Chapter 52 Chapter Fifty-Two
The cabin was still.
Muted morning light filtered through the narrow windowpanes, brushing the wooden floor in soft, slanted beams. Julian stood near the window, coffee mug in hand, steam curling upward and vanishing into the silence. His eyes, however, remained fixed on the trees outside—dark evergreens crowding the horizon, unmoving, unfeeling. Unlike him.
Behind him, the sound of footsteps and the clink of ceramic broke the quiet.
Jace appeared in the open kitchen, shirt rumpled, hair sticking up in a way that proved he tossed and turned all night.
Jace poured himself a cup, then leaned against the counter, watching him.
“You even sleep?” he asked, voice rough, still groggy.
Julian didn’t turn. “An hour. Maybe two.”
He took another slow sip, then set the mug down and crossed to the table—cluttered with open books, maps, scattered notes, and a laptop that had died sometime during the night. He pressed his fingers to his temple, jaw tense.
“Any updates from your contacts?” he asked, already knowing the answer.
Jace exhaled through his nose and shook his head. “Nothing.”
He came to join him at the table, setting his own mug beside a wrinkled report. “The guy I’ve got watching Kaelani’s friend says there’s been no phone calls in or out—nothing that sounds like her. No sightings. No one fitting her description showing up anywhere near that town.”
Julian’s fingers curled into a fist over the edge of the map.
Jace continued, more gently now, “Honestly, I think she knows. The Council would’ve checked there first. She’s not stupid.”
Julian didn’t respond. Just stared at a burn mark on the table, brow furrowed.
“We’ve got Tessa’s line tapped, and eyes on Kaelani’s house,” Jace added. “No movement. No signal. Kaelani’s gone dark.”
Julian dragged a hand through his hair, the strands tousled and unkempt from too many sleepless nights.
“It’s been three weeks, Jace,” he muttered, voice fractured and raw. “And no sign of her. Not near her town, not anywhere near the Council headquarters. She just… vanished. Into thin air.”
Jace leaned back in his chair, coffee in hand, eyes steady. “What if the books are right?” he asked. “What if she’s in the Fae realm?”
Julian let out a breath—sharp, disbelieving. He stared at the table littered with texts, some ancient and brittle, others modern fantasy novels with cracked spines and worn covers. “How can we even trust these?” he said, gesturing to them. “Half of what they say about Lycans is bullshit. According to this one,” he picked up a dog-eared paperback, “we only shift during a full moon, we crave human flesh, and we can be killed by silver bullets and holy water.”
He tossed it back onto the pile with a bitter laugh.
Jace shrugged. “Yeah, and yet… some of it’s not wrong. Some of the lore’s always got a little truth buried in it. Like the Fae having a realm of their own. Hidden. Shielded. Hard to reach. That makes sense.”
Julian’s jaw tightened. He didn’t want to believe Kaelani was in another realm—because if she was, he didn’t know how to get to her.
Jace reached for one of the older books, its spine cracked and frayed from constant use. “This one’s been the most promising.”
He flipped it open and turned toward a page he had dog-eared days ago. The parchment was filled with archaic lettering and faded ink sketches, a list of powers attributed to the fae. He slid the book across the table until it sat between him and Julian, then dragged a finger down the column of abilities.
“We know she can control nature,” he said, his voice calm and focused. “We saw it in the woods that day—the trees, the vines… they moved for her.”
Julian leaned in, his eyes scanning the page as Jace continued.
“And this one—we saw her do what they call shadow weaving. Manipulating shadows, hiding within them.” Jace tapped the passage with two fingers. “It says here it’s specific to the Unseelie Fae”
Julian glanced up at Jace. “She’s also fast. She outran council guards without even shifting. Practically vanished into the trees.”
Jace frowned. “That one’s not listed… but that could be her Lycan blood. Maybe enhanced by the fae half.”
He paused, then tapped the page again. “And look. Right here.”
Julian followed his gaze as Jace’s finger came to rest beneath a heading: Space and Time Bending.
Jace read aloud, “Abilities may include teleportation, time slowing, dimension walking—also referred to as realm-walking.”
