Chapter 12

Chapter 12
Violetta’s POV

For several seconds, none of us moved.

I stared at the hollowed soldier’s body, trying to make sense of what I was seeing. A hollowed here in the unified territory. That couldn’t be a coincidence.

“Lyra,” I said slowly. She looked at me, and I could see the surprise in her eyes too.

I pointed toward the dead soldier in her presence, shaking my head. “They were supposed to be dead.”

“Yes. They were captured or killed after Azythar was defeated and killed…” she said in a hoarse whisper. “This wasn’t a random attack. They’re here for revenge… meaning some of them escaped. Always knew they would have… from maybe the other packs, but…”

I nodded, suddenly everything was clicking together. “They wanted us to find him… and the other fae. And there might even be more. And they wanted us to blame each other.”

Everything seemed too much like it should be, as I looked at the bodies. The first fae had been found near the unified border, then another one had been murdered closer to the packhouse territory, and unlike the last time, wolf tracks had been purposely left behind.

And now we had found a hollowed soldier… or soldiers who attacked.

Their goal hadn't been just to kill fae or kill wolf or even kill any creature of any sort. It was simply to get us to fight each other and put the blame on each other. Fucking bastards wanted to incur a war.

“If they keep doing this,” Lyra said, “both our councils will eventually demand war.”

“Mine already has,” I replied.

Selene looked at me, eyes widening in shock. “And whoever is behind it knows that.”

I nodded. “They’re creating just enough evidence for both sides to believe the other is attacking them.”

“Which means the real enemy gets to sit back and watch… and then strike when we are both depleted to notice anything.”

“Yes.”

“Sounds a lot like Azythar's methods,” Lyra chuckled lightly. “Maybe a hollowed is emulating him now that he’s gone? And his kingdom is collapsed?”

My mind was racing as there was only one person who could have organized something like this other than Azythar himself, who was dead. There was only one person who had every reason to want revenge.

And one person I had been hoping never to see again.

Svetlana.

My stomach twisted.

No.

It couldn’t be.

I remembered the day she had threatened me. I had been surprised to see her, knowing she was dead… but somehow she had resurrected back from the dead. How it happened, I didn't even know. But I know very well the words she had whispered to me.

She had disappeared after making her request, which I refused, and she had promised me she would get it one way or the other… that is, I'd be forced to give it to her if she went after Selene. So of course I denied Selene and left without goodbye just because I knew she was watching. I needed her to think she was wrong. After that, I had assumed she was gone for good when she believed the bluff, and that was why I kept my distance from Selene all these years just in case. Apparently, I had been wrong.

I looked at the hollowed soldier again. “She survived.”

Selene frowned. “Who?”

I didn’t answer.

Because if I was right, then this was bigger than revenge against the wolves. She wasn’t trying to start a war just because she hated us. She was looking for something she believed I could give her.

My blood. Somehow… even though she was supposed to be dead… when I had given it to Azythar, she knew about it. But how even? Had her spirit been roaming about? How did she even get back to her body… Thorne had killed her. Or was it Riven? The memory was blurry to me, but I knew the day we met Lyra and Selene in the cottage when they had been waiting for Riven, but he had already been imprisoned by Azythar. I knew she died the day we first took Lyra to the fae lands.

My stomach dropped and the small wound on my side suddenly felt much more significant.

I looked down at the blood soaking through my clothes. The attacker had touched it. And he hadn’t simply been interested in the fact that I was injured.

He had wanted the blood.

“Fuck.”

Selene and Lyra stepped closer, looking at me with intrigue.

“What?”

“Violetta,” Lyra pressed.

I looked at her. “What?”

“What are you thinking?”

I opened my mouth, then stopped.

There was something else that I hadn’t considered. If they were collecting my blood, why? Why would they need it when the ravagers could not even exist? When beyond the lunar gate they were also petrified and sealed by Lyra's magic forever.

What could they possibly do with it?

My thoughts raced through everything I knew about Azythar, the war, and the hollowed. Lyra had defeated him that day, and according to Thorne he burnt his body… but his soul had been trapped by the power in her amulet. She had used it to drain it out of his body and destroy him.

My eyes widened. “No.”

Selene looked at me. “What?”

I stepped backwards, my heart pounding like crazy and hoping that I was just being paranoid about everything right now. “The amulet.”

Lyra furrowed her brows. “Huh?”

I looked toward her. “Where is it?”

She frowned. “What?”

“The amulet.”

She stared at me as though she didn’t understand the question. Then suddenly her facial expression changed. “The one I wear?”

Her hand immediately went to her chest and touched the necklace beneath her clothes, her fingers searching for something. Her eyes widened. “No.”

“What?” Selene asked.

Lyra looked down, as her breathing became uneven. “It’s gone.”

I stared at her. “What do you mean it’s gone?” I asked in a panic.

She pulled the chain from beneath her clothes and even though the chain was still there, the center was empty.

My heart began pounding. “The soul.”

Lyra looked at me and nodded. “Azythar’s soul was inside it.”

“And now it’s gone?” Selene asked, her eyes widening in panic.

Lyra nodded slowly.

I could barely breathe. If the amulet was gone and it was managed to be opened, it meant Azythar’s soul wasn’t trapped anymore.

He was free. Or someone had taken him to try and free him. More things started to make sense as I relayed the data from the bodies to the markings. I now understood their message. Svetlana was trying to bring him back.

“They’re trying to resurrect him,” I whispered.

Lyra looked at me. “How?”

I stared at the blood on my hand.

“They need something. She wanted me to give it up willingly for her, or she... she wanted my people waging war against me.”

Selene frowned. “What?”

I couldn’t answer as my throat had gone completely dry. Because I knew, I knew exactly what kind of blood could be used for something like this.

A particular kind that was rare and forbidden, and ideally should never have even existed.

Selene’s eyes immediately moved to me as realization settled. Lyra looked at her, then at me, and I felt every ounce of colour leave my face.