The Crown's Obsession (WN)
chapter-403

Madeline stared at Lilith who looked like she was losing her mind/ Calhoun who stood in front of the former demoness, he had a broad, malicious smile on his lips. "Demoting directly to a mere human must suck, isn't it, dear Lilith? But don't worry, for old time's sake, I will make sure you fly."

Lilith tried to escape away from Calhoun, but he blocked her way, "Y-you cannot do this to me," she whispered, "I have always helped you."

"Everything is in the past, and you have been foolish enough to go against me. Did you forget whom Madeline belongs to? You have some nerve, trying to harm my wife," Calhoun caught hold of the woman's collar of her dress.

The former demoness tried to negotiate her life, pleading, "I will tell you everything that you need to know about the people who want the girl. You need me right now to keep her alive!"

Not paying any attention to what she said, Calhoun said, "I wonder if a mere human can survive such a height, but then you can fly. Don't worry, if you can't fly well, I will bring you back up here again, and we can try it all day long."

Lilith shook her head, fright filling in her eyes, "Pl-please...NO! NO-AHH!" she screamed when Calhoun pushed her from above to have her be greeted by gravity until her head touched a statute that was below, breaking her head and neck before she fell flat on the ground unmoving with her eyes opened. Blood started to spread on the snow around her.

Calhoun heard the smack sound of Lilith, and he turned to look at Madeline, taking a step forward, and she shook her head, "Don't," she whispered. Not liking the sudden rejection, his eyes narrowed. "Don't touch me, Cal."

"What's going on?"

"My hands," she whispered, and she raised her hand towards the wall that continued to stay strong, and on her movement, the wall cracked under pressure, "I will hurt you." She didn't want to blow Calhoun the way the other demon��s face had disappeared with nothing but blood.

Calhoun's eyes softened at her words, "You need to learn to control it. Shake the hands like you are getting rid of something," he suggested, taking a step towards her while Madeline looked at him skeptically. When she took his advice and waved her hands, the wall broke down before cracking further and flying in all direction. Before the stones could come to hit her, Calhoun appeared in front of her with his wings spread out to protect her.

Madeline's eyebrows had drawn closer in worry, and she stared into his eyes. "Bring your hand forward," he said. She apprehensively raised both her hands in front of him while also taking a step back. "It's going to be okay," he assured her, bringing his hand to hover above her hand.

"What are you doing?" she asked tensely.

Calhoun looked down at their hands, "Feeling how strong you are. I can feel the resistance when I try to get my hands closer to yours. Take a deep breath, my rose. You are too tense, breath and let go. I am here now," he guided her in a calm voice.

Madeline's lips trembled when his hands moved a little more closer to her open palms. Though Calhoun was stronger than the demon who was lying on the ground, she didn't want to see him spew blood out of his mouth.

"You are not concentrating, Madeline," he said, lifting his gaze see her.

Calming her nerves, she took a deep breath and at the same moment, he caught her hand, their palms touching each other. Madeline's eyes that had widened looked at him, and she saw him smile, "See. All gone." He was right. Her hands didn't feel the way they were feeling a few seconds.

Remembering Beth and Raphael, who were waiting outside the church, she quickly inquired, "What's happening outside?"

Calhoun had a grim expression, and he said, "Werewolves and demons have attacked the village."

Both Calhoun and Madeline went down the building they were to be greeted with the sight of men and women, including children who were injured and being tended by others. Four werewolves were caught and put inside the cage, while the other beasts had escaped from the village of Cossington before they could be captured.

By seeing the amount of injured people and houses destroyed, Madeline's eyes frantically searched for Beth before she caught sight of her sister who was sitting on the ground with Raphael standing next to her. She saw one of the village women tending Beth, who just finished wrapping a cloth around Beth's leg.

She ran to where Beth was, and noticed her sister's dress had turned partly red on the skirt. Madeline asked, "What happened? Did you get hurt?" she asked, worried before sitting down to console her sister who had tears streaming down from her eyes.

Raphael was the one to answer, "A werewolf has bitten Lady Elizabeth."

"What?" whispered Madeline in disbelief. Beth hiccuped looking at her.

"Maddie, I don't want to be a furry animal! I d-don't want to turn into a werewolf!" sobbed Beth, and more tearss slipped past her eyes.

"Oh, trust me, milady. The last thing we need is another furry animal apart from my wolves." Calhoun's words had made Madeline send out a small glare for being insensitive about Beth's situation. His lips twisted almost to a smile before he said, "We'll try to prevent it from happening. Depending on how fast you heal, we will find out how fast you might turn into a werewolf. It will give us enough time to think about what to do."

When the wind blew in Calhoun's direction, he looked in the direction where the wind had blown from, his eyes narrowed and his lips set itself in a thin line.

The scent in the air was something he hadn't smelt in a long time. As if the air carried the remembrance of his late mother and he couldn't help but question why the smell was here.