Chapter 97 Fever and Lies
Leo’s scream cut through the safe house.
Aria bolted upright. She had been sitting against the wall, trying again to summon her magic. The sound of her son’s cry made her forget everything else.
She ran to where Leo lay on the thin mattress. His small body convulsed. Sweat soaked through his shirt.
“Leo!” She dropped to her knees beside him.
Kane was there in seconds. He pressed his hand to Leo’s forehead. “He’s burning up.”
Lily crawled closer, her face pale. “Mama? Is Leo going to die?”
“No,” Aria said quickly. She placed her hands on Leo’s chest. She reached for her magic. Please. Please work.
A flicker of silver light appeared. Then sputtered out.
She tried again. The light came stronger this time. She channeled it into Leo’s body, searching for the source of the fever.
The magic glitched. It fractured into sparks that dissipated before they could do anything.
“No,” Aria whispered. She tried a third time. The same result.
Leo’s breathing grew shallow. His lips turned blue.
“Aria,” Kane said. His voice was tight.
“I know!” She kept trying. The magic came in broken bursts. Nothing sustained. Nothing healed.
Amanda appeared in the doorway. She watched for a moment, then stepped forward. “Stop. You’re making it worse.”
“I have to heal him,” Aria said.
“You can’t. Not like this.” Amanda knelt beside them. She examined Leo without touching him. Her eyes narrowed. “This is dreamveil root. The witches used it during the attack.”
“What does it do?” Kane demanded.
“It disrupts magical systems. In adults, it causes temporary power loss. In children…” Amanda paused. “Their bodies can’t handle it. The fever will keep rising until his organs shut down.”
Aria’s hands shook. “How do we stop it?”
“You need antidotes we don’t have here.”
Kane stood. “Then we go back to Seattle.”
“Are you insane?” Amanda said. “The witches will be looking for you. Seattle is the first place they’ll check.”
“My son is dying,” Kane said. Each word was hard. Cold. “We’re going home.”
Aria looked at Leo. His chest barely moved now. “Kane’s right. We have to go.”
Amanda studied them both. Then nodded. “I’ll make the arrangements.”
Kane pulled out his phone. He stepped away and dialed Devon.
It rang three times before Devon answered.
“Kane? I thought we agreed to talk only on specific times?”
“Change of plans. We were attacked. Witches.”
Silence. Then Devon’s voice dropped. “Is everyone okay?”
“We’re alive. But Leo’s sick. We’re coming home.”
“When?”
“Get us on the next flight.”
“I’ll arrange everything. Security at the airport. Medical team standing by. Just get here.”
“Devon.” Kane’s grip tightened on the phone.
“They found us. I don’t know how. But they knew exactly where we were.”
“We’ll figure it out. Just bring your family home.”
Kane ended the call. He turned back to find Jacob standing in the corner. The man had appeared without a sound.
“Bodies are taken care of,” Jacob said.
Kane went still. “What bodies?”
“The witches. Three of them didn’t make it out of the house. I handled the cleanup.”
“You just happened to have time for that?” Kane’s eyes narrowed.
Jacob shrugged. “Seemed necessary.”
Kane moved closer. “How did you know they would be there in the first place?”
Amanda walked back into the room. “Does it matter? We found you. We saved you.”
“It matters,” Kane said.
Amanda met his gaze. “We have our ways. Does the method matter more than the result?”
Aria stood. Leo was cradled in her arms. His body felt too hot. Too fragile. “We need to leave. Now.”
Amanda turned to her. “Do you trust me now? After everything? After I saved your lives? Your children’s lives?”
“I don’t care,” Aria said. Her voice was flat. Empty.
“I just want to get my son home.”
Amanda’s expression flickered. Something like hurt crossed her face. Then it was gone. “Fine. Jacob and I will come with you.”
“No,” Kane said.
“We don’t have a choice,” Amanda said. “Our people will view us as traitors now. We helped you. I killed my own kind. If we stay, they’ll hunt us down.”
Jacob nodded. “She’s right. We’re dead if we go back.”
Kane wanted to argue. But Leo made a small whimpering sound. The fight went out of him.
“Fine,” he said. “But you stay where I can see you.”
They moved quickly. Amanda had a car waiting. Jacob drove. Kane sat in the back with Aria and the twins. Lily was silent. Leo’s eyes were closed.
Aria kept her hand on Leo’s chest. She could feel his heartbeat. Too fast. Too weak.
Kane stared out the window. The landscape blurred past.
After twenty minutes, he leaned closer to Aria. His voice was low enough that only she could hear.
“Something’s wrong.”
“I know Leo’s sick,” Aria whispered back.
“Not that. Them.” Kane nodded toward the front seats. “Amanda and Jacob. Think about it. How did they find us? We were careful. We didn’t tell anyone where we were going.”
Aria’s jaw tightened. “Maybe it was a coincidence. You are a well known Alpha after all.”
“They showed up right when we needed them. That’s too coincidental.”
“So?”
“So how did the witches find us?” Kane said. “We were in the middle of nowhere. No neighbors. No trails. No one knew that place. Except them.”
Aria looked down at Leo. She didn’t want to think about this. She just wanted him to be okay.
But Kane’s words dug into her mind.
“We’ll deal with it later,” she said.
“Aria.”
“Later, Kane.”
He sat back. But she could feel the tension radiating off him.
They reached the airport earlier than expected. A private plane waited on the tarmac. Devon had arranged everything.
They boarded quickly. Kane carried Leo. Aria held Lily’s hand. Amanda and Jacob followed.
The plane’s interior was small but comfortable. Leather seats. Soft lighting. A medical kit mounted on the wall.
Kane laid Leo on one of the seats. He buckled him in carefully.
Amanda moved to the back of the plane. She stretched her arms above her head, rolling her shoulders.
Aria glanced over. Her eyes caught something on Amanda’s wrist.
A tattoo.
Small. Black. Intricate lines forming a symbol.
Aria’s breath stopped.
She knew that symbol.
She grabbed Kane’s arm. Her nails dug into his skin.
“What?” he said.
She pulled him close. Her lips barely moved. “Amanda has a tattoo.”
Kane frowned. “So?”
“The mark,” Aria whispered. Her voice shook. “The symbol on her wrist. I’ve seen it before.”
“Where?”
Aria’s eyes locked on his. “At the Sanctuary. When it was first attacked. It was an image of a unique claw. A sigil. The people who attacked the haven burned that mark into the wall.”
Kane went very still.
Aria’s heart pounded. “Amanda’s one of them. She’s been one of them the whole time.“