Chapter 71

Aria's POV

The air in the camp had been heavy, thick with fear and uncertainty ever since the messenger screamed Noah’s name.

As he lay there, beaten and bloodied, his hoarse voice had carried one name that shattered everything we thought we knew.

"Noah."

I had barely begun to piece together the implications of what he had said when chaos erupted.

"Stop!" I ordered, raising my hand to halt everyone’s movements.

“Do not touch him. I need him alive. I need answers.”

The messenger’s chest heaved as he struggled to breathe, his lips trembling as though he wanted to speak but couldn’t find the strength.

I knelt beside him, ignoring the blood smeared across the ground, and gripped his shoulders firmly.

“Talk to me,” I demanded, shaking him gently but urgently.

“What do you mean, Noah? Is it the Noah I know? No—it can’t be.

Noah is dead!” My voice cracked with a mixture of desperation and denial.

The messenger’s eyes fluttered open, his gaze locking with mine.

His lips moved, faintly shaping the word “No,” but his voice was barely audible.

He shook his head weakly, his body convulsing with spasms of pain.

“No,” he whispered, his voice rasping like dry leaves in the wind. “Not… that Noah.”

My heart froze. A cold shiver raced down my spine as his words settled over me.

“Then who?” I urged, my voice rising.

“Who is this Noah? Tell me!”

Before he could answer, a sharp, hissing sound sliced through the air, and I barely had time to react.

The messenger’s body jerked violently as an arrow embedded itself deep in his chest.

Blood spurted from the wound, staining the ground in a dark, ominous pool.

A collective gasp erupted from the group.

“Where did that come from?” someone shouted, their voice frantic.

I whipped my head around, scanning the trees and shadows surrounding the camp.

But the forest was eerily silent, offering no clue as to where the attack had originated.

“Find the shooter!” I barked, my voice cutting through the chaos.

The group dispersed, each member moving cautiously, their weapons drawn and eyes alert.

My attention, however, remained on the messenger.

His body convulsed violently as I knelt beside him, desperately shaking him.

“No!” I screamed, clutching his shoulders.

“You can’t die on me now! Who is Noah?

What do you mean?

What are you saying?!”

The messenger’s head lolled to the side, his lips parting in a silent, final breath.

His lifeless eyes stared at me, unseeing, as blood dripped from the corner of his mouth.

“No!” I cried again, my voice breaking.

“You can’t leave us like this!”

With trembling hands, I reached for the arrow protruding from his chest. The shaft was smooth, the tip glinting ominously.

I pulled it free with a sickening squelch, and my breath caught in my throat as I examined the blade.

Silver, dipped in bane.

The combination was deadly for werewolves, killing almost instantly.

Whoever had shot this arrow knew exactly what they were doing.

I looked up, my mind racing.

Was the attack from someone within our group? Or was it an enemy lying in wait just outside the camp?

The uncertainty gnawed at me, making it impossible to trust anyone—or anything.

“What do we do now?”

Dorian asked, his voice tense. “We’ve lost our only lead.”

I clenched my jaw, trying to suppress the wave of frustration and despair threatening to overwhelm me.

He was right.

The messenger was our only source of information, and now he is gone.

“We need to move,” Tiara said suddenly, her voice cutting through the silence.

I turned to her, my eyes narrowing.

“Move where? We’re at a crossroads, and I have no idea which path to take. Every option feels like a trap.”

Tiara hesitated for a moment before stepping forward.

“I have a suggestion,” she said carefully.

“We go north.”

“North?” I repeated, frowning. “Why?”

“There’s someone there,” Tiara explained. “An elder I’ve heard of. He’s the one who told me about my curse and how to break it. If we can find him, he might be able to help us. He knows ancient prophecies, and he has the ability to see into the future. If anyone can demystify what’s happening, it’s him.”

Her words hung in the air, heavy with possibility.

