Xander's povI reached her door and placed my hand on the door handle but I hesitated.If I go in, what would I say to her?I stood there for a moment contemplating my decision. Leo growled in frustration and urged me to go in but I ignored him as I pulled my hand back. Barging in will not give me what I want, rather, it'll make things worse.Whatever she was doing, whatever she was hiding, I would find out.But not tonight.With a sigh, I turned on my heels and walked away, ignoring the lingering questions at the back of my mind. Avs was keeping secrets, and it was only a matter of time before they came to light.When they did, I wasn’t sure if I’d be ready for the answers.I caught sight of madame Mary as I walked to the dining room. I didn't want to talk to anyone let alone dine with them.“Mary,” I called out, making her turn to me. “Have dinner brought to my room.”“Alright, your majesty.” She gave me a curtsey then walked to the kitchen to do as I had instructed.The walk back t
Xander's pov"Rogues?" I asked, frowning.“Yes. A group of them arrived at the border and they've requested to speak with you.” He continued.Group? Rogues were known to travel alone as wild animals.“How many?” I asked.“About eight.”Eight? Even if rouges move together they do so in small numbers. Something was going on.“How did they manage to get so close to our border without being detected?” That was impossible.Magnus shook his head. “We don't know. It was as if they just appeared. They somehow bypassed the patrols, not just ours but that of the other neighboring packs as well. It was like… I don't know, it's just too coordinated for rogues to pull off.”My body tensed at his words. He was right, this wasn't normal. Rogues were disorganized, scattered and usually too weak to be a serious threat let alone demand an audience with me. But this... this was different.“I'll be there shortly.” I said, Turing to go grab my boots.The air was thick with tension as Magnus and I walked t
Xander's povThe tension in the air was thick and suffocating as I walked back to the castle with the package in my hand. The scent of the tracker will forever haunt me, I was the one who approved the mission and now his family has lost him.I thought of a way to deliver the news to his family.I placed the package on my desk in my office, staring at it as if it held all the answers I needed. I looked up at the warriors who had followed me in, they were silent and their expressions were grim.The rebellion was no longer a distant threat and was not as small as we thought. How rogues and humans formed an alliance was beyond me, I couldn't comprehend it nor could I have thought that a day like this would come. They were here, right on my doorstep and they had made their first move.Leo growled in the back of my mind, his anger mirroring my own. “We need to act fast.” he snarled.“We will,” I said aloud, my voice cold and steady. “But first, we need answers.”I noticed that Magnus and L
Xander's povIt was later in the day, I had spent the whole day cooped up inside my office sorting through the list I had asked Magnus to provide for me. Nothing seemed amis and this stressed me more.There was something I wasn't seeing. Someone who was well hidden, I didn't know who to trust at this point.I wanted to ask Lyra or Magnus if they had seen the person that the rogue had looked at. If my mate was a suspect then so was everyone else regardless whether or not we are related.Leo growled in my mind, he had been doing that all day. This time, I didn't hush him because he was right and it was time for me to stop avoiding the truth that was clearly in front of me.I stood up from my seat and allowed my legs to carry me to Ava's room before I could rationalize and change my mind. I didn't bother to knock because this time, I was here for a confrontation. I pushed the door open and stepped inside.Ava was standing by the window, looking out onto the pack grounds. Her silver hair
Ava’s POVThe tension between Xander and I was suffocating as I led him through the dimly lit hallways in the castle. His presence was comforting behind me, I still couldn't believe that he didn't know but something deep in me told me he was telling the truth.Now, he needed to know the truth.There was a deafening silence between us, only the sound of our shoes on the stone floor could be heard between us. I could feel his eyes digging into my back, burning with curiosity and lingering suspicion.I didn't blame him for being suspicious. Now I knew that I needed to be more careful and take note of my surroundings when going about my business.“These are forbidden parts of the castle, how did you find, let alone enter this place?” He said, voice low and cautious.“Forbidden?” I paused and turned to look at him. “A glow led me here.”“Glow?”“Yes, just a trail of golden light.” I replied. “Come on, you need to see this.”We resumed walking and Xander was silent behind me but I sensed hi
Ava's povXander moved fast, he stood in front of me, claws out and a low growl rumbling in his chest. I couldn't see due to his figure blocking my line of sight.“Show yourself.” Xander called out, lowly.A shiver went down my spine in fear. Who was that?“I'm the keeper, Ava.” The voice was right next to her ear, it made her jump in fright.There it was, the glow. It wasn't a trial this time but it had a masculine type body but no face. Xander turned and pushed her behind him once more.Did it read my thoughts?“Yes, I did.” The glow said.This was beginning to freak me out. “Calm down, both of you.” It said softly.“What… are you?” I asked.“The keeper.” It said again. “I was entrusted with guiding this room from people who sought to bring it harm.”“You were the one who led me here the first day, right?” I said, stepping out from behind Xander.“Yes.”“Why?” I asked.“I sensed Aria and knew that the time was drawing closer.” the keeper answered.“Who's Aria?” Xander asked. He was
