With five tournament winners being absent the following day, they were only five people in the training house.There were two sparring groups currently sparring while Daya had a cloth wrapped around her knuckles as she trained on a punching bag. The door soon opened and Madison walked in, hands behind her back as always. Everyone took their position opposite the mat, hands behind their back and eyes firmly staring ahead of them."Jenna, Tiffany and Mary will not be joining us for a while because they're still unconscious. Neon was excused out of the Council and will meet us in the human city." Madison said as she unhurriedly paced to and fro. "What about Freya Armstrong?" One of the boys with black spiky hair, suddenly butted in. Madison halted and slowly tilted her head to look at him. His eyes met her chilly gaze for a second and he quickly lowered them to the floor again, cowering in fear. "Forgive me." He apologized, but added, "I went over to Brianna's office this morning and
"No, Cleopatra. We can't go to war against the witches because simply because of your cousin. Look around. Over the past few weeks, we've lost a lot of men and currently, we have groups of them outside the Council doing one vital thing or the other. Facing off against the witches with the men we have at hand is nothing but sheer suicide." Hercules tried to reason with Cleopatra, desperation clinging tightly to his voice. She had her back to him and her eyes closed in thought. The silence that ensued after he made his speech scared Hercules. He knew Cleopatra long enough to know what happened whenever she went silent for such a long time.Hercules thought long and hard about what next to say before a brilliant idea came into his head. "How about this; you hasten the trip of the Combat Tournament winners to the human city. Nebra said she didn't know where they are holding her hostage, and since everyone knows we hold the tournament every year, they won't find it weird when the childre
"What's going on with Freya?" Sarah inquired, her footsteps echoing softly in Rose's room as she entered.Rose, who was diligently sharpening her knife, briefly halted her task before resuming it with a focused determination. "I have no idea," she replied in a tone tinged with uncertainty.Sarah, her voice laced with curiosity, continued her musings, her fingers gently encircling Rose's waist as she spoke. "Not even Cleopatra walks around with that many guards. I know she's important to the Council in a sense, but that doesn't mean she should be treated like royalty."Rose's body tensed at Sarah's touch, her usually unwavering gaze briefly betraying a hint of nervousness. Her eyes drifted downward to the knife in her hand, and she softly responded, "I'm sure Cleopatra has her reasons."Sarah, seemingly unbothered by Rose's reaction, nonchalantly expressed her disinterest in Freya's situation. Her fingers ventured further, sliding under Rose's top, and traced idle circles on her stoma
"Ten minutes ago?" Rose repeated, her voice tinged with frustration, and turned away from the girl."Thank you, Amy," Cleopatra expressed her gratitude to the girl and patiently waited until Amy had walked out of the training house. Only then did she shift her attention back to Rose. "Even if you leave now, you won't be able to catch up with them."Rose's brow furrowed in confusion. "How is that possible? And why the hell am I even here when the girl I'm supposed to be protecting is outside the Council?" She hissed, tilting her head to look at Cleopatra.Cleopatra maintained her composure, her tone unwavering. "Freya has spent time in the Council. She has learned how to defend herself, so I thought she should be allowed to go to the Council on her own.""Why?" Rose pressed."Because she has to be strong to be a Luna. She...""Don't say that nonsense about it being impossible for her to have people guarding her whenever she leaves her future pack, because she will be a Luna. Not just
"There's a significant obstruction looming ahead, and as a result, we've decided to seek shelter for the night in this very spot," Ryan proclaimed, the wind carrying his voice through the quiet forest. The group of teenagers nodded in unison, their faces illuminated by the dappled light filtering through the dense canopy above. They wasted no time, retrieving their tents from their backpacks and setting up camp.Freya struggled with her tent, attempting to wrestle the fabric into submission. Seeing her struggle, Mendoza approached her with a warm and friendly demeanor. "Hey, what transpired between you and Jenna last night?" Mendoza inquired after a few moments of assisting Freya. Her eyes were curious, yet beneath the surface, a well-concealed tension lingered.Freya paused, contemplating Mendoza's remarkable ability to mask her true feelings and maintain a facade of affection toward someone she secretly despised. She couldn't help, but chuckle within her. For what it was worth, M
"After the attack on the Council, I made my mother believe she was crazy. I even went as far as almost destroying the room she prepared for the baby." Cleopatra exhaled shakily, her voice tinged with guilt. She stood close to her office's window which had a view that made it possible to oversee the whole Council's activities."You didn't know. None of us knew." Neon shrugged, walking up to her. After making her discovery, she called Cleopatra as soon as possible and conveyed what she found out. "Neon, Nebra was right." Cleopatra exhaled heavily again, tilting her head to look at Neon, "I was the closest to Freya and I never caught on to any hint, but just a day in the Council and Nebra already had her suspicions." "If you're about to say something about Nebra going to take over the Council when she returns, then you should keep shut." Neon scoffed, directly cutting her off. "I used to be good. I've taken care of the Council and the people in it for so long that I let someone so i
Behind the Council building, a figure clad in leather pants and jackets tossed her backpack over the fence before attempting to jump over the wall."Going somewhere?" Cleopatra's familiar voice shattered the silence, causing her to freeze."What do you want this time?" Rose hissed, twisting her head to face her."I've just received word that the tournament winners and their instructors might not have made it to the human city," Cleopatra stated somberly. "In fact, they might be dead."Rose's eyes welled with tears at the thought of Sarah being dead, and she turned away from Cleopatra. After what felt like an eternity, she scoffed, "Are you here to sympathize with me or exploit me again?""When you put it like that, it makes me seem like the villain," Cleopatra guiltily scratched the back of her neck.Rose had indeed warned her about her witch enemy, but she didn't believe the witch could eliminate Sarah without alarming the others with her, so she didn't think anything would happen to
Hearing Freya's name, Nebra reacted; her hands grabbing Nelly by the collar and pinning her against the wall. "Are you trying to tell me Freya Armstrong is in danger because of your fellow witches?" She asked aggressively. Nelly sighed, holding up her hands to show she wasn't going to resist or do anything tricky. "I don't know the details, but from the little I've gathered, it seems Braeden Vause made a deal with the witches just before he was killed." "What does he have to do with Freya Armstrong?" Nebra asked slowly, her pupils dilating in realization as she already guessed what Nelly was about to say. "The look in your eyes doesn't seem to be that of curiosity. Thankfully, I got my hands on you first, otherwise, the people who also connected the dots, would've bombed what your kind calls the Council in search of Braeden's offspring." Nelly responded and smacked her lips together. "Now get your hands off me." Nebra clenched her jaw for a moment before she obliged and stepped