Chapter 51: Fairness And Guilt

THORDeucalion’s return to the study jolted me from my reverie of thoughts and pent-up fury.“Did I not tell you to leave?” I snapped at him.He carefully made his way to stand in front of my study desk, caring less about my anger. “We need to talk.”I tapped gently on my desk. “Whatever it is can wait.”“No, it can't.” Deucalion growled. “It can only be now, and you have no choice but to listen to me.”With obvious hesitation, I turned to face him. “So, what's the not-so-urgent, important topic.” “I’ve been meaning to ask you about your connection with Dextera.” He said boldly. I huffed, calming myself before broaching the topic with him. Did I expect this? Somewhat. Only that I did not expect him to put his first foot forward anytime soon. Not when we had a great threat to be concerned about—one which already had a great effect on my mental health. “What exactly do you want to know?” I asked, trying so much to avoid discussing her on a deeper length.“Everything. As long as it c

Chapter 52: Searching For Clues

DEXTERACould it be a coincidence? I sifted through my memories, replaying the incident in vivid detail. The more I thought about it, the more certain I became it was the same symbol.My head snapped toward Roxanne. “Can I get a pen and paper, please?”She gave me a quizzical look, before motioning to a nearby corner. Moments later, she returned and handed me a small jotter and a pretty looking ballpoint pen. “What do you need this for?”I smiled, collecting the pieces from her. “You’ll see.”Relying on the memory alone, I sketched a rough but recognizable version of the symbol onto the page. “Does this look familiar to you in any way?” I asked, turning the jotter towards her.She reached for it, observing the sketch I scribbled down. She studied it for a while, her gaze flickering between me and the jotter in between her fingers. Roxanne averted her gaze back to me, shaking her head. “I don’t think I recognize this in any way.” “Oh,” I muttered, a bit disappointed.Roxanne stood

Chapter 53: Her Desperate Quest

DEXTERAGetting the route to Vaelorra’s address was a bit of a hurdle as I wasn’t very familiar with the pack. At some point when I got several feet away from Roxanne’s mini-clinic, I decided against proceeding to the elder’s residence. ‘This is all but a bad idea.’ My subconsciousness warned. There were several reasons my intuition guided against the decision. Asides not knowing the direction, it was way too late. Dark clouds began to take up the sky and it would have gotten darker by the time I got to the supposed destination.Also, I had close to no idea what Vaelorra was really like up close. Roxanne said she was the best approachable, but she could as well take badly to unwanted guests at that time of the evening. Yet, I wanted answers desperately. I was greatly invested in finding out what that logo or symbol meant and in finding out Vaelorra’s possible intent for visiting me at the dungeon. ‘You can do that tomorrow when the day is bright.’ My subconsciousness offered but I s

Chapter 54: The Unspun Scion

DEXTERAI stayed where I was, half-hidden in the narrow basement passage, my body pressed lightly against the wall as I watched the room ahead.The space opened up wider than I expected. It wasn’t bright exactly. It was just bathed in a muted, amber glow that came from crystal sconces embedded into the stone walls. At first glance, it looked like a library with tall shelves lining the walls, stretching from floor to ceiling, packed with books, scrolls, sealed chests, and odd artifacts that glimmered faintly as though they carried a life of their own.But to anyone with deep thinking, this wasn’t a place for leisure reading. It was easy for me to tell despite that I couldn't see all clearly from the distance.My gaze shifted to the large desk positioned at the center of the room where Elder Vaelorra stood.She had her back partially turned to me, angled just enough that I could see her profile. Spread across the desk was a massive book which looked old and thick. Its cover was dark an

Chapter 55: Force Behind The Chaos

DEXTERA My shift dragged on slower than usual and agony tore through me in relentless waves as my body writhed against the stone floor and confined space. My vision swam and sharpened all at once, and then something caught my eye through the haze of pain. The big, bold pendant on the chain around Ivana's neck. It glinted faintly in the low light, and a dark metal sigil etched into the pendant in twisting lines. My senses sharpened, instantly recognizing the symbol. It was the very one I had come to ask Vaelorra about. The realization struck me hard, even as my bones snapped into their final alignment. With a violent surge, my shift completed. My beast rose fully to it's towering height, and a second howl tore from my throat, louder than the first, powerful enough to rattle the shelves and crack the silence apart. The force of it slammed into the room, and both Vaelorra and Ivana instinctively shifted back, retreating several steps. Ivana’s voice trembled as she stared at me, ter

Chapter 56: Hardened Resolve

DEXTERA My body ached terribly and my head split with headache as I sat upon my bed trying to recall what took place overnight. The last thing I could recall was Deucalion coming to Vaelorra's residence and my beast lunging at him. I tried sifting through my memories while battling with the pulsating headache which split through my head. Yet, I had no memory of what happened afterwards. My body calmed and I looked around me sharply. I reached for the bedside table aiming for my alarm clock; only then did I realize I was in an unfamiliar room. My head snapped in all directions at once, at alert. Where was I? I panicked. “You don't have to be scared. This is my room and you're in my house.” Deucalion uttered, like he knew what I was thinking, and relief took over me. He strode in casually with a hot cup of something drinkable which smelled like a mixture of herbs. “Not so good.” I answered. He dropped the tray of cup on the small stool beside the bed. He pulled the blinds coveri