Chapter 101: Preparing for Midnight
The hours before midnight felt like a countdown clock we couldn’t stop. Every tick of the second hand dug under my skin.
The war room had turned into a mix of chaos and strategy. Maps were spread across the table, Ethan had at least three laptops open, and Elena was tossing knives into a target on the far wall just to “keep her hands busy.” Rhea sat curled up with that old Harbinger journal again, her lips moving as she read silently, while Echo leaned against the wall near the door, arms crossed, looking like she was already rehearsing the fight she expected to happen.
I sat at the table with Aidan, who was more restless than I’d ever seen him. His knee bounced under the table, his jaw tight enough to crack stone.
Finally, I said, “You’re going to wear a hole in the floor if you keep pacing like that.”
He shot me a look. “I don’t like this. Any of it. You shouldn’t be going.”
“You already made your feelings very clear.”
“And I’ll keep saying it,” he snapped. “Because you’re walking into something that has trap written all over it in giant glowing letters.”
Elena clapped from across the room. “Finally, someone else sees the neon sign!”
Aidan ignored her, eyes still locked on me. “Rox, I know you want answers, but—”
“I don’t just want them, Aidan. I need them,” I interrupted. My voice was sharper than I meant it to be, but I didn’t pull it back. “We’ve been in the dark since the moment this started. Gregory’s lies, his sister’s shadow games, the hybrids kneeling at my gate—none of it makes sense unless we start pulling at threads. And Damien is a thread.”
A heavy silence followed.
Then Ethan said quietly, “Threads can also be traps. You pull too hard and the whole thing knots tighter.”
“Or it unravels,” I countered.
Elena whistled low. “Wow. Look at you, philosopher queen.”
“Shut up, Elena,” Aidan and I said at the same time.
She raised her hands. “Okay, okay. Tension levels at an all-time high. Got it.”
\---
Ethan tapped one of his screens. “If she’s going, we need safeguards. I’ll wire her with a comm device—discreet, inside the collar. Heart rate monitor too. If anything spikes, we’ll know instantly.”
Elena perked up. “What about a tiny taser necklace? You know, jewelry that doubles as self-defense. Fashionable and functional.”
Ethan gave her a flat look. “No.”
“Fine. Then at least a tracker ring. Come on, spy tech is wasted if we don’t accessorize.”
Aidan pinched the bridge of his nose. “This isn’t a shopping trip, Elena.”
Rhea spoke up suddenly, her voice cutting through. “She shouldn’t go at all.”
Everyone turned.
Rhea’s eyes were on me, serious and steady. “I read something in the journal. The Harbingers… they weren’t just guardians. They were bait.”
“Bait?” I repeated.
She nodded. “The enemy sought them out. Because they carried power the others wanted. That’s what made them dangerous. Not just their strength—but their ability to lure.”
“So you’re saying Damien doesn’t just want to talk to me,” I said slowly.
“I think,” Rhea whispered, “he wants to use you.”
The words settled in the air like a stone dropped in water.
\---
Elena broke the silence with a sarcastic laugh. “Well, that’s just peachy. Roxanne, the magical bug zapper. Everyone wants a piece.”
“Not funny,” Aidan growled.
“I wasn’t trying to be funny,” Elena said, though the smirk on her face betrayed her.
Echo finally spoke, her voice calm but sharp. “Rhea might be right. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go. It means you should be ready.” She stepped forward, her eyes on me. “If this is a test, pass it. On your terms.”
I held her gaze for a long moment before nodding. “Then we prepare.”
\---
Preparation, it turned out, looked a lot like paranoia.
Ethan fussed over the comm device until Elena threatened to glue it in place herself. Aidan checked my blades three times, sharpening them until they gleamed. Rhea tucked the Harbinger journal into my satchel, insisting it might help—even though I wasn’t sure how. And Echo? She just handed me a knife I hadn’t seen before, the hilt carved with runes that pulsed faintly when my fingers closed around it.
“What is this?” I asked.
“A reminder,” Echo said. “That sometimes symbols are stronger than steel.”
I wasn’t sure what that meant, but I nodded anyway.
\---
By the time midnight crept close, the estate felt unnaturally quiet. Even the hybrids outside had stilled, their usual restless pacing replaced by eerie calm. Like they knew something was about to happen.
Elena stood by the door, arms folded. “Last chance to bail. You can still crawl into bed, pretend this was a bad dream, and let Damien talk to himself in an empty building.”
I gave her a look. “You know that’s not happening.”
She sighed. “Didn’t think so. Just… try not to die, okay? I don’t do funerals. Too much crying and bad food.”
Ethan rolled his eyes. “You’re impossible.”
“And yet lovable,” Elena shot back.
Despite everything, I smiled.
Then Aidan took my hand. His grip was firm, steady. “Ready?”
I nodded, even if the truth was more complicated.
Because ready or not, midnight was here.
And Damien was waiting.