Chapter 875

Madeline:

“Where have you two been?” I asked Livia and Daniel as they arrived holding hands.

The moment I noticed their intertwined hands, I smiled and reached for them, wrapping one arm around Daniel and the other around Livia before pulling away.

“Okay, I’ll hear all about it later. Right now, I have to go board the ship. Baxter left half an hour ago, and I don’t want to delay any longer,” I told them.

Then I stepped aside, letting them reunite with the children.

“You two aren’t going to bother them, okay?” I warned my daughters.

I straightened my posture, but walking away from my children was incredibly difficult.

Still, the next time I returned, I would be coming back with Bodhi.

That much was certain.

“Don’t worry. We’re going to have so much fun without you guys,” Livia said as she knelt and pulled my daughters close.

“Okay, guys, bye. Wish me luck,” I said anxiously.

It had been decided that I would go alone to give my father the cure.

The problem was that although I knew Rosetta wanted to do it, the well was unfortunately located outside the territory.

“Ready to go?” Byron asked, waiting for me outside.

I gave him a nod.

We were leaving together.

The entire time, anxiety churned inside me as I wondered whether the cure would actually work.

It had to.

So far, my father seemed to recognize only me, probably because I had been the one constantly interacting with him while living on the mountaintop.

“Yeah,” I replied, rubbing my palms together nervously.

“So basically, he’ll recognize you. We just need to lure him there,” Byron said.

I nodded.

Of course, Byron had been with Baxter before and already knew how to lure the monster from one place to another.

The rest of the journey passed in silence. I simply couldn’t muster the courage to speak.

When we landed, I had to go straight to the well.

The full moon would soon rise, and we had to do this before that.

I wasn’t sure how Baxter was doing. He had arrived earlier because he needed time

to prepare the entire place for his mother.

Meanwhile, I was approaching the well alone.

Byron and Ron had already helped me scatter pieces of meat around the area to attract the monster.

My heart pounded hard in my chest.

I held my phone tightly, connected to Baxter. He had already evacuated the area, and his mother had arrived.

Now it was my turn.

Then I saw my father approaching.

Everything had to happen on the same day, around the same time, before the full moon fully rose. There might have been a slight difference in timing, but both plans needed to happen as closely together as possible.

Finally, my father flew closer, following the scent of the meat.

The moment I saw him, my eyes filled with tears.

I knew what I had to do.

I climbed onto the edge of the well and sat there, carefully balancing myself.

My father stopped just as he was about to eat another piece of meat.

He had noticed me.

I stared back at him.

Then I jumped.

I closed my eyes as my body plunged into the darkness of the well.

The pressure rushed around me as I fell, until suddenly, I no longer felt myself dropping.

My father caught me gently.

Instead of carrying me back out, he slowed my descent and helped me land safely in the water. We were already close to the bottom, and with the force of my fall, it was safer totet me enter the water.

The moment I landed, I scrambled toward the side of the well.

My father flapped his wings frantically, trying to reach me and pull me out.

But I wouldn’t let him.

Every time he came close, I ducked beneath him and swam to the other side.

Eventually, he stopped.

His wings were soaked now, and his breathing had grown heavy.

Slowly, I began moving toward him.

I swam closer.

I could tell no one had ever dared to approach him like this. The moment I came

near, he started to turn away.

But I reached out.

I gently placed a hand against his

chest and ran my fingers through his wet feathers as tears spitted from my eyes.

“I’m so sorry. You were always there,” I whimpered.

All this time, my father had simply been suffering.

The only reason he had begun appearing more often was because he had seen me on the mountaintop. After that he had wandered around amlessly more than ever.

I could feel his heart pounding beneath my hand.

“But I’m here, Father,” I whispered.

Slowly, I stepped back and pulled out the herbs Ron had once collected from this very well.

To kill a monster, the cursed herb had to be driven into its body.

But to restore someone who had been turned into one, the herb had to be

consumed.

I mixed the herb with water from the well, cupping the mixture carefully in both hands.

“Please, Father. Please,” I begged.

Tears streamed down my face as I lowered my gaze and closed my eyes, holding

my hands out toward him.

Then I felt it.

His beak touched my palms.

I sucked in a sharp breath and stayed completely still.

When I finally opened my eyes, I gasped.

My hands flew over my mouth in shock.

He was older now, his hair streaked with gray.

But standing there in the water, in his human form, was my father.

“Father?” I breathed.

He stared at me with wide eyes before looking down at himself.

Then his gaze darted around the well.

Panic spread across his face.