Chapter 98

KAEL

I followed Raven to the stronghold archives. She told me she was looking for a book on a dark prophecy. I didn't like the sound of that. My experience with prophecies left me traumatized.

"What exactly are we looking for, Raven?" I asked, picking one of the books from the shelves and dropping it back. I shook my head and went over to where she was.

She stared up at the ladder on the bookshelves, her hair held back in a ponytail and lips drawn into a determined line.

"More secrets that my mother hid from me," she muttered. I didn't mistake the hurt in her voice.

"Raven," I pulled her closer to me.

She rested her head on my chest, hugging me tight.

"What happened?" I asked, my hands feeling the small of her back, traveling up, tugging her hair loose across her shoulders. She smelled like vanilla, feminine and delicate; one would hope not to make the mistake of taking her as that, though.

My Raven could stab a man through with a smile on her beautiful face. Anything that managed to leave her bothered had my attention.

"Darian is back," she whispered.

"I know, love," I kissed her forehead. "We all know that. The mystic pack allied with him, and Markov proposes we stake our war against them, but that's too rash. I won't risk it."

She looks up at me. It was clear that the information surprised her, but she shook her head. "It's not that. He appeared to me."

I stiffened all over. "Darian... You saw Darian?"

She nodded.

Fuck... I thought. That had to be bad.

My fists clenched behind her. "I swear, Raven, I don't care what he is now, but I would end him myself if he as much as comes near you..."

Raven cut my swearing mid-sentence. "He didn't harm me," she said, pulling away from me.

"In fact, he said he didn't want to fight."

She looked up at the bookshelves like they were withholding something important from her, like the answer was supposed to leap out.

I frowned. A Darian speaking about peace was too good to be true.

"How did he look? Are you sure it was him?"

"It was him, alright," Raven nodded, looking back at me. "He spoke about a prophecy that involved Orion, but I didn't stop to listen. We have to find it now. Take the top, I'll search from the bottom."

"Raven..."

But she was already gone, racing to the back shelves. I let out a sigh.

Darian was probably messing with us, trying to distract us from what really mattered.

But I didn't have proof of that, and so I climbed up the ladder, running my fingers through the books, glad that they were all in sections and alphabetical.

Half an hour later of righteous searching, I gripped two brown books in my hand. They were my best guesses and all on dark ages and prophecies.

Raven and I reconvened at the dining room. She had a long stack of books under her arms.

I dropped mine on the table and placed a cup under a coffee maker.

"We might not find our answer in days," I said, breaking the silence. "Heck, we don't even know what we're looking for."

"Well, I'm looking for my light pen, if anyone is asking," Councilor Merrick stepped into the room, padding across to the table in a sleeping robe and huge bunny-ear slippers, a frown on his face.

"Don't tell me you're brooding?" I ran a hand through my hair with an incredulous sigh.

He responded by slumping into a seat uninvited.

"He is brooding," Lukas affirmed, entering the dining room.

"Full circle moment, huh," Raven commented without looking up.

I placed a steaming cup of coffee on the desk next to her and drew out a seat.

"The world is in chaos, we're plunging into battle any moment from now, and you're concerned about a little pen?" Lukas shook his head at Merrick.

"It was a family heirloom, and it's not just a pen. Eria had no right to steal it," Merrick grumbled.

"Eria is currently trapped by one of Darian's staunch supporters, who killed his father and is on his way to coercing her into being his Luna," Lukas shot back, his voice slightly above a whisper.

Merrick pouted. He picked up a book from the table and flipped through it.

"What are we here for, Alpha?" he asked.

I was about to remind him that they were the ones who strolled in when Raven spoke up.

"Some dark, post-Darian attack prophecy," she said, looking up from her book for once.

"A prophecy..." Merrick fell silent.

Raven shut her book and pushed it aside, holding out her hand for the one in the councilor's hand.

"Don't tell me you're done already?" My mouth hung open.

She shrugged. "It's called skimming through, Kael."

"How dark is this prophecy?" Merrick asked, handing her the book.

She held his gaze. "Do you know anything about it?"

All our attention turned to Merrick.

He sighed uncomfortably. "There is one," he admitted at last.

"Evil rises from darkness, summoned by one who controls it. The child of light will banish and free, or chaos will rule in a battle of ash, the world on its knees. But it's just like a childhood rhyme, I swear," Merrick said.

"That's not a rhyme," I muttered, my voice low and serious.

Beside me, Raven's face had gone pale.

"A battle of ash..." she whispered.

"Hey," I held her hand, the fear in her eyes scaring me. "It's probably just a childhood rhyme."

"No," she shook her head, standing up. "I had a dream, everyone dead... Ash everywhere."

My blood ran cold.

"Look, guys...so what do we do? We have to find a way to stop Darian. Viper already summoned him," Lukas said.

"And he said he didn't want to fight... That's why he told me. The child of light..." Raven trailed off, and I knew why.

"Orion," I thought. The only one who could banish Darian. With him gone, the order will yield. But, dammit, Orion was just a baby. I wouldn't sacrifice him like that.

"Anyone could be the child of light," Merrick said in a low voice, but his words far from brought hope to us.

"Where did you hear the prophecy from, Merrick?" Raven asked.

He picked up a tiny black book from the table and handed it to her. "Blood and Ash. Be careful, it's a hard read."

No one smiled at the joke. Raven held the book tight and grabbed the cup of coffee, darting out of the room.

I made to go after her, but Lukas held me back.

"Let her handle it," he said, his voice tight. "We have other things to handle."

I watched Raven disappear and pulled back with a sigh. "What is it?" I asked.

I still wanted to go after her. Whatever Raven was dealing with, she didn't have to do it alone. Lukas, however, wore a grim expression, which forced me to sit down and listen.

He reached into his jacket and pulled out five pictures, placing them on the table.

"A report came in, in the early hours of the morning. Gerald Freeman and four others dead."

I stiffened, a gasp. Staring at the pictures laid out in front of me. Five men, their throats slit, eyes wide with fear as life slipped out of them.

"All councilors of the Obsidian Spire," Lukas continued.

"All order sympathizers," Merrick muttered without looking at the pictures.

"Clearly someone wanted to help out in erasing them," I gritted my teeth, my fists clenched.

"Not like that," Lukas said. "Whoever did this is trying to send out a message."

"Or grab my attention." I stepped back from the table, pacing all the way to the window. Through it, I could still see the words surrender etched across the sky. The words felt darker every time I looked at it.

"Or distract us... Destabilize us and divide our attention," Councilor Merrick said, stepping beside me.

"Eria, Darian, Orion, now this," I thought, feeling a heavy weight on my shoulders.

The pack was falling apart, and the war hadn't even begun.

"I don't know," Lukas sighed. "But I sure as hell feel like killing something right now. Preferably the person who is behind this."

"The order, obviously. But why kill your own men? It doesn't add up." Merrick was saying when I turned around.

"The order is an institute, a building more or less for the real murderers to hide in," I spat.

My eyes traveled back to the pictures on the table. Those were my men, members of my pack that I was sworn to protect. They were mine to punish.

"What I need is a name," I turned back to Councilor Merrick, my eyes blazing with contained fury.

He gave a nod. "I'll investigate it immediately. But I fear we do not have time."

"Markov is right," I said at last.

"We invade the mystic pack. It's time we got some answers."