LOGINChapter 94Lucien’s POVI watched every paper curled at the edges, turned black, and dissolved into grey flakes inside the stone fireplace.I didn't take my eyes off the fire until the very last one of Morgana’s ledger vanished into the fire. The room smelled of burnt ink, treated leather, and old parchment. On the other side of the table, Morgana stood unable to move, her hands resting flat against the wood, watching her so call safety vanish into smoke."That was our leverage," she said, her voice dropping to a low, bitter hiss. "Every name, every supply route, every promise Kaelen made us...all of it is gone.""That wasn't leverage," I said, dropping the iron poker back into its stand with a soumd like clang when it fell on its stand. "That was a hangman's receipt. Now go wash your face. The pack elders heard the messenger arrived an hour ago. If we don't go down to the lower hall right now and look like we're handling the pack affair with a formidable force, they'll quickly assum
Chapter 93Lucien’s POVI jumped down from my horse before it came to a full stop. I keep looked the same...but it felt empty like little or no attention had been given to it since I left.Morgana was already there, pushing past the stable hand and wrapping her arms hard around my chest in a warm embrace. She didn't say anything at first, just gripped the back of my travel coat like she hadn't seen family in a decade."I thought you wouldn't come back?" she breathed, her fingers gripping tightly on my wool tunic.I dropped my saddlebags into the mud and hugged her tightly right back, of course I had missed her a great deal. "It was indeed a long ride from the West. Cassian had me chasing ghost leads from one border post to the next."She pulled away sofly, her eyes scanning around the courtyard to make sure the gate guards were out of earshot. Her face was looking pale, and the skin around her mouth was cracking...she wasn't looking as flawless as she usually would."You pick
Chapter 92Lilith’s POVVance didn't waste time giving orders. He just guestured his hands to four of his guards to secure the barracks doors, then turned back to me, drawing his iron dagger."Drake's inner army is fifty yards down this corridor," Vance said, his voice flat yet practical. "He locks the master key inside the silver chest every night. If he hears about the barracks falling, he'll destroy the key or bolt up the spiral stairs to Kaelen.""Then let's not give him the chance," Cassian said. He said as he stepped up beside me, his sword resting low against his leg.We moved down the wet stone corridor in a tight line;Cassian and I were in the front, Vance and six armed guards were right behind us. The air smelled thick of cold iron, wet timber, and old lard from the torch sockets. Above us, the muffled sound of heavy boots on the courtyard stones meant Kaelen's upper watch was still completely unaware of what was happening underneath them.When we turned the corner into t
Chapter 91Lilith’s POVVance’s key turned once in the iron latch, and we slipped through the postern door into the damp corridor of the lower part of their military base.Before we could reach the main the store where the ammunition where, the sound of shouting and woods being ripped apart through the stone, was loud."Ambush!" Vance hissed, his hand dropping to his sword hilt as he shoved past us around the corner.While in the wide barracks the walls were lit up by torches, through the barracks hall ahead of us, three of Vance’s guards were pinned against the stone pillars by four of Drake’s shadow-lancers. One of the young guards; the kid who had argued against turning on Kaelen back at the safehouse; was kneeling down on one knee, his shoulder soaked with dark blood, while a lancer stood over him with a heavy iron-spiked mace raised up above his head to actually kill the lad."You traitor," the man holding theiron spike snarled, bringing it down in a vicious arc.I couldn
Chapter 90Lilith’s POV""There's no easy way around this one," I said, my finger pressing hard against the yellowed page of the ledger.Cassian didn't ask questions. He pushed off the damp stone wall, his boots sliding silently across the grit as he dropped to one knee beside me on the cold floor. His silver eyes studied the inked diagram showing a human heart bound by five dark rings."Explain it," Cassian said, his voice dropping low."If we use the regular unbinding spell, the mental cage collapses inward," I told him, looking straight into his eyes. "It’ll strip away every memory, every thought, and every feeling I have left. I won't even know my own name.""Then what does it take?""Soul-fire," I said, my throat tightening. "You have to open your mind completely and let my core burn your wolf’s mark right into my soul. There should be no walls between us. No holding back.And if our cores aren't perfectly matched when we do it, the feedback will consume both of us."Before Cassi
"Stop there!" Kaelen’s sharp voice echoed through the steel of the watchtower bell.He raised up his gloved hand, pulling hard on his heavy black stallion toward his chest tobring it to an instant stop, some few meters down the stone road. The fifteen riders who were mounted the behind him halted immediately too, their horses pushing hard on thick snow dust into the night.Cassian didn't hesitate for a second. He took a position in front of me, his sword held downward and ready for a fight, his left hand reaching back to push me into position behind his hip. Torin drew his short blade, taking up a spot at Cassian’s shoulder with his eyes locked on the archers lined up along the top wall.Kaelen didn't order an attack. He jumped out of his saddle, tossing the horse control to a knight beside him. He unbuckled his silver sword, handed it off to his guard, and held his bare hands out at his sides as he took slow, deliberate steps toward the open gate."Let's us take a bet, Cassian!" Kae







