Chapter 2

Xander POV

“Before I tell you anything, will you promise me I can bury Diana with her family? She has been away from us for far too long, and it pains me that, once I finally found her, I lost her within the same week.” Spoke Denis softly.

He was looking at his sister with tears in his eyes.

“We were very close when we were younger. We only had each other. But when I started training to become head curator, Diana left to find work elsewhere. I had heard she had married and had a child. Diana sent letters once every while, but it all stopped when the uprising happened. I thought she had died. Would you know where my nephew is?”

His presence still annoyed me, but I didn’t quite know what to reply regarding that. None of us knew Diana had had a family in the past. When she came to work for High Hill Estate, she was alone, and Diana told no one she had a son.

“I’m afraid this is news to us. Diana never mentioned she had family, nor did she ever ask to leave the estate to tend to her child, even after repaying her indenture. She had preferred to stay within the household and work.” I replied, trying to suppress the surprise in my voice.

Denis moved a piece of hair that had fallen over his sister’s face.

“Then he must not be alive anymore. Otherwise, Diana would never have left him. Family was… important to her.”

Denis stayed silent for some time. He just looked at her and went in and out of grief.

Nimu had joined us in the main parlour and kept shooting concerned looks at the curator.

“Would you let me tend your hand before we go any further?” The old wielder asked, sounding healthy of mind. He was staring straight at Denis.

I didn’t think the wielder could see our uninvited guest’s injury, much less know where the man had been sitting. But I remembered Ida telling me that even though Nimu was blind, he acted as if he could see as well as anyone with eyesight.

It was rare that the wielder came to his senses. Most of the time, his usual self was him staying alone and blurting out incomprehensible sentences that always made us question his state of mind. Today looked to be a good day for him.

Denis nodded, and Nimu forced his bent frame off the sofa and slowly made his way next to him. He helped Denis remove the bandages, then inspected each finger by feeling them with his own. I wanted to gag when I saw the colour of Denis’s flesh, not to mention the awful smell of putrefaction that was coming out of the ends of his fingers, which had been cut. It wasn’t a clean slash. It looked like they chopped them one by one and with no genuine force. Some fingers had their bone sticking out, while others looked as though someone had ripped them. This man must have been in severe pain when he was getting butchered.

I intended to give him an hour to further explain whatever he felt compelled to inform us and then decide if I killed him or not; however, looking at the sad state of his hand, I had to give him credit for coming to us. Denis came to warn us right after they had done that to him, knowing that the next time Osprey’s men would catch him, he would most likely lose his life. This had to say something about his character.

I heard Nimu tsk and flipped Denis’s hand over to inspect the interior.

“I can’t make them grow back, but I can help remove some pain and swelling and maybe even close the wounds.”

Denis had refused to look at his hand. I could see the pain and regret in his eyes. Despite that, he refused to acknowledge what they had done to him.

“Do whatever you want. I feel like I am past the point of ever recovering from this. Healing my hand won’t bring back my sister, nor will it repair the damage I have caused. I don’t deserve your kind attention.”

“Very well. This might sting a little.” Nimu simply replied, hovering his hand over the curator’s and letting a soft green light shine out from the inside of his palm.

He grabbed the hand and clasped it, letting the energy seep through Denis’s skin. I had never seen a magic wielder heal someone, and looking at the skin stitching itself together as if someone was sewing it, had me gazing at the process curiously. After a few seconds, I shook my head and sat in front of them. There was no time to waste, and I needed answers before they forced us to hide. I didn’t know how much time we had left before someone would come looking for us.

“Alright, now is the time you talk. We’ve all been patient enough, and time is not on our side.”

Denis sighed and closed his eyes. I didn’t know if he did it to help him search for the proper words or if he felt some sort of discomfort from Nimu’s healing.

“I can only tell you what I have come to learn. The Princess is special. From what I heard, she was rumoured to be part Faith, and as we all know, Faiths are mighty creatures. I have never met one, mind you, but the archives we have on them suggest they can wield an immense power that could create or destroy a world.

“Magic wielders are a direct descendant of a Faith who mated a human. Their union created a hybrid centuries if not thousands of years ago. I have read that Faiths cannot procreate amongst themselves. It’s a natural law that keeps the balance in the world, same as the shifters who can only mate with their destined partners. I brought up the wielders because if a Faith were to mate with a wielder, the offspring would detain the power of both their parents, making them as powerful, if not even more so, than a Faith.” Denis talked as though he was giving a lecture.

So Diana’s hunch had been right all along. Magic wielders came from Faiths.