It was a risky plan, but it was better than standing still, paralyzed by indecision.

I studied Tiara carefully, searching her face for any sign of deceit. But all I saw was sincerity and hope.

“All right,” I said finally, my voice steady. “We’ll go north.”

The group nodded, their expressions a mixture of relief and determination.

We gathered our supplies and prepared to set out, the tension in the air palpable.

The journey north was grueling. The terrain grew harsher with each passing hour, the air colder and sharper.

Despite the fatigue weighing on us, we pressed on, driven by the faint hope that the elder Tiara spoke of could provide the answers we desperately needed.

But as the hours turned into days, something began to feel off.

It started with small things, a lingering ache, a sense of unease that none of us could shake.

Then the symptoms grew worse.

One by one, members of the group began coughing violently, their faces pale and drenched in sweat.

Blood dripped from their lips, staining the ground with every step they took.

“What’s happening?” Evelyn gasped, clutching her chest.

“Why is this happening to us?”

Panic spread like wildfire as more people succumbed to the mysterious illness.

Even I wasn’t immune.

My head throbbed, my vision blurred, and a sharp, searing pain tore through my abdomen.

I collapsed to my knees, gasping for breath.

Around me, the others were falling too, their cries of pain echoing in the cold, unforgiving wilderness.

“It’s the food,” I realized, my voice barely above a whisper. “We’ve been poisoned.”

My mind raced, tangled with confusion and terror, trying to make sense of what was happening.

The pieces didn’t fit, and the questions kept crashing in my head, relentless and unforgiving. Who had done this to us?

How could we have been poisoned when we were so careful?

Why now, when everything was already falling apart?

The pain was relentless, spreading like wildfire through my veins.

My muscles felt as if they were being torn apart from the inside, and every breath I took was like inhaling shards of glass.

Around me, I could hear the others coughing, groaning, and gasping for air as they spat blood, their anguish only adding to the chaos in my mind.

I tried to move, but my legs buckled beneath me.

My body was betraying me, and no amount of willpower seemed to matter.

The taste of blood lingered on my tongue, bitter and metallic, as though mocking my weakness.

Desperation clawed at me, and my vision blurred, but I forced myself to focus.

I needed answers.

I needed to know who had done this, why they had targeted us, and if there was any way to stop it.

My gaze flicked to Tiara, the one person who seemed to have some idea of what we were dealing with.

“Tiara...” I croaked, my voice barely whispered, raw and broken.

My words felt as though they were being pulled from the depths of my soul, heavy and full of desperation.

She turned to me slowly, and what I saw sent an icy wave of dread crashing over me.

A wide, green mark now stretched across her face, glowing faintly in the dim light.

It shimmered with an otherworldly hue, pulsating as if it had a life of its own.

The glow wasn’t natural, nor was it something I could explain.

It was unnatural, ominous, and deeply unsettling.

I froze, unable to tear my gaze away from the mark.

My stomach churned, not just from the poison coursing through my veins, but from the inexplicable sense of doom radiating from that eerie green light.

It felt as if the mark was staring back at me, mocking my helplessness and feeding off my fear.

“What... what is that?” I whispered, my voice barely audible and my senses gradually diminished to a failing state.

But Tiara didn’t answer.

She stood there, her face pale and etched with confusion and something else I couldn’t quite place—guilt, perhaps? Or fear?

The green mark glowed brighter, illuminating her face, casting strange shadows that danced around us.

My thoughts spiraled further.

Was this connected to the poisoning?

Was Tiara involved? Had she betrayed us?

The questions felt like knives, sharp and merciless, stabbing at my already fragile resolve.

Before I could voice any of them, the world began to tilt.

The edges of my vision darkened, and the sounds around me grew distant, muffled, like I was underwater.

My body gave up, collapsing under the weight of pain and exhaustion.

The last thing I saw was Tiara’s glowing green mark, its light burning into my memory as I succumbed to the darkness.