ALTHEA. “No. Her house was quiet. But she left her home before three in the morning and came home after an hour.” Aldrin explained, and my brows hiked up. “Did you follow her? Where did she go?” “I was not the one watching her then. My man did follow her, but he lost her. He rounded the area but couldn’t find her, so he went back to where he was and saw her come back after an hour or so.” “Did she come here, Dalton?” “No. I have people stationed all around the packhouse, as you ordered. No one woke me up, and I checked with them earlier. There was no one here.” “Was she walking straight or in pain? Or?” I continued asking. “The warrior watching her didn’t say anything strange except that she went out in the middle of the night. He would have told me if she was having a hard time walking, but he didn’t. All he said was that she had a large cloak covering her body, and she looked around before proceeding to the nearest forest line.” “She went to the forest? And did she have any

LUCIUS. “Have you even moved since I left?” Patrea asked as she appeared in front of me. I saw her vanish from the hologram in Lucija’s office, so I was already expecting her. “I have people to do my bidding for me,” I answered her as I sipped the metal glass that contained demon’s brew. My eyes squinted as I scanned her from head to toe. “Aren’t you tired?” “Lucius… Have you changed your mind?” She ignored my question and asked me another. “No.” “Are you checking them in your hologram?” “No.” “We tried going in there, and we were blocked.” “I was expecting that... She did say we were no longer welcome there.” “And you’re just going to let it stay that way?” Lucija asked, who appeared just seconds ago. I let out a sigh as I eased myself into a more relaxed position. It was already hard to deal with Patrea when our ideas were opposing each other, and if I threw Lucija into the mix, I would be in a bad place. They both knew they were my weak spot. “Where’s Stone?” I asked.

ALASTOR. “Can you search the nearby city for the morgue where Soledad was taken more than five years ago? And who her family is and if they are still alive. Her full name is Soledad Fawkes. She was twenty-three when she died.” I hated stalking, but I had no choice. I had things to do. So, I stuck this information in my head while plotting ways to lure Althea into the library because I needed a backup plan. The Alpha that had been driving her back and forth at the university was guarding her like a dog, and my only chance to get her alone was during school hours. But it was still not a guarantee, as he would sometimes show up during her lunchtime. But I couldn’t delay this anymore. I wanted Athwart back, and I would do whatever it would take to get it. I was the rightful heir. I should be king already, but Lucius stealing what was mine was something I never saw coming. If I had known things would end that way, I would have assisted my father on his mission instead of letting hi

SOLEDAD.I knew Anaiah was my only way out of here. So, no matter how much my blood boiled when I realized she was still alive, I had to pretend otherwise.They seemed to care about her, so I had to change my tactic because, obviously, Alastor didn’t care about me. But who was the female I killed in the Red Mountains?I wasted all these months waiting for my mother to appear. I was eager to tell her that I finally killed Anaiah and trapped her powers the way she told me to once I found her.When Anaiah was six, my mother realized she could never make her obey to use dark magic or at least embrace it. So, she told me that she would weaken Anaiah so that she could transfer Anaiah’s energy and power to me. I realized she was just softening the blow by saying she would weaken her because later on, she confided that powers could only be fully transferred upon the death of the witch.It was a secret we both kept. She was not sure if the Coven would support her because they never seemed t

ALTHEA.My mind was working in overdrive while I stared at the blank space inside this dark cave. I wasn’t going to deny that hatred brewed in me for the people I learned to trust when Soledad’s words got into my head. Because, as horrible as it may be, Soledad really knew me. We were related by blood. It was the reason they didn’t want me to wear this necklace. Soledad was right — no one was able to take it from me. I noticed when Patrea tried, but let it go as if it burned her. But could I trust Soledad?That Soledad in front of me was different from the female who stood before me when she arrived at the territory. Her eyes were different. Gone was the meek, naive human she pretended to be replaced by someone who looked like she was ready to kill Blade — because of me. She was talking too fast, but I understood every word. I was taken. My memories were stolen, and she said it was all Blade’s fault. But I couldn’t get to that part where Blade took me from them because I was sure