Blades in the archive

Elaris's POV

The metal tip of Caedmon's dagger caught the pale moonlight that bled through the narrow archive windows, throwing an unbroken line ofsilver across his cold, murderous eyes.

Several heartbeats passed before neither Neryss or I shifted.

The ancient shelves took silent witness of our encounter as the records stored within had long been safeguarded by the Alpha generations, Maevra's registry clutched tight against my chest and her stolen signet lay forgotten on the velvet-draped table behind me.

Caedmon slowly rotated the dagger in his fingers.

"You shouldn't have come here."

his voice was quiet

which scared me more than hearing a loud shout.

Neryss pressed closer to the side of my body to avoid his line of sight.

"Stay behind me."

Caedmon's gaze flicked to her frame

"You're a servant. This isn't your business."

Neryss tucked her chin up defiantly.

"She is not alone in confronting you."

A strange amusement touched Caedmon's lips as he glanced back at me.

"Brave," he murmured.

His eyes returned to my frame.

"Foolish"

"Did you truly believe you could play politics with me Elaris?"

A heavy stride began as he edged toward the nearest stone pillar.

The soft fall of his boots upon the floor told me that each step he took was slow and deliberately placed.

"You've always mistaken what survival has provided as powers."

My grip tensed around the registry as his harsh words sliced right through me.

"Perhaps it did not take power for you to survive," I countered bitterly

"but others have rescued you at various points of your life."

This only made his expression darken.

"Yes it took me," he admitted grimly.

"Your fear kept them far from my path."

It took great effort not to look abashed but I forced down the old feeling in order to meet his gaze evenly.

"You're afraid," I stated simply.

His stride halted abruptly and his eyes narrowed at the thought.

"Of what?"

"That I will inform the elders of what you and Virelle have both been doing."

His jaw tightened.

"You've been hearing too much,"

"I've heard enough," I replied firmly as the dagger in his hand jerked up, indicating he was now standing directly in front of me

"And now you've seen too much as well."

I turned away from his gaze until my spine rested against the cool wood of the archive shelves one hand drifting unconsciously to protect my abdomen as the other kept tight against my chest

Neryss shifted to the front of me and my guard's stance caught Caedmon's attention.

His eyes flicked down my body to rest upon my midsection before a strange flicker of emotion briefly crossed his face.

Recognition perhaps?

Then suspicion.

My heart slammed painfully in my chest

“You’re protecting your stomach.” You're imagining things " His expression did not change as his eyes lingered upon that part of my anatomy,

"Are you not?"

Neryss stepped up immediately, blocking the space between us

"Leave her alone."

Caedmon's lips twitched into a smile.

"So this is what it is about?"

He leaned forward and his voice softened as he watched me intently

"What is it you're carrying Elaris?"

My silence was the only response. It was all the response he needed.

"You sacrificed our child for your ambition," I spat furiously.

"And now you're trying to murder Averic's family too!"

His face darkened.

"You tossed me away after I gave everything to keep you alive.“You still blame me.”MY choice?"

I edged forward despite the fear running down my spine

"You were dying.“You made your choice.”And I saved you!"

"It was your choice!" My voice rang out into the room.

"You woke up because I ended myself and the child that you and I had created . Then you looked at me as you would a wicked criminal."

His eyes suddenly became strangely vacant.

"You should have understood what your sacrifice meant."

I stared hard at his expression

"What does it mean?"

Never had he been hesitant in answering that question but he paused now before giving me what could only be described as a smile.

"Do you ever wonder why I was lucky enough to survive so quickly?"

I took a step back, feeling the chill run through me

"You don't need to be here for that,"

Caedmon's silence was confirmation that there was something about my sacrifice that he had never shared with me

Caedmon chuckled mirthlessly

"Always too clever for your own good"

He gave me a long look.

"But unfortunately cleverness isn't going to help you when you're trapped "

His expression was suddenly harder.

"Dead broken mates don't testify before the elders."

Neryss grabbed up a bronze candle and frowned.

"You'll have to come through me first."

Caedmon laughed

"Thinking you're brave will get you nowhere"

I stared down at the registry in my grip

"You don't have to kill me."

His eyes narrowed

"Why?"

"Because I don't die and then the truth will not become hidden."

He stopped

I continued

"The archive records state who comes and goes from this library."

Just for a moment his confidence seemed to falter before he allowed himself a smile

"Does it?"

I shot a knowing glance toward the doorway.

The guard ledger was missing.

"Virelle planned for everything," Caedmon said simply as he lunged forward

The steel tip of his blade came very close to my shoulder but I twisted violently away, barely allowing the weapon to split my sleeve rather than sever any arteries

Neryss wailed in my direction

"Elaris!"

I lurched backward with little grace as Caedmon pursued immediately

There was no thought in his actions, no remorse, but there was no question of his determination in finding his chosen end.

I raised the registry in my hands to stop him from pressing forward

"You won't get away with this!"

"I don't need to because you'll have to be quite silent as well."

His dagger descended again and I ducked, causing the wooden registry to bang loudly against the shelves and send the brittle paper flying from their bindings all over the floor.

One document landed conveniently at my feet.

I glanced at it briefly, taking in the bloodline record before recognizing a seal that I'd never before seen accompany Maevra's name.

A sealed heir protocol.

My breath hitched but I didn't have time to fully comprehend the meaning.

Caedmon yanked his dagger away and came toward me again but I swung the heavy book in my hands, planting the thick corner against his temple which sent him sprawled backward across the floor in a most undignified manner.

