登入Fin was quiet, his fingers tracing the hilt of her dagger. It hadn't registered until now, but he realized her weapon looked like a union of his sword and Jax's.
He glanced at Nova, who hadn't seemed to notice. Before he could say anything, a soft knock broke the stillness.
"Nova?" A knock came from the bedroom door, and a soft, timid
Fin was quiet, his fingers tracing the hilt of her dagger. It hadn't registered until now, but he realized her weapon looked like a union of his sword and Jax's.He glanced at Nova, who hadn't seemed to notice. Before he could say anything, a soft knock broke the stillness."Nova?" A knock came from the bedroom door, and a soft, timid voice. It was Marra.The room stilled.Marra had never been to the Alpha's floor. She knew the etiquette. She knew the customs. She knew what it meant for a Gamma's fated mate to knock on the Alpha's personal quarters uninvited. She did it anyway. That told Nova everything she needed to know before the door opened.Nov
No one asked Nova about last night. She didn't remember any of it. Jax remembered pieces he couldn't reach. Fin and Aeron had theories they weren't sharing yet. And Cael had decided he didn't want to know. He was about to find out anyway.Fin sat beside Nova, one hand resting gently against her back. Across from them, Jax leaned back in his chair, arms crossed tightly. Elle stood by the hearth, refusing to sit, her eyes locked on Cael as if bracing herself.Aeron practically bounced in his chair like a child who had somehow snuck into the war council. His whole face lit up as he stared at the swords and daggers on the table. His eyebrows wiggled. "This is the best day of my life," he muttered to himself, rubbing his hands together like he was about to unwrap something illegal and holy all at once.
On the bedroom floor, Jax's body was motionless. Inside the vision, he was sprinting through a nightmare forest, searching for a woman whose screams he couldn't answer.Jax squinted, trying to find any sign of Nova. The forest was dark in a way that had nothing to do with the absence of light. It was dark because something was eating the light. And it was hungry.He tried to yell her name, to call for her and let her know he was coming, but no sound came out of his mouth.Voices came. Dozens of them. Layered. Wrong. "Nova... come out, come out wherever you are."They repeated it, again and again, each time the pitch shifting, distorting until the name sounded more like a curse than a call.
She'd touched the book. She remembered that much.Everything after was a forest she'd never seen, a sky she couldn't read, and the growing certainty that she wasn't supposed to be here.A single path lit up beneath her feet, weaving between the silver trees, leading her toward something.Ahead, a figure waited in a clearing: a woman cloaked in white, her face hidden beneath a silver veil. She was seated beside a pool of water that reflected the stars from above—but the reflection didn't match the sky. It showed something else.Nova stepped forward, her voice trembling. "Who are you?"The woman didn't answer. Instead, she pointed to the water.
Jax lifted a hand and cast a shield around them all before stepping ahead. The first arrow came before they cleared the threshold.A volley of dark arrows shot out of the shadows, striking the barrier and disintegrating on impact, dissolving into dust before they touched the ground.They moved toward the mouth of the cave with slow, deliberate steps, the air heavy with an ancient, breathless stillness.Inside, centered on a stone pedestal, rested four books.A low whisper rippled through the cavern, distant yet distinct, as if the pages themselves were calling her name.One second Nova was walking beside Fin. The next, she was across the room with her hand reac
Below ground, they'd fought death traps, watched visions of their own murders, and crawled through quicksand. Above ground, Cael had been sitting next to a hole in the earth, alone, wondering if he should have brought a book.He wasn't sure how much time went by. To him, it was maybe 10 minutes. He couldn't feel Elle through the matebond which made him uneasy but it hadn't been long enough to go in.Then a portal opened and Nova stepped through looking like she'd been dragged through a swamp by her ankles. That was not what he was expecting.His mouth opened. Closed. Opened again."Nova?"Her eyes were the only thing visible beneath the thick coatin
The corridor twisted like a living thing beneath the castle. Cold stone. Ancient shadows.Aeron walked in silence ahead of her. He seemed to be deep in thought.Jax caught up to her and grabbed her hand, giving it a squeeze. She looked at him with grateful eyes and that nearly broke him.He pulled
Warmth.That was the first thing she felt. Soft furs beneath her knees. A heartbeat.Nova stirred slightly, the ache in her ribs was a dull hum now. Her cheek was pressed against the slope of someone's chest.Her entire body was draped over his.Chest to chest. Legs tangled. His arms wrapped firmly
"...You good?"Fin slowly turned his head, expression blank, hollow, and vaguely murderous."Do I look good to you."Jax snorted. "No. You look like you're about to declare war."Fin inhaled sharply through his nose — the kind of inhale a man takes when he's restraining himself from breaking furnit
Lisa Rellane's hands were already shaking before she crossed the threshold. Lieutenant Blackhart escorted her in. Her gaze stayed fixed on the floor, her fingers twisted in her apron like she was trying to wring courage out of the fabric."Sit," Fin said.She obeyed so fast the chair screeched.Fin'