“What would Ida look like if she were to unlock her Faith powers?” Gideon asked.

Denis paused for a quick moment. He got up and left to go into the kitchen, then returned with a book and flipped through the pages until he found what he was looking for.

“I supposed she would have looked like this. According to the drawings in this book, Faiths have wings on their backs, allowing them to fly, and their eyes are white. Their skin would also shimmer with an array of different colours. But this is just a theory.” He showed us a crude depiction. “There is only one other case where a Faith mated with a wielder and created a half-blood, but the story goes that the offspring had been so lustful for power that the Faiths killed him to prevent the world from falling into chaos. Other than that, no other writings describe such a person. Before dying, the half-blood prophesied that there would eventually be another Faith born of this world who would alter the course of humankind by either saving it or destroying it. I think the Princess will have a significant part to play soon.”

I noticed Gideon paled and cleared his throat.

“There was an incident where Ida resembled what you have just shown us, and I think Ida channelling that raw magic also caused the explosion near the Arcane library. It only seems to happen when she is in danger, though.”

I could feel my eyes darkening at the thought of what had happened to Ida at the spring near Starling castle. She had indeed used her powers to save herself from a threat.

“That’s because she is bound.” Added Nimu.

We all turned to him. Nimu had returned to his chair and had sat silently, listening to the conversation. Denis had rearranged the bandages on his hand, which were now carefully placed on the top of his thigh.

“Until the Binder returns and unbinds her, she cannot use her powers fully. It will come only in times of extreme need.” The old wielder concluded.

‘It would make sense. If Ida’s parents had her bound, she would live a normal life, and it would prevent history from repeating itself. Power can seduce and corrupt even the gentlest creatures and make them do dreadful things.” Denis agreed with Nimu.

 There was one last thing I needed to know before we could end this conversation, and the question burned on my lips for months. I unbuttoned my shirt and pulled on my collar, showing Ida’s glowing pale blue mark.

“How would she have been able to mark me?”

Denis’s eyes widened as he peered at the mark on my shoulder, just above my muscle.

“Milord, you are mated with her? But this would mean you are a-”

“I’m a Lycan. Kestrel is not my real father.”

“And does she bear your mark as well?”

“She does.”

“Curious. I didn’t think this was possible. I supposed that nature has a funny way of showing us that all things must have balance. Since you are both bound to one another, you are the only person in this world that will be able to ground her to who she truly is and prevent her from descending into madness and desolation.” The small curator looked at me with great sadness. “Tell me, Milord, when the time comes and if you truly love her, will you be able to do the right thing?”

“What do you mean?”

Denis took a deep breath and stared at his sister sorrowfully.

“Once the Princess is set free, if you cannot keep her grounded and she loses herself in all the power that lives within her, will you be able to kill her?”

I scoffed at the man. Was he being serious? Did he really think I would kill my mate, leaving me to walk this earth with half of my soul missing? My Lycan stirred at his words, and I had to prevent a deep, menacing growl from escaping my throat.

“Ida would never do that.”

“Let’s hope she doesn’t. Nevertheless, it is a possibility you will have to face, eventually. It would be best to start contemplating this scenario before it comes true.”

I had heard enough. I couldn’t imagine myself without Ida in my life. If it was indeed possible, I would do everything in my power to prevent that from happening. She was pregnant, for Faith’s sake. Her safety and that of my pup would be my chief priority once I got her back. Prophecy or not, I would make sure Ida stayed true to herself.

I ran my hand over my face, trying to chase the worries that were probably casting shadows under my eyes. I needed to change the subject.

“What will you do once we bury Diana?”

“I would like to stay with your party if you allow it. I have knowledge Osprey will require now that he has the Princess. The farther I am from this place, the better it will be for everyone.”

“Very well. Before we do anything else, I need to send word to some people, then we will help you as best we can with Diana. After that, we need to leave this city undetected.”

I looked at Gideon, who straightened his back at my stare.

“Will you be able to get us out of here?”

He nodded curtly and quickly got up to prepare our things, but he patted Denis’s shoulder before leaving the room.

“I’m glad you’ll be coming with us. The rebellion will benefit from your knowledge!”

Speaking of the rebellion, I would need to inform Lord Junco of Ida’s capture and let him know I thought a traitor was amongst them. The hunter knew there were shifters with Ida. Although they didn’t know where we were heading, the rebellion leaders were the only ones who knew who Ida was travelling with. Someone must have sent a letter alerting the Usurper, and whoever had done it would have to face mine and my Lycan’s wrath.