Ava's povI stumbled back and let go of Xander's handI started at the statue, heart pounding. “This…this can't be.”“She looks just like you.” Xander said, next to me. Voice filled with confusion that mirrored the expression on my face.Why is there a statue that looks like me, in the castle? I wondered.“She is you.” I turned to look at the keeper as it spoke.“Why is it here? What does it mean?” I asked.“It's here because you are more than you know, Ava. Your role in all this is far greater than you could have imagined.” The keeper answered. “Come, the answers to your endless questions await.”It walked to the podium in the centre and waited for us to join. Xander and I exchanged a look before walking up to the podium.“Place your hands on the podium.” it said.Xander and I exchanged uncertain glances again. I felt his hand brush mine before he took it in his grasp and held it tightly. He was still guarded and didn't trust the keeper, I could feel the tension radiating off him in
Ava's pov“If…” I started. “If what you're saying is true then I must have been gifted back then, why didn't I stop the war? What makes you think I can stop it now when I couldn't stop it then?”“It wasn't the right time.” The keeper said. “The goddess may be supreme but she is not to interfere with the works of the fates.”“Fates?” I askedThe scene froze and the keeper appeared before us. Its voice— neither male nor female, was calm as it spoke. “Every living thing in the universe is the work of the fates.” It started. “The fates are three ancient magical women who weave threads for every living thing.”“Threads?” Xander asked.“Yes, these threads are life. The life of everything alive is held in a single thread which is connected to what we call ‘the core’”The more he explained the more new questions began to form in my head. “What is the core?”“It is what you call destiny.” It answered. “All threads are tied to the core, the thread is a path that guides you to the core— your ul
Xander's povThe night was quiet, save for the faint crackling of the fire still burning at the center of camp.But Ava… she had curled up beside me, her head on my shoulder, her fingers gently tucked against my arm. Her breathing slowed sometime between Rowan’s quiet jokes, Vanessa blushing with Kael teasing her and Lyra sitting in silence after her brief confession.She fell asleep there, in the circle of firelight and friends and whispered memories.I couldn’t bear to wake her.So I carried her.Her warmth pressed against my chest as I walked us to the chambers we’d been assigned in the temporary Ashville pack house. The bed was a bit small but clean, sheets tucked in and blankets folded. I laid her down carefully, brushing a stray strand of hair from her cheek before covering her with the blanket.I wanted to stay awake and watch over her. Zerathos may be gone but he has left a lasting trauma and fear of the shadows. I was scared that if I closed my eyes and opened it I would real
Rowan's POVLyra’s breathing had finally evened out beside me, a soft, steady rhythm that showed that she was finally at ease and I was glad. She didn’t say another word after I wrapped the blanket around her and sat by her side. She didn’t need to.I looked at her, really looked.Her face had lost weight in the past months, the edges sharper now—grief had carved out the softness she once had so effortlessly. The dark, sunken circles beneath her eyes told me she hadn’t been sleeping much. And even now, in the calm after the war, her body was tense beneath the blanket, like she was ready to spring awake at any given time if someone so much as touched her. .But she had opened up.That alone made something in my chest unclench for the first time in weeks.I tilted my head back, let my eyes gaze up to the stars, but even their beauty felt muted tonight. Everything felt… dulled. Like we’d survived the fire, only to emerge into the ashes.But she talked. She talked.And I’d take that over
Lyra’s POVThe fire had burned down to little fire, and one by one, they drifted off to sleep. Ava had fallen asleep curled against Xander’s chest. Vanessa and Kael were tangled up on a blanket near the edge of the camp, whispering and grinning like the war had never happened and they were in some sort of fairytale. Like they’d known peace all their lives.I was happy and envious of them so I forced myself to look away.Rowan had stayed with me.He always did.By the time the last bit of fire was snuffed and silence had settled over the camp, he rose, wordless, and offered me his hand. I took it, letting him guide me away from the others, deeper into the shadows where the weight of their stares couldn’t follow.We walked to a place in Ashville that we liked. It was a little hill above the camp where the entire land could be seen and the sky felt so close. The stars were particularly bright on that night, I just stood there and took a deep breath.The night air was cold, crisp, almost
