CHAPTER THIRTY SEVEN
TANYA'S POV
Two months.
That was how long I tried to convince myself that I made the right decision.
Two months since I erased Daniel's memories.
Two months since I walked away from him.
And yet—
Not a single day passed without him invading my thoughts.
At first, I believed forgetting me would save him.
Save the covenant.
Save us all from the calamity the ancestors once warned about.
But I was wrong.
Because even after Daniel forgot me—
I could not forget him.
Sometimes, late at night, when the covenant fell silent and the witches returned to their chambers, I would sit alone before my sacred mirror.
Watching him.
From afar.
Prince Daniel.
The man I was never supposed to love.
The mirror showed me pieces of his life after the memory spell.
How he buried himself in royal duties.
How he forced himself to smile before his people.
How he avoided women completely despite the endless noble daughters chasing after him.
And every time I saw the emptiness hidden behind his eyes—
My heart broke all over again.
Because I knew.
Even without his memories—
A part of his soul still searched for me.
That was why I fled from him during the business trip abroad.
The moment I saw him again at the international conference, panic swallowed me completely.
At first, I avoided him.
Ignored him.
Pretended he was nothing more than another businessman.
But fate kept pushing us toward each other.
Again.
And again.
Until that night inside the elevator.
I closed my eyes painfully.
Even now, remembering it made my chest ache.
The darkness.
The storm.
His arms around me.
The warmth I had missed for so long.
For the first time in many years—
I stopped thinking like the leader of the covenant.
I stopped thinking like a witch.
And listened to my heart instead.
That single mistake destroyed everything.
The thunder that exploded across the sky after we crossed the forbidden line still haunted me.
Because I understood immediately what it meant.
The covenant had sensed it.
The ancestors had sensed it.
The forbidden bond between a witch and a human prince had been sealed.
And calamity would follow.
I still remembered fleeing from the hotel before sunrise.
I did not even look back.
Fear controlled me completely.
By the time I reached the hidden jungle, my entire body was trembling.
The sacred baobab tree stood in silence beneath the dark sky as I entered the covenant grounds.
But something felt wrong immediately.
The witches were watching me strangely.
Fearfully.
Almost accusingly.
Then I saw her.
My godmother.
Standing beneath the sacred tree with fury burning inside her ancient eyes.
"You foolish child," she said coldly.
My knees weakened instantly.
Because in all the years she raised me—
I had never seen such disappointment in her face.
"I'm sorry…" I whispered painfully.
"Sorry?" she repeated sharply.
"Do you think sorry will stop what is coming?"
The entire covenant had already sensed the disturbance caused by the forbidden union.
The spirits were restless.
The sacred tree had begun shedding black leaves.
Even the skies above the jungle had changed.
I lowered my head silently while my godmother approached me slowly.
"Do you remember the oath you took?" she asked.
My throat tightened painfully.
Of course I remembered.
The oath every powerful witch must take before receiving the covenant's ancient power.
Never love a human.
Never bear a human child.
Never place the heart above the covenant.
I had broken every single one.
"You were chosen to protect this covenant," my godmother continued bitterly.
"You were blessed with powers greater than any witch before you. The ancestors trusted you."
Tears burned my eyes slowly.
"But I love him…" I whispered weakly.
Silence filled the air instantly.
Even the wind seemed to stop moving.
Then my godmother looked away painfully.
"That is exactly the problem."
Days passed after that.
Then weeks.
The tension inside the covenant only grew worse.
Some witches blamed me openly.
Others feared me.
The sacred tree continued changing.
Dark cracks slowly appeared around its roots.
And deep inside me—
Fear continued growing.
Until the day everything changed completely.
That morning, I woke up feeling strangely weak.
Dizzy.
My body felt different.
At first, I ignored it.
But when the sickness continued for several days, my godmother finally forced me to drink from the sacred moon bowl used to reveal hidden truths.
The moment the water touched my lips—
The bowl shattered violently.
Blood spread across the floor.
And silence swallowed the room.
My godmother stared at me in horror.
"No…" she whispered.
My heart stopped.
Slowly, trembling, I placed my hand against my stomach.
And somehow—
Deep inside my soul—
I already knew.
I was pregnant.
The room suddenly felt suffocating.
Impossible.
Terrifying.
My legs gave out beneath me as tears filled my eyes.
Daniel's child.
A forbidden child.
An abomination according to the covenant laws.
For several seconds, neither of us spoke.
Then finally, my godmother closed her eyes painfully.
"The calamity has already begun," she whispered.
I looked at her desperately.
"There has to be another way…"
But the expression on her face destroyed the little hope I had left.
"The ancestors have already spoken."
Fear crawled beneath my skin instantly.
"What did they say?" I whispered shakily.
My godmother remained silent for a long moment before answering.
"The innocent blood of the unborn child must be offered as sacrifice."
My entire world shattered.
"No…"
"It is the only way to cleanse your sins and save the covenant from destruction."
"No!" I screamed this time, backing away from her.
My hands covered my stomach protectively without thinking.
Tears streamed down my face uncontrollably.
"That is my child!"
"And your child may destroy us all!" my godmother shouted back for the first time.
Silence followed immediately.
Heavy.
Painful.
Terrifying.
I could not breathe.
Could not think.
All I knew was that something inside me had already changed.
Because despite the fear…
Despite the danger…
Despite knowing this child was forbidden—
I already loved it.
And for the first time since becoming a witch—
I was no longer afraid of dying.
I was afraid of losing my child.
END OF CHAPTER THIRTY SEVEN