LOGINThe message sat on the table between Lyra and Kael, and neither of them had touched it in a while.The man you seek knows who delivered the warning to your father. But he will not speak while the old traitor still holds power.Under the words someone had drawn a small mark, a crescent with three short strokes through it. Lyra had read the message four times and the mark more often than that. She had seen it before. The scouts had pulled a scrap of cloth out of the brush near the northern ridge, and it was lying a hand's width from the paper now, stained brown at one corner, carrying the very same crescent."Have you seen this before?" she asked.Kael was at the window with his arms crossed, looking at nothing in particular out in the yard. "Not lately.""That's not what I asked."He turned his head. It took him a moment. "It belonged to the old northern patrol.""Then why is it on a rag from the shelter?""That's what we're trying to work out.""We could try working out all of it at o
Kael's POV — First Person I read the message for the third time. Elias Thorne is alive. If you want to know where he is, come alone. The words were simple, but their implications were dangerous. Someone knew we were searching for Elias. Someone also knew Lyra had become involved, and whoever sent the message wanted her specifically. I folded the paper. "You're not going," I said. Lyra stood opposite my desk, her expression stubborn. "You don't get to decide that." "I'm responsible for your safety." "And I'm responsible for my own decisions." I resisted the urge to argue. She had a habit of challenging every order I gave her, but this was different. I couldn't risk losing her because someone had discovered how to use her curiosity against her. "Whoever sent this knows what happened to Ronan," I said. "They may be connected to the attack." "Which is exactly why we should investigate." "Not by walking into a trap." She crossed her arms. "Then send someo
Lyra's POV — Third Person Lyra remained beside Ronan's bed long after Sera ordered everyone to leave. The healer had managed to stop the bleeding, but Ronan looked exhausted. His revelation had left Kael uncomfortable more than he wanted to admit. Someone who had stood beside his father was involved in the deaths of seven warriors and that person might still be inside Nightfang. "Have you remembered anything else?" Kael asked. Ronan shook his head. "Only that voice. I heard it before the patrol left. I thought nothing of it then." "Was it someone from the council?" "I cannot be certain." Kael's jaw tightened. "Try." Ronan closed his eyes. "There was an argument that evening. Your father was speaking with someone near the council chamber. I couldn't see clearly, but I heard the same voice." "About what?" "The patrol route. Someone wanted the men sent through the northern ridge." Lyra stepped closer. "Could the person have known the route was compromised?"
Eveline's POV I had never trusted a quiet room. Since arriving at Nightfang, I had started to understand why. Secrets seemed to hide behind every closed door, and the recent attack on Ronan had only confirmed my suspicions. Standing beside my chamber window, I watched two guards escort an injured warrior across the courtyard. Another incident. Another reminder that this territory was far less stable than my father had led me to believe. I turned towards my travelling case. Beneath my folded dresses lay a narrow leather packet. Its edges were worn, and the wax seal had cracked slightly. I had discovered it among my father's private correspondence several months ago. When he caught me examining it, he snatched it away and warned me never to ask questions about the northern patrol that disappeared three winters ago. Seven warriors had died, he had insisted. The matter was settled. But I remembered what I had managed to read before he took it. A surviving patrolman. An
The order came shortly after dusk. Ronan was to be moved from his quarters to the western security wing, where the guards could monitor every entrance. Kael had approved the transfer himself, unwilling to risk another attempt on his Beta's life. But Ronan was not pleased. "I can protect myself," he said as Kael entered his quarters. "You have already been attacked twice." "And hiding me away won't catch whoever is responsible." "It will keep you alive long enough to help me find them." Ronan looked towards Lyra, who stood beside the doorway. "Does he always give orders when he has no answers?" "Usually," Lyra replied. Kael gave her a warning look. She ignored it. Ronan almost smiled, but the expression disappeared quickly. "Fine. I'll move. But I want my own men accompanying me." "You'll have them," Kael said. --- The escort left through the eastern passage. Lyra watched from the courtyard as six guards surrounded Ronan. Captain Varek was still missing
The message arrived shortly after sunrise. Mara was in the infirmary, sorting through a collection of herbs, when a young messenger approached the entrance. He wore no territory colours, and his travelling cloak was covered in dust. "I was told to deliver this to Mara, the healer." She looked up. "That's me." He handed her a folded piece of parchment. "Someone at the southern crossing asked me to make sure it reached you." Mara recognised the handwriting immediately. Her expression changed. "Who gave it to you?" "I don't know. He paid me to deliver it and told me not to ask questions." The messenger left before she could question him further. Mara unfolded the parchment. Garrick knew the warning was real. He ordered the old records sealed after someone came to him with evidence that one of the northern patrolmen had survived. He met that person privately. The name in the original report was Elias Thorne. Mara read the message twice. Elias Thorne. She rem







