Chapter 56 Luring Out The Shadows
"Stay here, inside the tent. I will be back before you know it." Sebastian whispered softly, gently kissing Fernanda's forehead. She held his hand before he could move, "Let me come with, I need to know what is happening? I need to see for myself." Fernanda said with a pleading look in her eyes.
Sebastian almost agreed, he found himself wanting to say yes instantly, but he didn't want his wife seeing things that could traumatise her even more after everything she's been through. So he shook his head instead, "You are to stay here Fernanda... Please." Sebastian said, his voice softer than she'd ever heard it.
His eyes were pleading too, scared infact because just the thought of losing her again made him spiral. Fernanda sighed nodded, "Alright, I'll be in here." She responded, giving him a small smile.
When Sebastian left Fernanda laid back on the bed, clasping and unclasping her hands. She hated not being able to be of help. She needed to act fast, something had to be done. While she kept thinking of what to do, her eyes caught the silhouette the three Lycan soldiers standing firm and alert outside the tent as guards.
Fernanda scoffed. "Of course he would do such." She muttered, shaking her head.
"Your majesty." Levi said when Sebastian arrived the cage where the shadow wielder prisoner was held. There was blood–the prisoner's– splattered around, staining the iron bars. Sebastian was indifferent at the sight of the mess and so was Levi.
"Vice commander," Sebastian returned, "What happened here?" He demanded.
"The bastard slit his own throat. We found him like this at dawn, already dead." Levi answered, he walked over to where the body laid and grabbed the pendant from the dead man's neck. "Now what?" Sebastian asked, looking at the emerald pendant in Levi's right hand.
"We needed him for this." He gave Sebastian the pendant. "Is there a way we can open the portals without him?"
Levi shook his head, "The shadow wielders are pretty much the only ones who can harness the power from the stones. I don't know how they do it but that's how it works." He replied, then sighed frustratedly.
He was still tired and worn out with dark circles under his eyes. Sebastian continued to stare at the pendant in his hand, his eyes calculating as different thought Ms ran through his mind.
"Except if we could reach Sabrina, but she's too far." Levi continued, "Who is she?" Sebastian asked. "A woman I met at the abyss when I was still searching for answers about the stone."
Sebastian raised his brows when Levi said that. The abyss was a three days journey back from where they currently were. A lot of time would have passed and they didn't have that much time to spare. "Instead of going to Sabrina, how about we bring Damon and his minions to us?" Sebastian stated after a while.
Levi looked at him like he had lost it. Although he knew Sebastian never suggests anything without a very good motive, he wasn't the best strategic King in Lunareth for nothing. "They are more stronger at their decoy base so going back there might not be the best decision." Sebastian began to explain.
"From everything you've reported to me I was able to deduce one important Information, they know Lycans weaknesses and where to hit. So instead of us walking straight into an ambush, why don't we set an ambush ourselves and bring them directly to us."
Levi listened carefully to Sebastian's plans and everything made perfect sense. They needed to set an ambush, a trap for shadow wielders.
Levi let out a breath. “An ambush.”
“A trap,” Sebastian said. “One he cannot resist.”
Silence fell again, heavier this time.
Levi finally nodded. “It will work.”
Sebastian turned to him. “Dispose of the body. Burn it. Scatter the ashes. I do not want him used again.”
Levi inclined his head. “And after?”
“Get some rest,” Sebastian said, looking him over. “You look like hell.”
Levi gave a humorless chuckle. “That obvious?”
“You have not slept in days,” Sebastian said. “And you are no use to me dead on your feet.”
Levi hesitated. “Maya.”
Sebastian’s expression hardened. “We will get her back.”
Levi clenched his jaw, then nodded. “I will hold you to that.”
The sun was fully out by the time Sebastian returned to his royal tent.
Fernanda was asleep when he entered, her body curled inward as though seeking warmth even in her dreams. The soft rise and fall of her chest was the only sound in the tent.
Sebastian removed his gloves quietly and sat on the edge of the bed.
He studied her face. Too pale. Too thin.
His fingers brushed gently over her hair, tucking loose strands behind her ear. She stirred but did not wake, her brows knitting briefly before smoothing again.
“I am sorry,” he murmured. “For being blind. For being cruel when I should have listened.”
His thumb traced slow circles against her knuckles.
“You should never have had to run from me.”
Fernanda suddenly jolted awake with a sharp gasp, her body stiffening as though she had been dragged from a nightmare.
Sebastian reacted instantly. “Fernanda.”
She turned toward his voice, eyes wild. “Sebastian?”
“I am here,” he said, taking her hand firmly. “You are safe.”
Her breathing was uneven. She clutched his sleeve like she was afraid he might vanish.
“I swear to you,” Sebastian said, pressing her hand to his chest, “I will protect you. Even if it costs blood. Even if it costs me everything.”
Her eyes softened. Exhaustion pulled her back under, and she slumped forward, forehead resting against him.
Sebastian stayed there, holding her hand until her breathing evened out once more.
Levi sat submerged in the large bathing tub, water lapping against his shoulders. Steam curled around him, but the heat did nothing. Silence pressed in, broken only by his thoughts.
Maya’s face rose unbidden in his mind. The fear in her eyes when the portal collapsed. The way her fingers slipped from his grasp.
He struck the water once, hard.
“Damn it.”
He leaned back, water sloshing around him, muscles tense with helpless fury. What if they had already killed her. What if she was starving. Alone.
He leaned back, water rising to his jaw. “Hold on little witch,” he whispered. “Just hold on for a while.”
Maya lay motionless on the cold stone floor of her cell.
The wards pressed against her magic like iron bands, suffocating every attempt to reach beyond herself. She did not scream. She did not plead.
She waited.
The sound of metal scraping against stone made her head snap up.
Two plates slid through the bars. Bread. Jam.
Her stomach twisted painfully.
Then a voice cut through the darkness.
“Eat.”
Damon stepped into view, leaning heavily on his cane. His face was carved from cruelty, eyes burning with restrained fury.
“You cannot die yet,” he continued. “You need strength. You need to be awake when I destroy everything you chose over us.”
Maya said nothing.
Damon sneered. “Eat.”
He turned and left, footsteps uneven.
Maya stared at the food for a long moment before reaching out with shaking hands.
She ate slowly.
Not because of Damon.
But because she had learned that when the moon goddess spared her, it was never without reason.
The war had begun.