Neryss pulled me back as she gasped in disbelief at the sight of Caedmon's nose, which sported a thin but very noticeable stream of blood .

"Run!" Neryss urged but we were only halfway through the door when Caedmon was on his feet again. He caught hold of Neryss' dress by the back

"Neryss!"

I scrambled to follow but he blocked my path

You're not leaving"

His voice had changed again, all amusement draining from it.

"You know too much."

I looked down at the registry

"You're afraid of what is contained within this page."

He looked up at the book briefly and the flicker of his eyes gave all away

There was something in Maevra's records that he was most definitely in danger of losing

Caedmon pressed me back against the wall and the steel tip of his dagger hovered dangerously near my throat

"Give me the registry"

"No"

"Elaris"

"No!"

His fingers closed around my wrist and he gave a particularly sharp squeeze.

"You've already lost one child."

The words tore something inside me but all I could think of was how he'd taken that from me and I'd barely had time to hide it from him.

His gaze flicked down to my swollen stomach

"You certainly do not want to lose another."

I stared back in horror

"You know."

A slow smile emerged on his face

"So you are pregnant."

My blood ran cold at his words.

Neryss took a step toward me but her feet were shaking

"Don't touch her!"

Caedmon's eyes remained fixed on my midsection

" Who is the father?"

I refused to reply

He pressed his frame closer to mine

"Averic?"

My silence was all the answer he needed

His face twisted in a grotesque manner not of surprise, but of fear.

"You're carrying his heir."

Before he could react or even move away I was suddenly overcome with a most strange sensation.

As something violent surged up inside me I sent a rush of silver energy blasting through him, sending Caedmon to his back, his dagger landing well clear of my person at his right shoulder. It was such a hard blow to the front of his skull it sent him sprawling back across the wooden shelves, scattering books to either side of his head.

The air was filled with the sound of crashing glass and Neryss stared in wide-eyed shock to find me still standing despite the sheer force of his attack

"Elaris..."

I could not explain it to her.

My own wolf stirred within me.

Not in fear or weakness but in fury

The energy surged again from deep inside me and I looked across Caedmon's shaken frame to see the most bewildered expression in his eyes

"No," he croaked as he dragged himself away from the floor in a most undignified manner, only to pause again as something else seemed to catch his eye.

"No, that's impossible."

I pressed the sides of my stomach against the fabric of my dress, the pulse of my silver aura rising alarm within Neryss and causing her to reach out to steady me

"What is happening to me?"

Caedmon stared hard at the strange glow that now encompassed me

"You shouldn't be capable of manifesting that."

The feel of protection grew stronger as things crashed down around us and the light around my belly pulsed a second time, sending the heavy registry from out of my grasp which landed safely at the center of the floor encircled by a faint shimmer of silver.

Caedmon covered his face with both hands as a second wave of energy attacked him and he writhed in discomfort

"This is no ordinary form of pregnancy!"

his voice quivered

"What have you done?"

I watched him closely

"What have I done?"

"You survived the bond rupture,"

His eyes were wide

"and in turn the child has manifested the essence expelled from your being when your link to me was severed."

My stomach flipped unpleasantly as I took deep, steadying breaths

"What does that mean?" Caedmon shook his head grimly

"The child doesn't just contain Averic's bloodline."

His face was stricken in disbelief

"The bond itself has manifested .

Neryss was staring hard at my midsection as she uttered in the most hushed whisper

"Then the baby is..." Caedmon's choked words followed her unspoken thought.

"An Alpha-born heir."

Caedmon dropped heavily to his knees, gasping in pure shock as he watched the light in an almost protective manner envelope my own form

"You were supposed to stay weak."

His words came out slowly as realization started to hit him

"After extracting their essence that would've killed your wolf."

I stared at him

"You planned that."

He didn't reply so it stood as the confession.

"You knew my fate."

He did not answer my question either.

I advanced towards him

"And Virelle knew as well."

Caedmon's gaze flicked to the doorframe as he listened

"Virelle didn't tell you that the heirship didn't matter."

"What does it mean?"

His throat was tight with the effort before he continued.

"She was not determined to marry Averic to gain his position on the throne,"

My pulse quickened as his dark eyes looked straight at my glowing stomach

"She needed access to the Alpha bloodline."

A sharp sound came from somewhere just outside of the archive chamber. In fact, several of them

Caedmon's expression once again changed as a new type of emotion crossed over it.

"She's here."

The archive doors burst open and in stormed Averic with a bare sword in hand as several elite soldiers followed close behind, ready for action. His amber eyes fell upon the broken shelves before tracking me down with an almost panicked look on his face His blade lowered as he locked his gaze onto the silver light around my form

Its pulse was in time with the tiny heartbeat deep inside me.

"Elaris..." His voice was hushed.

I couldn't answer him.

Averic moved closer and the wolf within me responded immediately to his arrival. A surge of power coursed through us both in recognition before halting between us for the first time in ages,

He stared at me in silent realization before meeting my eyes again.

"Our child," Averic whispered in a stunned tone

"You don't understand what it is you've fathered," Caedmon grumbled from the floor

Averic's head snapped toward him

"What did you say?"

Before either could respond a woman's voice emerged from the passage

"Don't tell him."

She had walked up to me through the broken doorway, her expression no longer frightened, her eyes showing no moisture to speak of, nothing to suggest she was not in total control of herself or her next move.

She fixed her gaze upon my glowing belly before smiling

"Not until I have what that child possesses."

The archive doors blew shut behind her and I realized the pregnancy that I had hidden from all seemed now to be the prize everyone was after