Julian stilled, his eyes locking onto Jace. “So she teleported… into another realm?”
Jace didn’t answer immediately. He turned a few more fragile pages, reading over a paragraph in silence before nodding. “All Fae can teleport—but only within their own realm. Traveling between realms… that’s different. That’s called realm-walking. And according to this, it’s only possible for those descended from an ancient bloodline.”
Julian leaned back slightly, the weight of that revelation pressing into his chest. “Kaelani’s mother came to this realm when she brought her to Garrick as an infant,” he murmured, more to himself than to Jace.
Jace glanced up. “Then she must’ve been from one of those ancient lines. Garrick said she was powerful—and based on this…” He tapped the next page. “Look at all these other abilities listed for Fae alone.”
Julian surveyed the cataloged powers as Jace recited each one.
“Glamouring—creating illusions to change appearance.
Telepathy—speaking directly to another’s mind.
Memory manipulation.
Emotional manipulation.
Voice of command—sounds a hell of a lot like an Alpha order.
Fire crafting, wind control, frost touch, animal bonding.
Seasonal shifting.
Nature healing.
Hyper-awareness.
Enhanced longevity. Slowed aging.
Language absorption—the ability to instantly understand any spoken or written tongue.
Lie detection.
Binding magic. Rune magic…”
Julian’s brow furrowed deeper with each ability. It was like peeling back the edge of a world he didn’t even know existed—and Kaelani was at the center of it.
Then he said quietly, “What about the violet energy blasts? I don’t see that anywhere.”
Jace flipped more pages, searching. “Yeah… that’s not in here.” He frowned. “Maybe it’s super rare?”
Julian didn’t wait. He grabbed the book and flipped through page after page, frustration mounting with each one. His movements grew more erratic until he slammed the book shut and threw it across the room. It hit the wall with a dull thud and slid to the floor.
“If the only way to the Fae realm is realm-walking,” he growled, “then how the hell am I supposed to find her?”
He stood so fast his chair crashed to the floor behind him. Pacing now, hands on his hips, he muttered, “What if she’s in danger, Jace? We don’t know what these Fae are like. We don’t know if they’re savage or cruel or if they’ll hurt her. We don’t even know if she’s in the Fae realm—”
“Julian.”
Jace’s voice cut in, collected but urgent. He pulled a folded map from under a stack of books and laid it flat across the table. It was ancient, yellowed at the edges, marked with cryptic runes and hand-drawn symbols.
“Look at this,” Jace said, pointing. “This is from before modern civilization. Pre-pack structure. Maybe even pre-human. See here?” His finger traced four symbols on each edge of the map. “Four gates. North, East, South, West.”
Julian stepped closer, squinting at the worn markings.
“Legend says they led to other worlds. And each one was guarded by… not spirits, exactly—Sentinels. Ancient beings created to protect the gates and keep balance between realms.”
Jace studied the map a moment longer, then said quietly, “This map is older than anything we’ve seen in pack archives. And there’s only one person in this world who’s old enough to actually have input on it.”
Julian’s jaw clenched as he turned toward him. “I already know who you’re going to say.”
Jace gave a grim nod. “He’s the only one I can think of who might know if the gates are real. And more importantly—how to find the one that leads to the Fae realm.”
Julian swiped a hand down his face and exhaled sharply. “What makes you think he’ll help us?”
“He will,” Jace said. “But you know what we’ll have to do.”
Julian closed his eyes, jaw clenching as the weight of it settled in. “This goes against everything we stand for… our very existence.”
Jace’s tone was quiet, but resolute. “Hey, I don’t want to kneel to him any more than you do. But what other choice do we have?”
Silence stretched between them.
Julian stayed still, eyes shut, his thoughts spiraling. He didn’t have other options. Time was slipping through his fingers like sand, and Kaelani was out there—alone, possibly in danger. There wasn’t a damn thing he wouldn’t do for her.
Finally, he exhaled slowly and opened his eyes, sharp with resolve.
“Fine,” he said, voice taut and ice-edged, “guess we’d better get dressed…”
A bitter pause.
“Then we go knock on the devil’s door.”