Chapter 74 The bloodstained calendar
"We have a lot of work to do."
The words of Master Aris echoed in Elara’s head as she followed him into the inner sanctum of the Silver Coven’s temporary academy. The air here felt dense, humming with an ancient, restless power. Aris stopped before a heavy wooden bench that seemed to drift an inch above the floorboards. He motioned for her to sit.
Faye and Liora stepped forward to follow, but Aris held up a single pale finger. He did not even look at them. "This inner sanctum is out of bounds for Lycans. Their presence would disrupt the delicate ley lines we are about to tap into."
Faye snarled, her hand going to the hilt of her blade. "We do not leave our Lady alone with strangers."
Aris adjusted his spectacles and gave a dry snort. "Do not be tedious. This is a place of learning, not a battlefield. Come now, Lady Elara. We have a long day ahead of us and very little time to waste on guard dogs."
"They're not guard dogs."Elara retorted earning another snort from Aris. She then turned back and offered a faint, reassuring smile to her maids. "I will be fine. Stay close to the entrance."
Liora looked ready to argue, but she saw the resolve in Elara’s eyes. She stepped back with a frustrated sigh. "As you wish, My Lady."
Aris didn't wait. He led Elara into a room where the walls were lined with thousands of vials of shimmering liquid. He looked at her with a clinical coldness. "Today we begin the process of separating your intents. If you cannot tell where the witch ends and the vampire begins, you will be a casualty of your own blood before the moon even reaches its zenith."
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In the royal study, the atmosphere was far less scholarly. Pandora stood before Ronan’s desk, her face flushed with a mixture of grief and fury. "I am not speaking to you as a southern princess right now, Ronan! I am speaking to you as your childhood friend! How could you embarrass my father and me for someone like her?"
Ronan did not look up. He continued to flip through a mountain of logistics reports and troop movements. The scratch of his quill was the only answer she received. Matthew stood to his left, equally focused on a map of the northern borders.
Pandora’s voice rose to a scream as she pivoted toward the advisor. "Matthew! Tell him to look at me! Tell him to answer!"
"The King is busy, Pandora," Matthew said without lifting his eyes. "If you cannot see that, then you are blinder than I thought."
"Busy with what?" Pandora yelled. "Because of that monster you cancelled the Great Hunt! You humiliated the Southern Pack! What happened to the years we spent together? What happened to our friendship?"
At the mention of the word monster, the temperature in the room plummeted. Fenrir surged to the surface of Ronan’s consciousness with a roar that vibrated in the King’s throat. "It is very much because of our friendship that you still have a head on your shoulders, Pandora."
Pandora stumbled back. The sheer weight of Ronan’s aura made it difficult to breathe. Her eyes widened and she stuttered as she looked at his glowing golden eyes. "What... what is that supposed to mean?"
Ronan stood up slowly. He walked around the desk and inched closer until he was looming over her. "I hear whispers, Pandora. I hear that you have become quite fond of the Luna of Northwood."
Pandora’s heart skipped a beat. She fought to keep her expression neutral, but her pulse was racing. "I was lonely, Ronan. You were too busy for me, so I found company elsewhere."
"Do you think I am a fool?" Ronan asked. "Do you think I would not find out that you had a hand in the horse accident?"
"I had nothing to do with that!" Pandora shouted, but she could not meet his gaze.
Ronan tilted his head. "Now you lie to my face. Very well. Then explain the incense. Explain why you brought Aether-Bloom."
Pandora looked away and bit her lip. "I had no idea it would react on her like that! Everyone else was fine! It is not my fault that she is a monster and couldn’t handle it!"
The last word had barely left her mouth before Fenrir’s voice ripped through the room. "The next time you call her a monster will be the last time you possess a tongue."
Pandora growled back, tears of frustration spilling down her cheeks. "I cannot believe you! Even Fenrir is yelling at me because of her!"
"She is my mate!" Fenrir thundered through Ronan’s lips.
The revelation hit the room like a physical shockwave. Pandora froze, her breath hitching, but she did not break. Instead, her features contorted into a mask of pure, unadulterated rage. She slammed her palms onto the desk, leaning in until she was inches from Ronan’s face.
"Your mate?" Pandora hissed, her voice vibrating with the fury of an Alpha female. "No! I refuse to believe it! I was the one who stood by you! I was the one trained from birth to lead at your side! My blood is pure, my lineage is iron, and I have spent my entire life preparing to be your Luna! You would cast all of that aside for a tainted, weak little stray?"
She threw her head back and let out a harsh, jagged laugh. "You are choosing a curse, Ronan! You are choosing the very girl who cost you nine years of agony! I am an Alpha’s daughter, and I will not sit by while you hand my throne to a half-breed monster!"
"Enough!" Ronan roared.
Matthew shook his head and closed his ledger. "Pandora, you need to accept reality. Ronan will never be yours."
"I won't!" She turned back to Ronan with a desperate look. "How can you choose the girl who caused you nine years of phantom pain? How can you love the person who was your curse?"
"Enough!" Ronan roared.
The sheer force of his voice caused the glass windows of the study to spiderweb and crack. He was done. Between the disastrous Council meeting and the vampire’s arrival, his patience had evaporated. He sent a sharp mental command to the guards outside. "Take Lady Pandora to her quarters. She is to be strictly monitored. No visitors. No messages."
Matthew frowned as he watched the guards enter and take a screaming Pandora by the arms. He waited until she was dragged out before he spoke. "Is it wise to keep her here? Wouldn't it be safer to send her back to Silas?"
"No," Ronan said as he leaned against the table and rubbed his temples. "Silas was already on the verge of mutiny at the meeting. If I keep Pandora here, she acts as a tether. He won't move against me while she is under my roof. Plus, I need to know if she tries to contact Cierce again."
"But what about Elara?" Matthew asked.
"She will be fine," Ronan replied. "Aris is a hard man, but he is effective."
The silence that followed was interrupted by a sharp tapping at the window. Ronan and Matthew both stiffened. Matthew moved to the glass and pushed it open. A small grey messenger bird hopped onto the sill, a tiny cylinder tied to its leg.
"What is this?" Matthew muttered. "We don't use birds."
Ronan expanded his senses to detect any lingering magic or hostility. Nothing. The bird was mundane, but the parchment was high quality. Matthew untied the letter and handed it to the King.
As Ronan read the first few lines, his face turned a shade of pale that Matthew had never seen. A killing aura began to leak from the King’s body, so potent that shifters across the entire palace grounds felt their hair stand on end.
"Ronan?" Matthew gasped as he felt the pressure of the King’s rage. "What does it say?"
Ronan’s pupils dilated until his eyes were solid black. "The Nosferu have played us. They tampered with the lunar records."
He held the paper out. Matthew grabbed the note and read the hurried script, his voice trembling as the words hit him.
"The calendar is a lie. The Red Moon does not rise in three days. The zenith is tonight. Princess Elara is the vessel. The eclipse begins at midnight. They are coming for the Keystone."