Chapter 13: Information

SERA

I woke up to pain.

My shoulder throbbed with every breath. For a moment, I couldn't remember where I was or what had happened.

Then it all came rushing back. Cassandra, the training ground, my shoulder dislocating.

I opened my eyes to find myself still in the clinic. Elena sat at her desk, grinding herbs.

"You're awake," she said, looking up. "How's the pain?"

"Bad," I admitted, trying to sit up. The movement sent fresh agony through my shoulder, and I gasped.

"Don't move too quickly," Elena warned, coming over to help me. She adjusted pillows behind my back, supporting my injured arm. "Your shoulder needs time to heal, at least a week before you can train again."

A week? Seven days of being useless while everyone else prepared for whatever was coming.

"Kade sat with you all night," Elena said, returning to her desk. "He only left at dawn."

The information hit me hard, I didn't want to care, didn't want it to matter.

But it did.

"Why?" I asked.

Elena gave me a look that said I was being deliberately dumb. "Because he was worried about you, child. He blames himself for what happened."

"It's not his fault," I said automatically. "He wasn't even there."

"Exactly. That's why he blames himself."

I didn't know what to say to that. Part of me was touched that he'd stayed, part of me wondered if he was just protecting his weapon, making sure his Silver Blood asset survived.

"Cassandra is still here," Elena said, watching my face carefully.

My stomach dropped. "What?"

"She's leaving tomorrow morning. Kade made a deal with her, one more day in exchange for information about Elder Clearwater."

Anger burned hot in my chest. "He let her stay? After what she did?"

"He made a strategic decision," Elena said. "The information she has could save lives, could save you."

"I don't want to be saved by her," I said, my voice sharper than intended. "I want her gone."

"I know." Elena's expression was sympathetic. "But Kade is thinking about the bigger picture, about what's coming, about…"

"About using every resource available," I finished bitterly. "Even if that resource just tried to break me."

Elena sighed. "You're not being fair."

Maybe I wasn't but fair didn't seem to matter much right now.

A knock at the door made us both turn. Marcus stepped in, his expression serious.

"Sera, you're awake, good." He looked at Elena. "Kade wants everyone in the strategy room in ten minutes, Cassandra is ready to share what she knows."

My stomach twisted. "I have to be there?"

"Kade thinks you should hear this," Marcus said. "It's about Clearwater and why he wants you dead."

I wanted to refuse, to stay here in the clinic where I didn't have to see Cassandra or sit in a room with Kade or pretend everything was fine.

But I needed to know if Clearwater was planning something, if there was information that could help me survive, I had to hear it.

"Help me up," I said to Elena.

She did, carefully. My legs were shaky, but they held. The pain medicine was wearing off, leaving everything painful.

Marcus walked with us to the main house. Every step hurt, every movement reminded me of what Cassandra had done.

The strategy room was on the second floor, a large space with a table in the center and maps covering the walls. Kade stood by the window, his back to us. He turned when we entered.

His eyes went immediately to me. I saw relief flash across his face, then concern as he took in my pale complexion and the way I was favoring my injured shoulder.

"Sera," he said, walking towards me.

"I'm fine," I said quickly, moving to a chair before he could reach me. I sat down carefully, keeping my expression neutral.

Kade stopped, something flickering in his eyes. Hurt? Confusion? I looked away.

Marcus helped Elena unto a chair, then took his own seat. The room felt too small, too tense.

Then Cassandra walked in.

She looked refreshed, relaxed, like she'd slept well. Her eyes found mine, and I saw something there, not quite regret, but maybe acknowledgment.

"Let's get this over with," Kade said, his voice cold. He didn't sit, just stood at the head of the table with his arms crossed. "Talk, Cassandra."

Cassandra leaned against the wall, studying her nails. "Elder Clearwater isn't just the head of the Council, he's obsessed with Silver Bloods, has been for decades."

"We already know he wants them dead," Marcus said.

"It's more than that," Cassandra looked up. "Twenty-six years ago, Clearwater killed his own mate. She was a Silver Blood named Elara."

