CASSANDRAOutside of the scientific research I’d conducted with Becky back in Anemond, I had known nothing about wielding magic before the fire in the main building at Vlokwell. When I cast the spell to put out the blaze and control and deflect the bullets from Kaleb’s soldiers, I acted completely on instinct. There had been no incantations, no rituals, just pure adrenaline.I didn’t know what to expect when I ordered Raven to show me how to use these new powers, but I hadn’t realized it would be so difficult.As she taught me, using sorcery required willpower, physical energy, strong belief, and determination. To practice certain forms, one needed to believe in what would happen next and be determined to make it happen. It was all bizarre and for someone like me, who had always thought magic powers were merely a fabricated story, practicing sorcery was a challenge.After half a day of attempting different spells and techniques to no avail, I was ready to give up entirely. Still, Rav
CASSANDRAThe next morning, when I walked into the bathroom, I caught sight of my reflection in the mirror and my heart skipped a beat.It was real.I mated with Asher last night.He had claimed me as his under the light of the moon. We had opened the windows and let the cool night air filter into our room as we mated and made love. It had been a special night, one I would never forget. The love within my heart was stronger than it had ever been and I felt like I was finally thawing. I was becoming myself again, the version of myself that had been lost in the inferno. I was healing from my trauma and learning to be alive again.I smiled at my reflection and admired the rosy color of my cheeks. They didn’t look as hollow as they once had and there was a sparkle in my emerald eyes again.As I brushed my long copper hair and braided it, I remembered the other discussion we’d shared last night. We’d reached an agreement that it was time to tell Finnick the truth.He deserved to know that
CASSANDRAUnfortunately, our moment of bliss didn’t last long.The night before we were set to leave the Alpha of Red Stone’s home and head toward Wegalla, an accident happened.We were packing up some of our belongings when we heard a short screech. It was a haunting, terrible sound that stood out in this silent place. It was the kind of noise that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand straight up, and a shiver traveled down my spine.I braced for something horrible, but when we rushed to the window and glanced outside, there was nothing to be seen. I glanced around, waiting for a second utterance, and when it didn’t happen, I thought maybe it had been my imagination.Just as we turned around to get back to packing, a second screech was heard, short but clear.Asher and I rushed out of the room and met the others in the hallway. Everyone else had heard the sound as well. We did a headcount to make sure all were present, but to our surprise, two soldiers of Red Stone were missin
CASSANDRARoxy let out a terrible roar.It was the most horrible sound I’d ever heard from a werewolf and it made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.The dark-haired warrior sorceress didn’t cry and no tears spilled onto her cheeks, but her sea-green eyes were wide and bloodshot.“No,” she uttered as her full, lower lip trembled. “No, no, no.”She cradled her twin sister’s lifeless body close and supported her neck. When she was balanced in her lap, she raised her fingers and sparks began to fly from the tips. She whispered to herself using words I didn’t recognize. It appeared as if she were trying to cast some sort of spell on Raven. But as the minutes went by, her efforts seemed to be in vain.She was gone.All of us were stunned. None of us had expected Raven to stand in the way of her sister. Everything had happened so quickly that it hardly felt real. Though I hadn’t been Raven’s friend by any stretch of the imagination, I hadn’t wanted her dead. She had put a great amoun
BECKYThis was the boldest thing I’d ever done in my life.I had always been a good girl. I rarely lied and rarely got myself into any sort of trouble. I obeyed the wishes of my mother and everyone else without any complaint.But things had changed. This time, I had lied more than I’d ever done in total over all these years.I had assumed the identity of a royal healer and used my invented position to sneak into the House of Moses. Cassandra had left her official badge in the clinic and I saw no other option than to pretend. So, I did all I could to disguise both myself and my scent. I changed my usual style of clothing to one that was more professional. I switched out my glasses and made sure that my hair was neat and orderly. I had to pass as a royal healer and they often appeared very well-dressed and put together.Dickson had been against the idea when I had proposed it to him. He didn’t like the plan of sneaking in to infiltrate the House of Moses and insisted I could do nothing
BECKYThough I was no stranger to witnessing Adalyn’s awful behavior, this was something else entirely. When she had ransacked our lab and gotten into altercations with Cassandra, she had been whiny, childish, and bratty. But here in Silas’ room, she was acting differently. It was awful and infuriating to see her acting as if she cared about her brother or all of these healers.Strangely, I had the sense that Adalyn was trying to control her father. I thought it was the other way around, but Adalyn seemed to be pulling the strings successfully.Oliver Moses scanned the room and then his son’s lifeless form for a moment and then let out a heavy sigh. He ran his hand through his graying hair and then nodded his head. The pair left the chamber and once the door closed behind them, I shook my head and frowned.As the healers around me let out collective sighs of relief and talked amongst themselves, I thought about Adalyn’s words.A plan?What plan?Mentioning the king and the country in
BECKYI knew Cassandra and the Alpha King needed to be informed of Adalyn’s plan before they returned to Anemond. If Adalyn really intended to use their son to manipulate the king, they needed to be aware in advance so he wouldn’t fall for the ruse.Of course, I had no idea how to get this information to them. I hadn’t received any news about Rayden or Cassandra before I arrived in the House of Moses, nor had I in a while. I phoned Wild Crawler every day in hopes of hearing about their whereabouts but there hadn’t been any updates since Rayden had left for Yurene. There was no telling where they were or if they were safe.I wanted to pull my hair out in frustration but I managed to remain calm and level-headed. I needed to keep my wits about me here if I wanted to survive this mess of a situation.As their talk ended, I was about to get close to the door so I could peer out through the door crack. I needed to make sure no one would see me when I left the room, maids or otherwise.Befo
CASSANDRAWe had disguised ourselves before returning to Wild Crawler.Heavily armed Wegallan soldiers were patrolling the borders so there was no way that we could slip in undetected unless we were dressed as normal civilians. Asher was too noticeable of a person to just walk into the Pack and I was likely just as recognizable. We didn’t want harm to come to us, especially when we weren’t certain of which side the soldiers worked for.After we got dressed, we managed to look like normal Pack members.My stomach was in knots as we prepared to cross the forest but I managed to hold my own and remain brave on Finnick’s behalf. It was so strange to think about all that time ago when I was going to take my son and flee these woods to get away from Asher and his order to come with him to Anemond. Back then, I’d seen Asher as this terrible villain, and here we were.He was not the same man I’d feared so much and vowed to escape from.He was my mate.Rayden had prepared passes for us quite s