Lyra’s povI don't know how long we sat there but I had droned out their conversation as I watched the burning fire. Suddenly, I felt the air shift. It wasn't the regular shift.But this time, it was different.Tense. Sharp.I knew why.I could feel it, their eyes were on me.And they deserved answers.I just wasn’t sure I had the strength to give them.Rowan came even closer, a steady wall beside me, his warmth grounding. He hadn't spoken much, just held my hand quietly under the blanket we shared. It should’ve comforted me more than it did. But the guilt clung to me, curling in my chest like a shadow that refused to be exorcised.I peeped at Ava across the fire, her knees were pulled to her chest, arms loosely wrapped around them. Xander had stood up and was standing just behind her, arms crossed, his gaze unreadable as it flicked from person to person—though it lingered on me more often than not.I was almost certain I could go the night without a word being said. That they’d keep
Lyra’s POVThe crackling of the campfire sounded distant just like the faint sound of voices laughing and talking. Familiar voices. Ones that once meant comfort and strength. Now, they sounded foreign and distant, like echoes bouncing off the thick stone walls of guilt I had built around myself.I sat wrapped in my cloak, hood drawn low, body leaning into Rowan’s side. His warmth was steady, grounding. I could feel his heart through the fabric, steady as a drum, but there was a tension in the way he held me. He didn’t trust me—not entirely. I didn’t blame him.They had every right not to.Ashville was ruined. The war was over. And I had helped start it. They just didn't know that.I didn’t know how to look them in the eyes, not after what I had done.Ava’s laugh echoed through the air, loud and carefree, like birds chirping and singing during the summer. She teased Vanessa about how she once fought her over Xander. Vanessa rolled her eyes but smiled, her fingers tangled with Kael’s. I
Ava's povThe fire crackled in the center of our circle, its warm glow and embers floating up to the dark sky above us. The scent of roasted meat and earth filled the air. It was the first night in what felt like centuries that I didn’t have to look over my shoulder or hold a weapon while I slept.We had won.The war was over. Zerathos was gone alongside his shadows and forge. It was a tough battle but we won in the end and that's all that mattered. The camp was quiet, solemn in places, and slowly coming back to life in others. Rebuilding had started before the ashes were even cold.We’d spent the entire day helping—healing, carrying, burying. Holding hands that trembled with grief. Offering words to those who could still barely believe they’d survived. It was exhausting in a new kind of way—no longer physical, but emotional.And now, for the first time in weeks, we sat around a fire without dread thick in the air. Just six of us. Allies through it all. Survivors of chaos.Ava sat bes
Ava’s POVThe morning after the final battle was a strange kind of quiet. Not silence, exactly—there were still murmurs, the crackle of the early fires, the low sobs of those mourning their fallen, and the laughter of those too happy not to laugh. It was a quiet that came after chaos, the kind that felt borrowed, fragile, as if the world was holding its breath, unsure if the war was truly over.But it was.Zerathos was gone. His shadows had dispersed, leaving behind only the smell of ash and blood.I stood at the edge of the ruins that had once been the main part of our camp, the place where strategy was whispered and sleepless nights were passed in tense silence. Now it was littered with broken weapons, scorched earth, and fat too many lifeless bodies.Kael called out names from a growing list, his voice steady despite the tremble in it. Vanessa stood beside him, her hand in his, as they honored each name with a nod and a moment of silence. Rowan knelt by the body of one of his falle
Ava’s POVLyra was a blur of shadows, her body twisting and jerking with the force of a nightmare that had fully claimed her. Her eyes were two hollow pits of blackness, her once vibrant blue eyes now lost beneath an abyss. The very air around her seemed to tremble with the power of Zerathos’ dark magic, and the wail that tore from her throat was not the sound of her voice anymore. It was something ancient, something malevolent, echoing in the very bones of the earth beneath us.Xander’s blade clashed with hers as she lunged at him again, but there was no recognition in her movements—just raw, unfiltered rage. The Lyra I knew, the sister of Rowan, the one who had laughed with me and shared secrets in the quiet corners of our kingdom, was gone.“Lyra!” Rowan screamed, his voice was raw and hoarse, breaking with the anguish of a twin who had just watched his sibling become something unrecognizable. His voice was a beacon of desperation, but it did nothing to stop the creature she had be
Ava’s POVThe ground trembled beneath our feet as Lyra's form charged toward Xander with unnatural strength, the sound of her shrieking filling the air with an unnatural, bone-chilling shrill. Her movements were too fast, too erratic, her body a twisted mockery of the sister I knew. Her eyes, once silver with kindness, now pulsed with an abyssal blackness—pools of darkness that swallowed any light. She was lost. But I refused to believe it. Not completely. Not yet.“Xander, MOVE!” I shouted, pushing myself forward, my heart hammering against my ribcage. I couldn’t lose him. Not now.Xander barely had time to react before Lyra was upon him, her blades gleaming with malice as they sliced through the air. He barely dodged, the edge of her dagger grazing his shoulder, sending a burst of pain radiating through his body. He growled, backing away, but she was relentless—her speed matched only by the cold fury in her eyes.“No!” I screamed, my voice raw with desperation, but the words were lo