CHAPTER 156: RETURN

"What happened then?" Zen asked instinctively, leaning forward before he could stop himself.

The Grand Witch only smiled faintly, her eyes glinting with quiet amusement as she gave him a long, knowing look.

It took him a second to realize his mistake- that he had spoken out loud when he had already promised not to interrupt. And he had asked a question, at that.

He grimaced and leaned back again, not even trying to speak or say anything.

There was no point in arguing with her, and besides, he had already broken the one rule she had made very clear.

So, he simply waited for her to continue after this pause. But she didn’t.

Instead, the Grand Witch shifted in her seat, pushed aside the bowl of soup that had long gone cold and when she finally looked up, her expression carried a quiet weariness as she said, "I am too tired for today. Its been too long since I have hosted any guests. Forgive me, Prince Zen, I will take my leave for the night. Perhaps we will continue this story tomorrow... if time permits."

Zen’s brows furrowed slightl. ’Dam* it! She was leaving him hanging!’, but he didn’t argue. He had the feeling that even if he asked, she wouldn’t say more tonight. And might even not continue tomorrow.

The Grand Witch then turned her gaze toward Dorothy Green who had been sitting silently the entire time, her head bowed, body tense as if she wanted nothing more than to disappear into the shadows.

"And you," the Grand Witch said coldly, her voice shifting from calm to commanding in a breath, "you may rest for tonight. But at first light, you will return to your place and continue your punishment. I trust you remember the terms I gave you."

The witch nodded quietly, "Yes, Mistress."

"Good."

With that, the Grand Witch stood and quietly made her way out of the room.

Her long cloak brushed against the floor, and the faint scent of herbs followed her as she disappeared down the corridor, leaving the two behind in uneasy silence.

For a long moment, neither Zen nor Dorothy Green spoke each lost in their own thoughts.

Finally, Zen exhaled and leaned forward and asked casually, "So, you know any of this, Miss Green? Would you like to continue the story and tell me the end?"

He already had an idea what her answer would be, but he asked anyway, hoping for something—anything—that might give him a clearer understanding.

As expected, Dorothy Green shook her head slowly. "No, Your Highness. This is the first time I have ever heard the Mistress mention something like this." Her hands rested on her knees, fingers twisting slightly as she spoke. "In fact, I didn’t even know she knew this story. I doubt anyone does. But..." she hesitated, her eyes flickering toward him uncertainly, "if this story has any connection to the fate of the triplets, then..."

She stopped for a moment as if weighing her words, then looked up again, her expression more troubled than earlier. "Then this might lead you to a lot of answers, Prince Zen. But it could also bring disaster. The stars have already predicted turmoil surrounding your mating ceremony, which is why it keeps getting delayed, and now this story appears when the signs are still unsettled."

Her brow furrowed. "If the Mistress’s story is what I think it is, then at least one of the three Lords from the tale did not fall in love with the right sister."

Zen said nothing. His expression didn’t change, but a quiet heaviness spread through him. He didn’t need to be told what that meant. He already knew.

One of the three hadn’t loved the right sister was still maybe,- a possibility, but there was something else, something deeper that seemed to not be the focus of the talks. The right person... hadn’t loved one of the three brothers either. That was why the witch had mentioned that one person could not equally love three.

And that imbalance had changed everything.

His gaze dropped, and for a moment, the air in the room seemed to still. That was the turning point, he thought. That was where it all began to fall apart.

Because no matter how deeply the three of them had loved Ramona and how completely they had accepted her as their mate, Ramona had never been able to accept Kael. Not fully. And that one rejection had been enough to make him doubt the bond and doubt his love for her.

Zen’s jaw tightened. He pushed back his chair suddenly, the wooden legs scraping against the stone floor. "I’m going to sleep," he said curtly, his tone controlled but distant.

Dorothy rose slightly as if to speak but stopped herself. The look in his eyes warned her not to. She bowed her head instead. "Yes, Your Highness."

Without another word, Zen turned and walked toward the doorway, the firelight catching briefly on the edge of his silver hair before he vanished into the hall.

Behind him, Dorothy Green sighed and looked toward the dying flames, her voice barely above a whisper. "The stars are never wrong... but they are cruel. I really need to talk to the mistress about the rising darkness over the moon and now this..."

Inside his room, Zen paced, wanting to escape this place, his mind full of thoughts about what would next be. If they had chosen the wrong sister, then was Ramona the wrong person? But Ramona had no sister, so who was the other person that they might be their right mate? And if Ramona was not the right mate, then why did they feel as if she was?

He clenched his hands and sat back. If only his power had been able to look into the past instead of the future, things could have been so much simpler. He could have gone back and listened to the entire prophecy or even to the time when everything had been revealed. Maybe make the Lords choose the right person instead of the wrong one.