Mated To The Cruel Prince
Chapter 159: A Lock Of Her Hair

Chapter 159: A Lock Of Her Hair

"Wait for me here, do not touch anything," Dorcas warned him, walking to a corner of the room where a curtain shielded her from view and she finished the rest of the spell there.

Although it was merely minutes since she left, it sure felt like hours and it was the longest wait of his life. Valerie nervously sat there, fighting things out with his mind. What was he even doing here? It was for Islinda. Was he making a mistake by doing this? No. Everything would work out in the end, he assured himself.

"Here," Dorcas finally returned to her seat, handing an enchanted ring to him, "You wear this and whenever you’re in proximity with a compatible body, it would light up with a green color."

Valerie took the ring from the witch, staring at it with rapt attention and studying the simple circular band made of metal. The only eye-catching feature about it was the markings around the surface and he slid it into his finger. It was a perfect fit. Like it had been made for him.

"That should be all. When you find a compatible body, then you can return with the human to perform the soul transfusion ritual." Dorcas finalized, secretly excited to have the prince leave her alone only for him to break the news to her,

"I’m sorry but I can’t come with the girl."

"What?!" Dorcas shouted at his face, bolting up to her feet. The witch caught herself at the last minute, slowly sitting her ass back on the seat after realizing she was still in the company of a prince. One that could expose and destroy her dwelling in the twinkle of an eye.

"What are you talking about, my prince?" Dorcas asked gently, even though all she wanted to do was wrap her hand around his neck and squeeze the life out of him from frustration.

"The girl is beyond my reach, which is why I need to transfer her soul without the Fae realizing what I have done. No, I would have to kill her original body afterward." Valerie announced with great regret.

It was a hard decision, but it had to be done. Aldric cannot realize what he did, so when the fake soul implanted in Islinda’s body dies without warning, no one would suspect a thing. If anything, everyone would blame Aldric for breaking the girl’s spirit and she lost the will to live. This was not the first time his brother took a life anyway, one more death pinned on him wouldn’t make any difference. Some sacrifices need to be made to achieve a greater result.

"By the gods," The witch swore under her breath, wiping her palm down her face, "You certainly want me dead. This is not what you told me at the start, my prince. Soul transfusion is difficult, but it’s not supposed to be this complicated." She complained, beginning to find his request burdensome and worrisome.

"I would pay you handsomely Dorcas such that you wouldn’t ever get poor again. Tell me, don’t you want to leave this slum and get a better life? Until when do you think you would be safe here? How long do you think it would take until those trusted Faeries betray you for pieces of silver coins?" He coaxed her.

Dorcas stared at the Prince conflicted and unable to make a decision. This soul transfusion was going to be a hard one but it was the key to getting out of this dirt hole. Her life was going to change forever.

Valerie leaned closer to her from across the table and said, "Some opportunities don’t come twice, Dorcas. Think wisely." And with those words being said, Valerie stood up to his feet and turned, ready to leave.

"Wait!" Dorcas shouted and he halted in his step, a victorious grin forming on his face as he was confident that she had changed her mind.

He turned, "You are smart to -"

"You haven’t paid for my services."

"What?" The smile vanished from Valerie’s face when he discovered that he was way ahead of himself.

"I made you a soul transfusion identifier ring plus the time spent in consultation, I don’t work for free," Dorcas told him bluntly, waiting in anticipation for him to pay for her services.

"Oh," Valerie felt a bit embarrassed as he fetched out the pouch full of coins and placed it on the table.

"Here, it is." He pushed it towards her and she caught it.

Dorcas took the pouch and opened it, her eyes widening slightly when she saw the gold coins in there but she quickly composed herself.

"I don’t need this much payment," She wanted to take the amount she needed and pass the rest to him. Not that he welcomed it.

"Keep it." Valerie told her, "You worked enough to deserve it."

"If you say so then," While Dorcas was polite, she was not stupid and shamelessly accepted the money.

Unable to convince the witch otherwise, Valerie decided to leave. Perhaps it was indeed impossible to perform the spell without Islinda being physically present and he would have to steal her from Aldric the same way he stole her from him.

Valerie was about to reach for the door when he heard her ask, "You love her, don’t you?"

He stopped and turned to her, saying, "More than life itself."

The witch let out a deep breath, "The distance might increase the rate of side effects; however, you have agreed to bear the consequences and we have to make do with this method."

She instructed him, "You would need to get me her belonging, preferably her hair. I can work with that."

Stealing a lock of Islinda’s hair or moving her out of Aldric’s residence, Valerie didn’t know which one was more difficult, however, Valerie did not voice it out knowing it would only vex the witch who has done enough for him already.

"Thank you." He told her, "I will be back with a compatible body and her hair. You would not regret this. "

"I sincerely hope so, my prince." Dorcas had no idea why she had this sense of foreboding like everything could go wrong and blow up in their faces.