Chapter 241 CHAPTER 241

Chapter 241 CHAPTER 241
Lisa stood near the tall windows of the receiving hall, her fingers lightly resting against the glass as she watched the movement outside. She didn’t follow any one figure for long. Her gaze shifted, unfocused, like she was trying to catch something that refused to stay still.

Behind her, footsteps approached.

“You haven’t slept.”

She didn’t turn immediately. “I did,” she said, her voice even. “Just not much.”

Liam came to stand beside her, his presence quiet but grounding. He didn’t press further. His eyes moved briefly across the courtyard before settling somewhere ahead.

“We’ve doubled the guards,” he said after a moment.

Lisa nodded slightly. “I noticed.”

Silence stretched between them, not uncomfortable, just… full.

Then another set of footsteps echoed from the entrance.

Lisa turned this time.

Three figures stepped inside, their arrival drawing the attention of the guards near the doors.

Celestine walked at the front, her posture composed, her expression calm in a way that didn’t ignore the tension but didn’t bend to it either. Beside her, Nolan carried that same quiet awareness, his gaze already taking in the space as if measuring it. Slightly behind them, Jora moved with slower steps, her eyes sharper, more observant.

Lisa straightened slightly as they approached.

“Priestess Celestine,” she said.

Celestine’s gaze softened when it landed on her. “Lisa.”

She stepped closer, studying her face for a moment, not in a way that felt intrusive, but… attentive.

“We came as soon as we heard,” Nolan added, his tone calm but direct. “The council’s message reached the city before dawn.”

Lisa nodded once. “Things escalated quickly.”

Celestine’s gaze shifted briefly to Liam, then back to Lisa. “We were told Isabel has been taken into custody.”

Lisa’s fingers curled slightly against her palm. “Yes.”

A small pause followed.

Celestine’s expression didn’t change much, but there was a faint narrowing of her eyes, thoughtful rather than skeptical. “Are you certain it was her?”

The question didn’t land softly.

Lisa held her gaze. “She had the necklace,” she said. “The portal opened the moment it left my neck.”

Celestine listened, then shook her head slightly. “That is not the same as certainty.”

Liam’s gaze flickered briefly toward her.

“I’ve crossed paths with her more than once,” Celestine continued. “Not deeply, but enough. There was no trace of imbalance in her. Nothing that would suggest alignment with… something like this.”

Lisa didn’t respond immediately.

Her hand moved unconsciously, brushing against the chain at her neck.

“People can change,” she said after a moment.

Celestine’s expression softened just slightly. “Yes,” she agreed. “But not always in the ways we assume.”

Before the conversation could deepen, another presence entered the room.

King Ethan stepped in, his gaze already focused.

“You’ve arrived,” he said.

Celestine inclined her head slightly. “We have.”

Ethan didn’t waste time. “Then you already know why you’re here.”

Nolan stepped forward slightly. “We’ve been informed that the surrounding packs have been alerted.”

Ethan nodded. “They’re not being summoned,” he clarified. “But they’ve offered support. Guards. Reinforcements. If we move, we won’t move alone.”

Jora’s gaze shifted briefly across the room. “And you intend to move soon.”

It wasn’t a question.

Ethan’s jaw set slightly. “Yes.”

A brief silence followed.

Then Celestine spoke again. “How?”

Ethan’s eyes moved between them, then settled. “The portal.”

Lisa’s fingers tightened slightly around the chain at her neck.

“If Isabel opened it once,” Ethan continued, “then she can do it again.”

Nolan’s brows drew together just slightly. “You’re assuming control.”

“I’m assuming possibility,” Ethan replied. “And if she doesn’t cooperate…”

“We make her?” Nolan finished quietly.

Ethan didn’t deny it.

The room held that statement for a moment.

Then Jora stepped forward slightly, her gaze shifting to Liam.

“That won’t be necessary.”

Liam’s eyes moved to her. “Why?”

Jora didn’t answer immediately. Instead, she studied him, as if confirming something she already suspected.

