Chapter 27 A Shocking Glimpse
Magnus’s POV
I didn’t move for a few seconds after the voice disappeared.
Not because I didn’t know what to do, but because my body was trying to process something that didn’t make sense. The air on the balcony felt the same, the night breeze still moving softly, and the castle below us remained as quiet as ever.
But one thing had changed.
I heard it.
Not through Evra. Not as an echo. Not as something I could brush off as an illusion.
I heard it directly.
Varon wasn’t silent.
His growl wasn’t like when he sensed a visible threat. This was different. Deeper. More… cautious.
“Say it again,” he muttered in my head. “What was that?”
I didn’t answer right away.
Because for the first time in a long time… I wasn’t sure I had an answer I could trust.
Evra was still standing in front of me. Her body was slightly tense, but not like when her power spiraled out of control. This felt more contained. More focused.
And that made it even more dangerous.
“You heard it too,” she said quietly.
Not a question.
I looked straight at her.
“Yes.”
Silence fell between us.
Not long. But enough for my thoughts to start moving faster than usual.
That voice didn’t sound like something trying to attack. There was no pressure. No force. No intent to dominate like most powerful entities I’ve encountered.
And that was exactly the problem.
Because something that doesn’t try to take control… usually doesn’t need to.
“What do you feel right now?” I asked.
Evra didn’t answer immediately. She closed her eyes for a moment, like she was confirming something.
“Clearer,” she finally said. “Not like before.”
“Explain.”
She opened her eyes and looked at me. “It doesn’t feel like something coming from far away anymore. It’s more like… it’s been here all along. I just couldn’t hear it until now.”
Varon stiffened instantly.
“That’s not a good thing,” he said.
I agreed.
But I didn’t show it.
I took a step closer.
Evra didn’t step back this time.
“It’s not trying to hurt you?” I asked.
She shook her head. “No.”
“Force you?”
“No.”
I narrowed my eyes.
“That makes it worse.”
Evra gave a faint smile, but there was no humor in it. “I was thinking the same thing.”
I studied her for a few more seconds before making a decision.
I wasn’t going to wait for something unseen to take control of this situation.
I reached out and grabbed her wrist.
The moment our skin touched, something shifted.
Not an explosion.
Not pain.
But… a pull.
Like something instantly recognized the connection and used it.
Varon roared.
“What are you doing—”
I didn’t get the chance to answer.
Because the world around me shifted.
Not gone.
Not completely changed.
But like two layers of reality suddenly overlapped.
I was still standing on the balcony.
Still holding Evra’s hand.
But at the same time… there was something else.
Images that weren’t mine.
Cracked ground.
A sky with no color I could name.
And voices.
Not like before.
More.
Deeper.
Older.
Varon stopped roaring.
He… went silent.
I had never felt that before.
“What is this…” he muttered.
I didn’t answer.
Because I saw something in those fragments.
A figure.
Unclear.
Incomplete.
But enough to trigger my instincts instantly.
Not as an Alpha.
Not as a predator.
But as something more primitive.
Recognition.
I took a slow breath.
And the world snapped back.
The balcony. The night wind. The castle.
Everything returned.
But my grip on Evra’s hand hadn’t loosened.
She looked at me.
And from her expression… she saw the same thing.
“That wasn’t a dream,” she said quietly.
“No,” I replied.
Varon spoke again, but his voice was much lower now.
“That wasn’t a vision.”
I nodded slightly.
“That was a memory.”
Evra inhaled slowly. “Whose memory?”
I didn’t answer right away.
Because that wasn’t something I could determine yet.
But one thing was clear.
“It wasn’t mine.”
Evra’s gaze sharpened. “And it wasn’t mine either.”
Varon shifted uneasily.
“If it’s not yours… then whose is it?”
I finally let go of her hand.
But the sensation didn’t fully disappear.
Like something lingering beneath my skin.
I looked at her for a few seconds before saying,
“We’re not waiting for this to unfold on its own.”
Evra raised an eyebrow slightly. “And your plan?”
“I’m going to force it to show itself.”
She shook her head immediately. “That’s a bad idea.”
“Maybe,” I said flatly. “But it’s worse if we let it choose its own timing.”
She didn’t respond right away.
But I knew she understood.
Varon agreed.
“We don’t hunt shadows,” he said. “We drag them out.”
I shifted my gaze toward the forest.
Dark. Deep. Too quiet.
But now I knew it wasn’t empty.
“Strengthen the guards across the entire territory,” I said without turning.
