Chapter 101 CHAPTER 101
Nolan knew something was wrong the moment he saw elder Jora step into the vet clinic.
She moved like someone who didn’t want to be seen - shoulders slightly hunched, eyes scanning the room before the door even closed behind her. The bell above it chimed softly, too loud in the quiet afternoon, and she winced as if the sound itself might betray her.
Nolan set aside the clipboard in his hands and studied her over the rims of his glasses. She was dressed plainly, the way she always was when she came into the city with her human family. Nothing about her appearance hinted at power, lineage, or magic. She looked like an ordinary grandmother who had wandered into the wrong place.
Which was exactly how she wanted it.
“Well,” Nolan said lightly, breaking the silence, “this is unexpected.”
She didn’t smile. She didn’t even pretend to. Instead, she folded her arms tightly across her chest and said, “I’m not here for an animal.”
“I assumed as much,” he replied. “You’ve made your feelings about pets very clear over the years.”
She frowned. “You know why.”
“I do,” Nolan said gently. “But you also know that half the city comes here. Humans adopt animals all the time. No one would suspect anything just because you stepped into my clinic.”
She shook her head immediately. “No. I won’t risk it.”
Nolan sighed and leaned back against the counter. “You could always adopt one for your grandchildren. Children love animals. It would give you a perfectly normal reason to be seen here.”
Her jaw tightened. “Anything that ties me to you ties me to the fae. I won’t have that. Not when my family knows nothing. One careless moment, one slip of the tongue, and everything I’ve built falls apart.”
He watched her closely, noting the fear she tried so hard to mask. “You’re still hiding,” he said quietly.
“I’m surviving,” Jora corrected.
Nolan held her gaze for a moment, then nodded. “Fair enough. But you didn’t come here to argue about pets.”
Her eyes flickered, just once, toward the door, as if making sure no one else could hear. Then she exhaled slowly.
“Something happened,” she said.
Nolan straightened. “What?”
She hesitated, then spoke as if afraid the words might undo her if she let them linger too long. “I was out with my family last night at Pauline’s cafe.”
Nolan’s brow furrowed. “And?”
“I saw her,” the elder said. “The Mooncrest Princess – At least that’s what I thought.”
His heart skipped. “Lisa?”
“She didn’t introduce herself as such, she was waiting tables at the café,” the elder replied. “But I recognized what she was wearing.”
Nolan felt a chill settle into his spine. “What did you see?”
“Two pendants,” she said. “One was unmistakable. The mark of the priestess. Celestine’s blessing.”
Nolan nodded slowly. “And the other?”
Her voice dropped. “The other carried a fae signature. It was old and oddly familiar.”
He went very still. “what do you mean by ‘familiar’?”
“I believe I cast the spell on it myself,” she said.
Silence filled the clinic.
Nolan’s mouth went dry. “That’s not possible,” he said carefully. “That amulet was…”
“Commissioned in secret,” she interrupted. “By King Ashvale. Nineteen years ago.”
Nolan stared at her. “Tell me everything.”
She closed her eyes briefly, as if bracing herself against memories she had long buried. “Before Cindy was born, the king came to me. Not as a ruler. As a husband. As a father.”
Nolan said nothing.
“He told me he felt it,” she continued. “A shadow. A sense that something terrible was coming for his wife and unborn child. He didn’t have proof. Only instinct. And fear.”
Nolan swallowed.
“He didn’t want to frighten the queen,” she said. “So he did what men in power often do. He prepared in silence.”
She opened her eyes and looked straight at Nolan. “He asked me to enchant an amulet. One strong enough to shield them from fae influence.”
Nolan stiffened. “Shield how?”
“Not nullify,” she said. “Resist. Deflect. Delay. Enough to confuse spells. Enough to make tracking difficult. Enough to keep her from being pulled fully into fae magic.”
Nolan ran a hand through his hair. “You’re saying Lisa is partially immune.”
“I’m saying,” the elder corrected, “that if she is wearing that amulet, fae magic does not bind her easily.”
A thousand thoughts collided in Nolan’s mind.
“The witches,” he murmured. “The forest. The fact that the child was left alive…”
“Yes,” she said softly. “I believe the queen placed the amulet on the baby before they fled. The witches may have been able to take her mother - but not the child. Not completely.”
Nolan exhaled shakily. “The amulet was recovered later. Brought back to the palace.”
“I know,” she said. “What I don’t know is how it found its way back to her.”
Nolan frowned. “And the second pendant?”
“The priestess’s,” the elder said. “Layered magic. Ancient. Protective.”
Nolan’s eyes sharpened. “Do you think they can work together?”
She hesitated. “In theory… yes.”
His breath caught. “Could they block the bond’s effects? The way she feels when Sebastian…”
“They could weaken it,” she said. “Possibly sever it. But only if she consents.”
Nolan straightened fully now. “You’re talking about a manual disconnection.”
“Yes.”
“That’s dangerous,” he said immediately. “Unprecedented.”
“So is everything about that girl’s life,” the elder replied.
Nolan paced once, then stopped. “Celestine reached out to me. She mentioned alternatives. Rituals. None of them favored Lisa.”
“Because the goddess demands balance,” the elder said. “And balance always takes something.”
Nolan turned back to her. “This would give Lisa a choice.”
The elder’s expression tightened. “Choice comes with consequences.”
Before Nolan could respond, he hesitated, then said quietly, “Is that why haven’t you told your family? Because of consequences? Is that what you’re afraid of?”
Her shoulders stiffened. “I won’t shatter their lives with truths they don’t need.”
“Do they?” he asked gently.
She looked away. “My fae blood skipped a generation. My son is human. I believed it ended with me.”
Nolan shook his head. “You know better.”
She closed her eyes. “Don’t.”
“The bloodline continues through daughters,” Nolan said softly. “Your son has a daughter.”
Her breath hitched.
“When she comes of age,” he continued, “there’s a high probability her powers will awaken.”
Fear flickered across the elder’s face - raw and unguarded. “I won’t let that happen.”
“You won’t be able to stop it,” Nolan said. “You can only prepare her. Or leave her defenseless.”
She shook her head. “I can’t. I won’t.”
Nolan studied her for a long moment, then stepped back. “You didn’t come here to talk about your bloodline.”
She met his gaze, eyes sharp now. “No, it’s because of the pendants,” she said. “And because you know what they might mean.”
Nolan nodded slowly. “You did well, I hope you’ll be ready to help if need.”
Jora nodded as she turned toward the door, already retreating. “Tell the king what you must. But leave my family out of it.”
Nolan didn’t stop her.
As the bell chimed again and the door closed behind her, Nolan stood alone in the quiet clinic, heart pounding.
For the first time since Lisa had returned, a path had appeared.