“Because she cannot open it unless she genuinely wants to. But the good news is, she isn’t the only one who can open it,” she said.

A pause followed.

Liam’s expression didn’t change, but something in his posture stilled. 

Nolan exhaled softly before speaking. “The portal wasn’t just triggered by an object,” he said. “It responded to something deeper. A force that could bridge what’s been sealed.”

Liam held his gaze. “And you think I can do that.”

“We don’t think,” Jora said quietly. “We know.”

Lisa’s head turned slightly toward Liam.

“You’re not bound the way others are,” Nolan added. “You don’t just exist within the balance. You carry it.”

The words settled heavier than they sounded.

“That means,” Jora continued, “if you will it… you can open a path where one already exists. But it comes with a price.”

Nobody spoke for a moment.

“What kind of price?” Lisa finally asked.

Nolan didn’t soften his answer. “The village is protected. Layered with spells designed to resist intrusion.”

Jora’s voice lowered slightly. “It will push back.”

“How?” Liam asked.

“Through you,” she said.

Silence stretched.

“It won’t just resist,” Nolan added. “It will strain you. Physically. Spiritually. It may weaken you before you even step through.”

Lisa’s fingers stilled against the necklace.

Liam exhaled slowly, his gaze lowering for a brief second before lifting again.

“Then we don’t need Isabel,” he said.

Lisa turned fully toward him now. “Liam….”

He looked at her.

“They just said it’s dangerous,” she continued, her voice steady, but her hand tightening slightly around the chain. “You don’t even know what’s on the other side.”

“If it gets us there,” he replied, “that’s enough.”

Her fingers moved again, brushing over the pendant without her noticing.

“You don’t have to….”

“I do,” he said quietly. “You know that.”

Lisa held his gaze for a second longer, then looked away, her hand still resting at her neck.

Jora noticed the movement.

Her eyes narrowed slightly as she stepped closer.

“That,” she said softly.

Lisa blinked, looking back at her. “What?”

Jora gestured gently. “The necklace.”

Lisa hesitated, then lowered her hand slightly, the pendant catching the light.

Jora stepped closer, her gaze fixed on it now, her expression shifting—not with surprise, but with recognition.

“Where did you get this?” she asked.

Lisa glanced briefly at Ethan before answering. “I’ve had it since I was a child.”

Jora’s brows drew together slightly. “No,” she said quietly. “Not just had it.”

Ethan stepped forward then, his voice steady. “It was given to her.”

Jora’s gaze flickered to him.

“By our mother,” he added.

Silence followed.

Jora’s hand lifted slightly, though she didn’t touch the necklace. “I made this,” she said.

Lisa’s breath caught slightly.

“For Lora,” Jora continued. “Years ago.”

Ethan nodded once. “She received it on my father’s instruction,” he said. “It was meant for Queen Helena.”

Lisa’s fingers tightened around it now.

“And she left it with you,” Jora said, her voice softer.

Lisa nodded slowly.

“This connects you to your mother Lisa – her blood and yours – are connected through the necklace.”

The room felt different now.

Lisa held tighter onto the necklace. 

Ethan exhaled slowly, his gaze shifting back to the others. “There’s another problem. Even if we open the portal,” he said, “we don’t know what we’re walking into. We could be stepping straight into a trap.”

Everyone seemed to agree.

Liam’s posture remained steady, but his gaze had shifted slightly, more focused now.

Lisa’s fingers brushed over the pendant again.

Then stilled.

Her brows drew together slightly.

Something flickered across her expression - brief, almost gone before it fully formed.

Then she straightened slightly.

“Wait.”

The word slipped out before she seemed to realize she’d spoken.

Everyone looked at her.

Lisa’s gaze moved between them, her hand still resting lightly against the necklace.

“I think…” she started, then paused, as if aligning the thought properly.

“I think we don’t have to go in blind.”

Ethan’s eyes narrowed slightly. “What do you mean?”

Lisa looked at the pendant, then back at them.

“I think I know how we can see what’s on the other side first.”

The room held still around her.