Evra frowned slightly. “Are you talking to me or your guards?”
“Both.”
I turned and walked toward the balcony door.
Evra followed a few steps behind me.
“Where are you going?”
“The west tower.”
She quickened her pace. “For what?”
I didn’t stop walking.
“If something is reacting to the energy in this territory… I want to see how far it reaches.”
We stepped inside the castle. The halls were still quiet, but I could feel a subtle shift in the air.
Invisible.
But there.
Like pressure that hadn’t fully formed yet.
Varon felt it too.
“It’s getting clearer.”
I didn’t answer.
We climbed the stairs toward the west tower.
The higher we went, the stronger the sensation became.
But not like a threat.
More like… observation.
I didn’t like it.
We reached the top.
From here, the entire Rivenhall territory stretched out before us.
The forest spread wide in the distance.
And at the edge of it… something moved.
Evra noticed it immediately.
“There it is again.”
I narrowed my eyes.
Not one.
More.
Shadows.
Too far to see clearly.
But enough to confirm one thing.
They didn’t move like animals.
They didn’t move like wolves.
They were… gathering.
Varon growled.
“There are more of them.”
I didn’t respond.
I watched their pattern.
They weren’t approaching.
Not attacking.
Not spreading out.
They were just standing there.
Facing one direction.
Toward the castle.
Toward… us.
Evra exhaled slowly.
“They’re really waiting.”
I crossed my arms.
“Yes.”
A few seconds passed.
Then something changed.
One of the shadows moved.
Its head lifted.
And even from this distance… I knew where it was looking.
Not at the castle.
Here.
At the tower.
At me.
Varon stiffened.
“It’s looking at us.”
I didn’t move.
I stared back.
No fear.
No hesitation.
Only one thing.
Confirmation.
The creature didn’t move closer.
But its presence became… clearer.
As if distance no longer mattered.
Evra stood beside me.
“What are they seeing?” she asked quietly.
I didn’t answer right away.
Because the answer was forming on its own.
Not from logic.
Not from experience.
From something deeper.
And I didn’t like it.
I took a slow breath.
Then said quietly,
“They’re not just looking.”
Evra turned to me.
“Then?”
I kept my eyes on the shadows.
“They recognize.”
Silence fell again.
Heavier this time.
Because we both knew what that meant.
Evra frowned slightly. “Recognize what?”
I didn’t answer immediately.
But before I could—
The voice returned.
Not inside Evra’s head.
Not just in mine.
But… in the space itself.
Between us.
Close.
Clear.
Impossible to ignore.
“You’ve started to see.”
Varon roared.
I didn’t move.
Evra stiffened beside me.
I stared ahead.
But I knew.
The voice wasn’t coming from any direction.
It… was there.
“What do you want?” I asked flatly.
No pause.
No hesitation.
The answer came immediately.
“Not what I want.”
I narrowed my eyes.
“Then what?”
The voice felt closer.
Clearer.
More… real.
“What should have happened from the beginning.”
Varon growled.
“It speaks like we’re part of it.”
I didn’t suppress the reaction.
Because for the first time… I was starting to consider that possibility.
Evra stared forward.
“What do you mean ‘from the beginning’?”
Silence.
One second.
Two seconds.
Then the voice answered.
“Since the moment you first found each other.”
I didn’t blink.
Neither did Evra.
The wind stopped.
The world seemed to hold its breath.
I spoke again.
Colder now.
Sharper.
“If you think you can decide something in my territory—”
The voice cut in.
Not loudly.
But with certainty that couldn’t be ignored.
“Your territory?”
Varon roared louder.
I didn’t move.
But my jaw tightened slightly.
The voice continued.
“You still think this is about territory.”
Evra swallowed.
I narrowed my eyes.
“If it’s not, explain.”
Silence fell again.
But this time it felt different.
Heavier.
Closer.
And when the voice finally spoke again—
Its tone had changed.
Lower.
Deeper.
Far more dangerous.
“This is about who once sealed it… and who finally opened it.”
Something moved in my chest.
Not Varon.
Not my Alpha instinct.
Something else.
And for the first time since this started…
I didn’t reject it.
Evra looked at me.
I didn’t turn.
Because I knew if I did… I would see the same thing in her eyes.
Recognition.
The voice let out a soft laugh.
“Now… tell me, Magnus Rivenhall—”
I waited.
Varon tensed.
Evra held her breath.
And the next words fell like something that couldn’t be taken back.
“…when you saw that earlier…”
Silence for a second.
Then...
“…why didn’t it feel unfamiliar?”