The name hit me like a physical blow. Elara, my maternal grandmother's name.

Kade's eyes moved to me, but I couldn't look at him, couldn't breathe.

"Elara was the last known Silver Blood before Sera," Cassandra continued. "She and Clearwater were fated mates. He loved her, or so everyone thought but when the Council decided all Silver Bloods needed to die, Clearwater made a choice. He chose power over his mate."

"He killed her," I whispered. My voice sounded far away, not like my own.

Cassandra nodded. "With his own hands while she was pregnant."

The room went deadly silent.

"Pregnant," Elena breathed.

"Clearwater didn't know until after," Cassandra said. "By the time he found out Elara had been carrying his child, it was too late. The baby survived, Elara managed to hide her before she died. That baby was Sera's mother."

My chest felt too tight. I couldn't get enough air.

"So Sera is Clearwater's granddaughter," Marcus said slowly.

"Yes and that's why he wants her dead so badly." Cassandra's expression was hard. "It's not just about eliminating a Silver Blood, It's about erasing his mistake, his guilt. Every time he looks at Sera, he sees the mate he murdered and the family he destroyed."

"How do you know this?" Kade demanded. His voice was rough, dangerous.

"I have contacts within the Council," Cassandra said. "People who owe me favors, people who remember what really happened twenty-six years ago." She straightened. "Clearwater is planning a public execution, he wants to make an example of Sera, prove that even the return of Silver Bloods won't threaten the Council's power."

"When?" Kade asked.

"Soon, within the month, if my information is right. He's gathering Council forces, preparing for a massive assault on this compound."

The words hung in the air, heavy with threat.

I stared at the table, trying to process everything. My grandmother had been murdered by her own mate, my mother had been born from that tragedy, never knowing her true heritage and now Clearwater wanted to finish what he started, to eliminate his bloodline completely.

"There's more," Cassandra said quietly. "Clearwater has been searching for other Silver Bloods, he thinks there might be more out there, dormant bloodlines that haven't awakened yet. If Sera's power triggered, others might too. He's terrified of that."

"Good," Kade said darkly. "He should be."

Cassandra pushed off the wall. "That's everything I know. The rest, battle plans, timing, specific forces, I don't have access to that information."

"But you have contacts who might," Marcus said.

"Had contacts," Cassandra corrected. "Using them to get this information burned those bridges. I'm done with the Council now which is why I'm leaving."

She looked at me then, really looked at me. "I'm sorry," she said. "For what I did to you, I thought…" She stopped, shook her head. "It doesn't matter what I thought, I was wrong."

I didn't respond, couldn't.

"You can leave now," Kade said to Cassandra. "Pack your things, be gone by sunrise."

Cassandra nodded and left without another word.

The door closed behind her, and the silence that followed was suffocating.

"Sera," Kade said gently.

"I need to go," I said, standing too quickly. Pain shot through my shoulder, but I ignored it. "I need to…I can't…."

I was out of the door before anyone could stop me. Down the hall, down the stairs, moving as fast as my injured body would allow.

Behind me, I heard Kade call my name, but I didn't stop.

I couldn't be in that room, couldn't sit there and discuss my grandmother's murder like it was just information, just strategy.

Clearwater had killed his own mate, his own child's mother and now he wanted to kill me to erase his guilt.

I made it to my room and shut the door, leaning against it as my legs gave out. I slid to the floor, my injured arm screaming in protest.

A knock came almost immediately. "Sera." Kade's voice, rough with concern.

"I'm fine," I said. "I just need to rest."

"Let me…"

"Please," I interrupted. "Just... please leave me alone."

"Alright. But I'm here if you need me."

His footsteps retreated down the hall.

I sat there on the floor, my mind spinning with revelations I didn't know how to process.

And all I could think was that Cassandra was right.

I was going to get people killed. Clearwater was coming with an army, and it was all because of me.

Maybe leaving was the answer. Maybe if I disappeared, the compound would be safe.

Maybe I was more dangerous to Kade and his rogues than the Council ever could be.