The information that my mother gave me kept spinning in my head. Although it was not exactly what I had wanted to know, she touched on key points that I needed to hear. My heart squeezed, knowing I did not have the chance to say goodbye to her. It was like losing her all over again. It was less painful, but seeing my mother open a wound I had stopped picking at, hoping it would heal itself with time. I bit the inside of my cheeks, thinking about it. Xander snapped his fingers in front of my eyes and made me jump. I stumbled slightly, trying to match his walking speed, and lifted my gaze to see what was happening. Had he said something? “You’re not sleeping in the library again. You’re coming with me.” I sucked in a breath until my face became red. That was the part I had dreaded—us being alone. Silas had told Xander what I had planned, and every time Xander gave me a wounded look, it made my insides squirm. I had tried to excuse myself from both of them after

Xander POVPreparations were going according to plan, and rebels were slowly trickling in. The first to arrive were those closest to Perch. A few days later, the others that showed up came from Willow, Seagull’s Bay, and the surrounding areas. I expected more to appear from Mirra, White Birch and Spruce Cove in the coming days.I doubted that there were any from Osprey city. The rebellion wouldn’t have been bold enough to send some right under Osprey’s nose. The risk would have been too significant. Then again, Lord Junco had been bold. There could be some sent there that we didn’t know about. I gritted my teeth at that thought.What annoyed me the most was the rebellion leaders had not kept track of the cities where they had sent rebels and their approximate numbers. When we had dispatched the letters of summon, we sent riders all over the country to deliver them into the major cities. After that, we had to rely on mouth to ear and hope

I looked at the green-coloured liquid in the vial and inhaled sharply.“Are you ready?” Asked Count Robin.I bobbed my head and took the vial between my fingers, and chugged it down. The liquid tasted bitter, just as it had the first time Shrike made me drink it, but the tingling sensation on my tongue did not come as I had expected it to.“And?”I waited, licking my lips and forcing my throat to swallow all my bitter-tasting saliva down. I shook my head after a few minutes and narrowed my eyes at Kite. The hunter had been sitting patiently at the far end of his cell, quiet as a mouse.Gideon took another vial with the same concoction and drank it. He had wanted to see if the potion worked and if I had effectively been immune to it. I saw his face twist from the awful tasting stuff, and sure enough, moments after, he was lying on the stone ground, unable to move.Xander rubbed his hands together, and with Silas’

As soon as Roselin and Count Robin had produced and distributed the immunizing liquid against the incapacitating effects of the other, we quickly set for White Birch plain. All the shifters followed the moving party from the forest, while all the human rebels took the road with hundreds of wagons in tow. We needed to move the weapons, the armours, the food and water supplies.Only a handful of elderly rebels stayed in Perch. They would reroute any other rebels that arrived from farther districts. My heart broke when no wielders showed up, making me think that Otis and I were the only ones brave enough to show ourselves. I refused to believe we were the last two left.We had been on the road for over a week. It would take another day to reach the designated portion of the plain, where the rebellion intended to set up and prepare for the war. By my calculations, Junco had most likely arrived in Osprey City two or three days ago, which made me worry.I was atop my

Xander POV The silver shackles that bound my wrists and ankles burned my skin. I winced and shifted my weight, wanting to prevent the bindings from touching too much skin. I slowly opened my eyes. There was no difference between having them close or open. Complete darkness surrounded me. Only the scar of Ida’s blue mark left a dim glow on my skin. But it wasn’t enough to see anything clearly. The clinking of another set of shackles resonated in the space, and I heard a grunting sound coming from another person. The other prisoner coughed and hissed as the silver stung them. “Who’s still alive?” I asked in a hushed tone. “It’s me… Jordan.” Good. Jordan was still here. He was the strongest out of the ten Lycans that accompanied me on this mission. “Can you recall what happened to us?” “Some, not much. We went inside the village. It was silent. Shifters attacked us, but they weren't shifters. I tore a leg from one of them, but it