Chapter 72: The Trail...

Adrian's POV

The GPS led me to an abandoned building. It looked like the facility I had left earlier, but more... homely.

I took out my gun and removed the safety as I slowly approached the building. I tried the door, and it swung open on its own.

Looks like no one was home.

Or maybe it was a trap.

The thought made me even more cautious.

“Anyone in here?” I called loudly, my voice echoing throughout the entire building.

There was no reply.

Not even a pin dropping could be heard.

Finally, a little relieved that I was alone, I let my guard down slightly. I decided to explore the building instead and see what I could find.

I began checking each room carefully. Most of them were empty. Some contained files, but they were mostly useless.

I entered another room and immediately noticed a meal sitting on a tray. It was untouched but still fresh, which meant someone had been there recently.

I walked deeper into the room.

At the far end was a board covered with photographs of Raven, me, her mother, and several handwritten notes. Most of them had been scattered across the floor, which meant someone had been going through them.

A safe stood open nearby.

I walked over and took the files inside, quickly going through them. They contained information about Aster and Noctrix.

Who had been here?

I was about to leave when something caught my attention. A jacket was draped over a wooden chair in the corner.

I frowned walking towards it.

I knew that jacket.

It was Raven's.

I picked it up, my heart pounding. It meant only one thing.

She had been here, and judging by the fresh meal on the table, she probably hadn't been gone for long.

Rushing out of the room as quickly as I had entered, I decided to search every room. I needed to find her.

I checked every room in the building, searching desperately for any sign of Raven, but there was nothing.

Just as I was about to give up, a muffled sound coming from one of the rooms caught my attention.

I rushed toward the door, my gun ready in my hand.

I slowly twisted the knob, but it was locked.

“Hello?” I called loudly.

There was no answer.

Only more muffled noises.

Maybe whoever was inside was gagged.

Could it be Raven?

I stepped back and kicked the door in, breaking the lock immediately.

I pointed my gun into the room, but what I saw made my eyes widen in shock.

Blade lay on the floor beside a woman.

They were both tied up and gagged.

“Blade?” I called in disbelief.

At first, he looked just as shocked to see me.

Then I watched his eyes widen as he began struggling violently against his restraints.

I didn't understand what he was trying to tell me until a sharp pain suddenly shot through my skull, blurring my vision.

I staggered backward, desperately trying to stay conscious.

Something heavy struck the back of my head again and everything went black.

\---

Raven's POV

I paced around the room, sending death glares at Dael and Drew, neither of whom would meet my eyes.

“Tell me what she meant by that, Drew,” I demanded for what felt like the umpteenth time.

He still wouldn't answer me.

“I know you know something, Drew. Why won't you tell me?” I muttered, tears filling my eyes.

“Raven...” Dael reached for me.

I immediately pulled away, raising a hand to stop him.

“Don't even think about it,” I spat, glaring at him. “Do you think I'm stupid, Dael? I know you know something too. I saw the way you two looked at each other. I just don't understand why you're both keeping it from me.”

“It's not our place to tell you everything, Raven,” Drew said. “Some things—”

“Bullshit!” I shouted. “That's a whole load of crap! You just love hiding things from me.”

I was breathing heavily now, not from exhaustion but from anger.

My mind felt like it was going to collapse.

I dropped into one of the chairs around the round table, rolling the ring between my fingers.

There had to be more this ring could tell me.

This couldn't be it.

I remembered my mother saying something about Noctrix searching for something for a very long time.

“What is The Origin?” I muttered, not bothering to look at either of them.

And, just as I expected, neither of them answered.

“You two aren't going to give me an answer to that either, huh?”

I glared at Dael, then at Drew.

I noticed Dael sneaking a glance at Drew before quickly looking away.

“Are you guys kidding me?”

I stood up, feeling betrayed.

“I am not some fragile object that's going to break if you're honest with me. Please, just tell me.”

I looked desperately at them.

Dael swallowed before muttering, “You don't want to know.”

My head snapped toward him.

“Why? What's so bad about it that I don't want to know?”

I moved closer to Dael, but he said nothing.

He wouldn't even look at me.

“Fuck you!” I shouted. “Fuck you both, and fuck my mother!”

I could feel the tears threatening to spill over.

“What's the point of leaving me with all this information and refusing to give me the answers?”

I looked down at the ring in my hand.

“And this ring...” I raised it. “It can go to hell!”

I threw the ring against the wall.

Both Dael and Drew flinched in surprise.

“Why would you do that?!” Dael shouted.

I glared at him.

“Oh, now you want to ask questions? If I remember correctly, you didn't seem to be in the mood for talking when I was questioning you earlier.”

I sneered.

He said nothing, simply meeting my glare with one of his own.

“Um... you two need to see this.”

We both turned toward Dael.

He was squatting beside the ring.

He picked it up and pointed it toward the wall.

Suddenly, a map appeared.

My mouth fell open.

Drew froze.

“What is that?” I muttered.

Drew moved toward the wall, running a finger across the projected image.

“It's a map,” he replied. “A map of the entire city.”

“What?”

Dael stared at him in confusion.

“Why would my mother have a map of the city?” I asked.

“I have no idea.”

Suddenly, one section of the map began to flicker.

“What's happening?”

I turned toward Drew, panic rising in my chest.

“Why is it flickering?”

He raised a hand, signaling me to wait.

Then he ran his hand across the projected map, focusing on the flickering section.

“There is a location written here,” he informed us.

“And what do you think that means?” Dael asked.

Drew suddenly froze.

Then he stumbled backward.

“Oh my God.”

“What is it, Drew?” I asked, panic flooding my voice. “What does it say?”

Drew turned toward me.

“Raven... I think we just found where your mother is hiding.”

I felt the ground shift beneath my feet.

Suddenly, my knees gave out.

Dael caught me before I could fall.

He carefully led me to a chair.

I didn't know what to do with this information.

I had always wanted to talk to my mother again. Ever since discovering that she was still alive, I had dreamed about finding her.

But was I ready to face her?

I wasn't sure.

She had betrayed me, after all.

She had allowed me to spend years grieving her, believing she was dead, only for me to discover that she was alive.

And to make matters worse, she had erased my memories without my permission.

“Raven, are you okay?” Dael asked, sitting beside me.

I slowly nodded.

Drew was still staring at the map.

“We should go now,” he said quietly. “I need to talk to her again.”

His reaction surprised me.

People didn't usually react that way unless they had a deep connection with someone.

A strange thought suddenly crossed my mind.

I frowned.

Did Drew and my mother have something between them?

Before I could dwell on it, one of Dael's men entered the room.

“Sorry to disturb you, sir.”

Dael immediately turned toward him.

“Yes? What is it?”

“Sir, there's an intruder in the building.”

“What?!” Dael shouted.

“We've managed to capture him, sir, but we think you should see him.”

Dael sighed before turning toward me.

“I'll be right back. I promise.”

Then he walked out of the room.

I watched him leave, a strange feeling settling in my chest.

An intruder.

Who could have possibly found us here?

And more importantly...

Why did I have a feeling that whoever they had captured was connected to everything that had been happening?