All Chapters of Rejected and Banished; The kids are his.: Chapter 311 - Chapter 320

The night wind blew through the crooked windows of the old stone temple. Inside, the flicker of a dozen candles cast shadows on the cracked walls. At the far end of the room, on a small cot made of rough straw and linen, the baby lay crying, a shrill, helpless wail that echoed through the hall. Her cries didn’t sound ordinary. They reverberated, trembled in the air, as if the walls themselves were listening.But the witches didn’t flinch.Their leader, high Priestess Morwenna, stood near the stone altar in the center, her silver hair falling loose from her hood. Her eyes glowed faintly violet as she arranged small silver bowls of herbs, bloodstones, and shards of quartz in a perfect circle.“Let her cry,” Morwenna said coolly, voice cutting through the noise. “Her cries will summon the ancestors sooner. The blood of a god and the howl of a wolf, even the heavens will listen tonight.”A murmur of agreement rippled through the circle of witches.One of them, a younger witch named Ilyr

The walls of the coven’s lair glinted with lit candles all over, traces of crimson light running across the stone as the witches chanted in one unified voice.The baby lay at the center of the ritual table, surrounded by rings of salt and firelight, her small chest rising and falling with each whimper.The coven leader, High Priestess Morwenna, stood above her, her hands hovered over the child, power swirling around her fingertips.“The time has come,” she declared, her voice echoing through the dark chamber. “The blood of the unholy shall return to the void.”Her sisters echoed the words, their chanting rising until the air trembled.And then in a flash, with the suddenness of a storm breaking, the heavy iron doors exploded inward.The witches’ chant shattered mid-word.Nicklaus strode through the smoke, his sword drawn, eyes burning with fury. Behind him, Renna staggered forward, her staff clutched tightly in her hands, blue-white light flaring from its tip.Morwenna hissed, “The k

Eva's POV.It had been three weeks since that day... Since everything.And now, our home smelled of peace again.I never realized how much comfort there could be in ordinary sounds... the creak of the floorboards when Nicklaus walked down the hall, the rustle of the maids changing the linens, the distant laughter of the guards training outside.Life was finally settling into a rhythm again, though it wasn’t the same as before.I wasn’t the same.Every morning, I woke to the sight of her.Our little girl, sleeping so soundly in her cot, cheeks flushed, tiny fists pressed against her chin. Her curls had started to darken, soft wisps that always smelled faintly of the lavender oil I rubbed into her hair.Sometimes, I just sat there for hours, watching her breathe.Nicklaus called it “obsessing.” I called it gratitude.It was morning, and I was sitting by the window, rocking her gently, when he came in.For a moment, I couldn't take my eyes off him.Tall, composed, in one of his dark tuni

Eva's POV.Nicklaus sat by the window, elbows resting on his knees, his eyes fixed on the fading moon. He hadn’t spoken much since the morning council. I didn’t need to ask why. The whispers about our child had reached the outer courts now, spreading like wildfire.But at that moment, all I could think of was the faint hum that pulsed through the room, It came from the cradle beside my bed. My baby... our miracle, slept so peacefully, unaware of the fear her existence was stirring outside these walls.Then came the knock.It didn't sound like that of a servant. I turned, heart tightening even before I opened the door.Renna stood there, her cloak dark with travel dust, and her eyes glinting with something I couldn’t read.“Renna,” I whispered, relief washing over me for a heartbeat. She looked weary, but she managed a faint smile.“Your Majesty,” she said softly, bowing her head before glancing past me toward the cradle. “May I come in?”Nicklaus rose immediately. “You came sooner tha

Eva's POV.A full year had passed, yet sometimes I still woke in the middle of the night half expecting to find Nicklaus hunched by the window again, whispering his wild promises to the moon. But he hadn’t broken another promise since that night. Somehow, impossibly, he had done it.The school stood now on the eastern ridge of the pack lands, from the castle balcony I could see its spires glinting in the sun, Valmor rippled proudly in the wind, and beyond them stretched the crowd: parents, travelers, and children of every shape and gift, all gathered for this day.I still could hardly believe he’d done it.Nicklaus had vanished for months at a time during that year, crossing mountains, deserts, and corners I’d only heard of in stories. Each time he returned, there was a new scar on his hand, but in exchange he always got what and who he'd gone after. Whether it's an ancient seer, a forgotten warlock, or a moon-priestess, a scholar from the ruins of the west. One by one, they had foll