.
Serefina sighed.
She decided to go back to the inn and took Raine with her before she proceeded to track down where the wizard hunter had taken Fabian.
Raine must have been terrified by now to be left alone with the five witches inside their room.
When Serefina was about to return to the inn, all of sudden she saw a dark cloud hovered above the castle as it cascaded down and covered the entire castle before it faded away into thin air.
Serefina knew what it was and what it would bring.
She was torn apart between returned to the inn or went directly to the castle, after all both places have different way.
Gritting her teeth, Serefina chose to go back to the inn first.
Raine was more important, much more important than the prominent danger that hovered above the castle.
If something happened to Raine, it wasn't only she had to give up her life, but also she all of their mission, her mission, the reason she was still here, would be futile.
Thus, Serefina sprinted down the hill toward the direction of the inn.
Yet, the moment she arrived there, the commotion was still not yet dispersed. They were standing together in groups, in the lobby of the inn.
When Serefina was about to go to her bedroom, someone held her back.
"Young lady, young lady! Stop please!" A woman ran after her and called her to stop.
With irritated expression, Serefina stopped her step and turned her body. "Yes?" Her tone was higher than she intended to, but she didn't care about that now. "I am sorry ma'am, but…" She was about to say that she was in hurry and left the woman alone when the other woman cut her sentence.
"Are you looking for your little sister?" The woman asked. She was so young and her eyes bright beautifully, eager to help Serefina.
"Little sister?" Serefina frowned.
The young woman blinked her eyes, slightly confused with Serefina's reaction. "Oh, I thought you are looking for the little girl with purple cloak, isn't she your sister?"
Only then, Serefina realized that the young woman meant was Raine. Probably Raine had mentioned their relationship as sister.
"Right. Where is she?" Serefina asked impatiently. A bad thought crept in her head as she imagined the worse.
"She was very terrified about what was happening and thought that you had gone missing, so people from the castle brought her there." The woman informed her.
"She is in he castle?!" Serefina screamed out of frustration.
And her scream made the woman jumped in surprised as she stuttered to answer her. "Yes, she is in the castle now…"
"D*mn it!!!" Serefina cursed loudly and then stormed out of the inn, without even saying 'thank you' to the young woman to inform her.
Serefina didn't have to think about that, her mind was replaying the image of the dark cloud above the castle and what dredful things that would happen there.
And now, out of all the places, Raine was there!
Those Lycans wouldn't be so generous enough to protect her. If the worse thing happened there, Serefina doubted Raine could survive by her own.
She could feel the rush of her blood on her veins as her precious heartbeat thumped wildly in her ribcage.
Serefina couldn't teleport herself there, because she had not yet marked the area, she needed to be there and put her mark first before she could teleport herself.
All she could do now was forcing her feet to run as fast as they could.
The moment she arrived at the castle's gates, she could feel the thick atmosphere that filled with spells and charms.
This magic kept people, who already inside, stayed inside and prevented someone from the outside to come in.
It was almost like a lockdown. Moreover, the witches now apparently were on the wizard hunters' side.
For now, Serefina's power had depleted greatly after two battles and one more experienced to be in the embrace of the death. She had experienced it once, and now she had to feel it again, if it was going to be thrice, she didn't know if her luck would be enough to keep her alive.