LOGINLucian“That would be a sight,” Kade said in an amused tone, and I wondered how he could find humor in this kind of situation.“It would be a disaster. We can’t have bodyguards when we resume school; we already have enough attention to deal with as it is,” I protested, and the seer nodded.“The council thought so too. That’s why we’re going to have them follow closely. They’d be close enough to keep an eye on both of you without drawing any attention. You wouldn’t know they were there, and you also need to make sure you don’t suddenly change routines. Else, they might realize that we’re onto them.”“So it isn’t just the police that’s interested in using people as bait,” I sneered.“I don’t like the idea of being watched,” Kade quipped, and I nodded in agreement.“Well, there’s nothing any of us can do about it. They’ve been assigned their roles already, and all you have to do is go about your lives as you normally would.”“There’s nothing normal about this,” he added, and she sighed.
KADE“Are you trying to imply that our reaction to the orb is somehow linked to Harper?” Lucian asked, trying to keep his tone in check, but I could tell he was irritated.“It’s not implied anymore; it’s pretty obvious. When she held the orb, I didn’t react to it physically like both of you have, but I could tell that something was different—the colour. It was nothing like I’d ever seen before. It certainly threw off the energy in the room for a bit, and I had to burn incense.”“This incense,” I said, remembering my thoughts about it. “Is it the same one that the healers burned in my room?”“No. Well, they have similar ingredients, but about two or three are interchangeable, depending on the goal in mind. Why?” she responded with a curious tone.“Nothing. I’m probably just overthinking the situation, but I was a little jumpy earlier, and I thought it might be the incense making me paranoid. Is that far-fetched?”“A little bit, but we can’t completely rule anything out. And I think it’
SOMETHING NEWLucian and Kade sat in the seer’s office, occasionally shifting their weight uncomfortably. They glanced at each other briefly, as if sharing a single thought about how something in the room had changed since the last time they were here. They seemed visibly uneasy but stayed seated, knowing that they needed to see this through.“Hello, Kade,” the seer said as she sat opposite them and ran a finger on the table. “Glad to have you back. Sorry about the dust. I haven’t had time to clean up the office in a while.”“Happy to be here. I didn’t notice the dust. If anything, I think there’s a lot more than that happening here.”“What do you mean?” she asked and glanced at Lucian, who was trying to maintain an expressionless face but was failing at it.“I don’t know how to explain it. There’s a way this office feels right now,” Kade answered and cleared his throat.“Restrictive,” Lucian said. “That’s the perfect way to describe it, because it feels like it’s doing everything pos
KADE“I didn’t have enough time to get a bus and then a train, neither was I willing to go through that tedious process. Given the circumstances, the woods were the best option, and no one would pay attention to an animal running through them. The journey was going well until I got closer to La Derte, just a few miles away from the main town, when I was ambushed by a pack. I couldn’t pick up a familiar scent, and that instantly made me defensive. They came at me with everything they had. It wasn’t hard to see that their plan was to tear me into shreds of mangled flesh, but I wasn’t going to back down without a fight. I killed or mortally injured everyone who came at me until the only thing left was a heap of bodies in the woods. I thought it was over, until one more wolf stepped out of the shadows. He was bigger than the rest of them, and just as I was ready to take him on, the most extraordinary thing happened. I saw another wolf running toward the clearing where we stood and realize
KADEI lay in bed after dinner and thought about the first time I set my eyes on Lucian. I remembered being mildly disappointed in myself that, throughout everything that had happened, I hadn’t stopped to think about what he must’ve gone through during the entire ordeal.He hadn’t crossed my mind once, and I felt ashamed of what I had become due to the circumstances we found ourselves in.At the same time, I was happy he had come after I dug the hole and hidden the box. He came in a dark blue truck, and it was the sound of the engine revving as the vehicle sped away that caught my attention.I had finished mowing a sizeable portion of the area I was working on and had expertly used the grass to cover the spot I had dug.Anyone looking at it from a distance wouldn’t think twice about a small patch of upturned soil in a freshly mowed backyard. But when I heard the car pull in, I didn’t want to take chances with someone coming around the house before the soil had time to settle, so I wal
LUCIANI didn’t realize how terrified I was of losing Kade until I was holding him in my arms and he feigned a groan.“Are you trying to finish the job? I can’t breathe,” he said, and I chuckled as I shoved him gently. He staggered a little, then regained his balance.“Oh, I’m so glad you’re back. I was… scared,” I said, letting my eyes roam all over his body. He seemed to be in good shape, even better than I imagined for someone who had been knocked out for so long.“The almighty Lucian Blackthorn has something that makes him shake in his boots?” he teased, and I chuckled.“I was petrified, but if you think I had it bad, you should’ve seen the council running around like headless chickens.”He also seemed more jovial than usual. Kade and I were always making jokes, but lately he had donned a quiet and uninterested persona. Seeing him like this felt a little different. My gaze shifted to the rake in his hand, and I arched an eyebrow.“Have you been gardening?” I asked in a surprised t







