Chapter 67 The Diviner's Arrival
The council chamber filled quickly. Every seat was taken. Every face was grave. Adrian sat at the head of the table, his bandaged arm resting on the carved wood, his expression carved from ice.
He'd received the report about Lila's disappearance minutes before the session began. Had read her letter with hands that shook. Had resisted the overwhelming urge to shift and hunt her down, drag her back, keep her safe even if it meant locking her in a tower until this madness passed.
But he'd let her go. Hadn't sent riders after her. Hadn't ordered her captured. Because maybe she was right. Maybe her leaving would lift the curse. Maybe the only way to save his kingdom was to let his mate flee into exile.
The thought was poison. It burned through his veins worse than any plague.
"Your Majesty." Thorne's voice pulled him back. "The diviner has arrived. Shall we bring her in?"
Adrian nodded. Couldn't trust his voice. His wolf was too close to the surface, howling for Lila, demanding he go after her.
The chamber doors opened.
A woman entered, and every councilor fell silent. She was ancient. Her face was a map of wrinkles, her hair white as snow, her back
bent with the weight of centuries. But her eyes were sharp, bright, seeing things that existed beyond the physical realm. She walked with a gnarled staff that tapped against the stone floor, each step echoing through the silent chamber.
Behind her walked Thorne, his expression unreadable.
"Your Majesty." The diviner's voice was surprisingly strong despite her frail appearance. "I am called Freya. I served King Aldric in his final years, before the curse that plagued his reign was lifted. I have returned at Councilor Thorne's request."
Adrian's jaw tightened. So this was the woman who would decide his mate's fate. This ancient creature who claimed to read curses and commune with forces beyond mortal understanding.
"You're welcome here, Freya." His voice was formal, empty of warmth. "Though I question whether curses are real or simply convenient excuses for things we don't understand."
Freya's lips curved in something that might have been a smile. "Doubt is healthy, young king. But it won't save your people from what's killing them."
She moved to the center of the chamber. Her staff tapped three times against the floor. The sound seemed to resonate, growing louder with each strike until it filled the entire room.
"I sense it," she said quietly. "The corruption. The wrongness. It clings to these walls like smoke. Seeps through the stones. Poisons the very air." Her eyes closed. "A forbidden bond has been awakened. Two souls connected against nature's law. Against the sacred order established by the ancients."
The councilors murmured. Adrian's hands clenched.
"The mate bond is sacred," he said through gritted teeth. "Given by the Moon Goddess herself. How can it be forbidden?"
"Not all bonds are equal, Your Majesty." Freya opened her eyes, fixed them on Adrian with disturbing intensity. "Some connections are blessed. Others are tests. And some..." She paused. "Some are punishments for sins committed in past lives. Karmic debts that must be paid in blood."
"You're saying my bond with Lila is punishment?" Adrian's voice rose. His wolf flashed behind his eyes. "For what sin? What did either of us do to deserve this?"
"The sin isn't yours alone." Freya moved closer, her staff tapping. "It belongs to your bloodline. To King Aldric, two centuries ago committed an act so forbidden, so against nature, that the curse attached itself to your family line. Waiting. Dormant. Until the right circumstances awakened it."
"What act?" Thorne leaned forward. "The records are damaged. We couldn't determine what King Aldric did to trigger the original curse."
"He claimed his brother's wife as mate after his brother's death." Freya's's words fell like stones. "Violated the sacred law that prohibits such bonds. The curse came swiftly. Killed hundreds. Would have destroyed the entire kingdom if Aldric hadn't made restitution."
The chamber erupted. Councilors shouted questions. Adrian's mind reeled. His brother's wife. Celeste had been his wife. And now he'd claimed Celeste's sister. Not the same situation, but close enough that the ancient curse might not distinguish.
"What restitution did Aldric make?" Adrian forced the question out. "How did he lift the curse?"
Freya turned to face him fully. "He rejected the forbidden mate. Performed the ritual of blood rejection. Severed the bond completely and sent her into exile. The curse lifted within days."
"So you're saying I must reject Lila." Adrian's voice was dead. "Send her away. Break the bond."
"Not just send her away, Your Majesty." Freya's expression was grave. "The rejection must be done properly. Through blood ritual. It's dangerous and painful. Both parties risk death if the ritual is performed incorrectly."
"Then I won't do it." Adrian stood, his chair scraping across stone. "I won't risk Lila's life. I won't reject the mate the goddess gave me. There has to be another way."
"There is no other way." Freya's voice carried absolute certainty. "The curse will not lift until the forbidden bond is severed. More will die. Hundreds. Thousands. The plague will spread beyond your borders, infect the other kingdoms. It won't stop until every wolf in the five realms is dead or transformed into mindless beasts."
"You're lying." But Adrian heard the doubt in his own voice. "This is superstition. Fear-mongering. There's no proof…"
"The proof lies in your lower districts, Your Majesty." Freya's eyes held his. "Twelve deaths yesterday How many today? Thirty? Forty? How many more will fall before you accept the truth?"
Adrian wanted to argue. Wanted to throw this ancient woman out of his council chamber. Wanted to deny everything she'd said.
But he couldn't. Because deep down, beneath the rage and denial and desperation, he knew she was right. The timing was too perfect. The symptoms too precise. The pattern too clear.
His bond with Lila had awakened an ancient curse. And the only way to stop it was to destroy the very thing he'd fought so hard to claim.
"Where is Lady Lila?" Freya's question cut through his spiraling thoughts. "She must be present for the ritual. Both mate and king must participate willingly for the rejection to take hold."
"She's gone." The words tasted like ash. "Fled the palace this afternoon. No one knows where."
Freya's expression shifted. Something like alarm flickered across her ancient face. "Gone? But the ritual must be performed immediately. Every hour of delay means more deaths. More souls lost to the curse."
"Then they'll have to wait." Adrian's voice was hard. "Because I don't know where she is, and I won't drag her back to face execution disguised as ritual."