CHAPTER 6. BEYOND THE VEIL.

Alina.

The dreams came softly at first.

Not a scream or a cry in the dark but a sensation, like hands brushing through tall grass or breath fogging a mirror. I didn’t notice them right away. Not until I began waking with a weight pressing on my chest, a hum vibrating in my bones like some forgotten melody.

And the whispers.

Familiar in a way I couldn’t name. The kind that followed me even after I opened my eyes.

I sat up in bed and rubbed my temples, the cold morning light slanting across the polished stone floors. Elena had left my breakfast by the fireplace again, a fresh pot of cinnamon tea, warm oat bread, and roasted pears. She was getting better at guessing what I needed.

My dreams hadn’t made sense in days.

But last night… I’d heard something clearly.

"Alina."

Just that. My name, spoken like a prayer or a warning.

I bathed quickly, the water warm but not comforting. My body ached, my fingertips tingled, and something inside me felt restless. It wasn’t fear.

It was… expectation.

After dressing, I found Ellen waiting outside the chamber doors. She was already holding my shawl.

"You didn’t sleep well."

"Do I ever?" I muttered, accepting the fabric. "I think I need air."

"You should eat."

"I’ll eat in the garden."

She nodded without argument and followed me down the corridor. The palace was quieter than usual. Guards stood more rigid. Even the maids moved with more haste than usual, as if they too could sense the Veil shifting.

By the time we reached the garden, sunlight was cutting through the clouds in slanted, golden beams. It poured over the stone walls and painted the hedges in amber. The roses, touched with early frost, seemed to shiver with the light.

I sat by the fountain and picked at the bread.

"Did you ever hear strange things growing up, Ellen?" I asked finally.

She stiffened slightly. "What sort of things?"

"Voices, in dreams."

"Everyone dreams. It's normal to hear voices in dreams."

“I heard voices from beyond the veil last night.” I said.

“The veil never sleeps.” She said softly.

I turned sharply. "You believe me?"

She looked down at her hands. "I think the Veil stirs when something on either side tries to break through."

I didn’t ask what she meant by "something."

We stayed quiet after that and I let my thoughts roam in the privacy of the garden.

Later that afternoon, I decided to explore more parts of the pack grounds, I stumbled across a room that had chairs all arranged in a court type of system.

I was about to step into the room when a voice stopped me.

"Lucan doesn’t usually allow outsiders," Theol said.

“Why don't we continue the tour?” He stretched his hand out and I took it as we walked the grounds.

"But you’re not just anyone, are you?"

"Depends who you ask," I replied.

Marielle laughed. "We like you. Try not to die."

Comforting.

By evening, I was exhausted. I had dinner in my room, alone. The food went untouched. My stomach turned with every breath. That heavy, humming feeling hadn’t left.

I stood by the window and stared out at the woods.

The Old Grove.

I didn’t know how I knew its name. But I did.

Somewhere beyond the pack grounds, past the ceremonial ring and the shattered stone wall, lay a grove that wasn’t marked on any map. Elena had told me about it once in passing, how wolves didn’t go near it unless they had a death wish.

But tonight, it called me.

I didn’t tell anyone.

I waited until the pack had gone to sleep and not a single sound could be heard.

I wrapped a cloak around my shoulders and slipped out through the side gate near the stables. The guards didn’t see me.

Moonlight cut through the trees in silver daggers as I moved deeper into the forest. My breath clouded in front of me, the air thick with the scent of earth and old things.

The deeper I went, the quieter it got.

No insects. No birds. Just silence.

And then the same whispers.

Not loud, but they were everywhere, like the trees were leaning in to speak directly into my ears.

"Key… Gate…"

"Awaken…"

I stumbled forward until I broke through a tangle of undergrowth and found myself in a clearing.

The Old Grove.

A single massive tree rose at the center. Its bark was blackened with age, knotted and gnarled, as if time itself had bent it. Thick roots twisted through the earth like frozen serpents. From a long split in the trunk, black sap oozed slowly, glistening like oil.

I didn’t know what made me reach for it.

But I did.

"Don’t."

The voice stopped me cold.

I turned.

Eirwen stood at the edge of the grove, her robes trailing behind her like frost patterns on glass.

"The tree remembers blood. It remembers pain. Touch it, and it might remember you."

I pulled my hand back, breath catching in my throat. "What is this place?"

"An echo of what was. A warning of what will be."

She approached slowly, her eyes glowing faintly under the moonlight. "You are the key and the gate, Alina. The whispers come to remind you of your place."

"What place? I didn’t ask for this."

"No one ever does. But some are born to carry old truths."

My hands clenched. "I’m not a prophecy. I’m a person."

She smiled faintly, but there was sadness in it. "That’s what makes you dangerous."

I looked back at the tree. The whispers were louder now, swirling around us like smoke.

Then the wind shifted.

And I felt it, like a chill against my spine, a presence so familiar it made my breath stutter.

Another voice joined the others, it was low with a velvet-dark undertone to it.

"You shouldn’t be here."

I froze.

Eirwen stepped back.

My heart stopped.

I turned slowly.

He stepped out from between the trees as if he had always been there just waiting for the right moment.

Kael.

Older. Taller. Eyes like obsidian.

His smirk was the same.

And it gutted me.

I swallowed. "You shouldn’t be here."

He stepped closer, not caring for the rules or the warnings.

"But you missed me.”