Chapter 37 The Quiet Prior
Amara’s POV
The scent of pine, perspiration, and resolve filled the air.
My feet were bare against the chilly ground as I stood in the area just outside the stronghold of the Obsidian Pack. Around me, children held wooden sticks that they pretended were swords, their eyes bulging with concentration.
I raised my hand and said, "Again."
Luna, who was just eight years old, used all the strength her small arms could summon to swing her stick.
"Well done!" I smiled. However, maintain a steady gait. Keep your weight from tipping forward.
She improved the way she planted her feet. I turned to the others and nodded.
I kindly remarked to them, "You may be young, but courage isn't about age." It's about defending the people you care about, even in the face of fear.
The kids gave a nod. While some appeared excited, others were afraid. Their innocence had been taken by war, but I refused to allow it to destroy their hope.
Warriors dotted the borders behind us. Along the ridge, I could make out patrols, full-grown wolves standing erect and with keen eyes. The air carried the aroma of enhanced magic, which Kian had created with the seers. It was a protective dome that burnt dark magic, which they dubbed the Flame Veil.
"All right," I replied. "Let's do one more formation drill."
The kids imitated what they had learnt while standing in two rows.
However, my heart wasn't entirely in it.
Because despite how serene today felt... I knew it was just a temporary lull before the following storm.
I looked in the direction of the trees. There, the wind whispered secrets through the branches while the shadows danced. The ghosts were agitated. My mark tingled faintly beneath my skin, a silent warning.
There was an impending event.
A voice behind me called, "Amara."
I pivoted. The senior seer, Mira, walked gently toward them, tapping the ground with her staff.
She looked at the kids and remarked, "They're doing well." "You're empowering them."
I wiped the dirt from my palms and nodded. It's insufficient. Should Lilith return with her army—
"She will," Mira interrupted in a quiet but assured voice. However, they will be prepared. You will, too.
I didn't respond. How could I express my true feelings? That I was gradually crumbling under the strain, that my heart was divided between two partners, and that dreams plagued me at night?
"Let me help the ones I still can," I responded instead.
Mira put her hand on my shoulder. "Child, you're not just helping. You are in the lead.
She turned and left after that.
My throat constricted as I watched her leave.
"Amara!" Luna gave a call.
I returned to the kids with another smile on my face. "All right, once more! This time, when I say "shadow," duck!
As they prepared their sticks, they all started laughing.
It seemed normal for a time.
It was peaceful for a time.
But in a secret-filled world, peace seldom lasted long.
The sun was sinking behind the trees when I sensed it—a pull—after I had just sent the kids home. Not enchanted. Not tangible. Sentimental. Like my heart's tides being pulled by the moon. At first, I had no idea why I had followed it. Nevertheless, my feet moved.
I passed the training grounds and made my way through the woods in silence until I came to the watchtower on the northern slope. I heard voices just as I turned around.
Rowan.
I gasped.
He spoke softly. He only had that edge when he was holding something in, and I could feel the quiet tension in it. I approached cautiously, staying behind the dense oaks, and suddenly I noticed them: Kian and Ryan standing by themselves in the clearing. The wind rustled across their cloaks as they turned with their backs to each other.
Rowan said, "I have something to tell you."
Kian's jaw was tight and his arms were crossed. "If Amara is involved—"
Rowan interrupted, "It's about Lilith."
Kian fell silent.
Rowan looked at the sky as it grew darker. "You once asked me why I left Amara and why I chose her. Why did I abandon all I professed to care about?
Kian spoke in a chilly tone. "You claimed that she strengthened you."
Rowan chuckled bitterly. That was my self-talk. However, the reality is worse.
I held my breath and leaned in.
Eventually, Rowan replied, "There was a spell." A covenant of blood. I was half-dead when Lilith discovered me following the battle at Ember Hollow. I’d lost control of my wolf, my intellect. I had lost my sense of self.
He hesitated. The quiet was oppressive.
She did more than just save me. She took me. Her binding magic was ancient. Dark magic. She fed me her blood, warped my memories, and made me yearn for her presence. And I gave her permission. I was feeble. It was a jail, but I mistakenly believed it to be power.
Kian slowly turned. "You mean that you were compelled to love her?"
"No," said Rowan in a whisper. "I'm stating... It was too late for me to realise that I didn't love her. I believed I had made my decision on my own. However, I didn't. In her spell, I was merely a pawn. And I had already lost Amara by the time I awoke.
I steadied myself by pressing my palm against the tree.
My heart twisted.
I had a suspicion. I prayed. However, it still stung to hear it.
Rowan's voice cracked as he added, "She doesn't know." I was unable to inform her. Not with everything I've done. Not after the most heinous betrayal imaginable.
After a lengthy silence, Kian remarked, "She deserves to know." "Although it's too late. You have the right to tell her the truth.
Rowan averted his look. And today, what good would it accomplish? She despises me. She adores you.
"No," Kian said. Rowan, she still adores you. That is the issue.
It wasn't until the wind cooled my cheek that I realised a tear had fallen.
Therefore, that was accurate.
Everything.
He hadn't abandoned me because he no longer loved me. She wasn't his choice. They had abducted him.
Utilized.
And for that, I had detested him.
I took a step back, attempting to keep quiet. However, a twig broke beneath my foot.
They both jerked their heads around.
I went cold.
Their eyes met mine through the trees.
"Amara," he inhaled Rowan.
However, I was immobile.
Unable to talk.
I spun around and took off running.
It was because my heart was shattering anew, not because I was scared of him.
A searing agony pierced my chest as I dashed farther into the forest, branches tearing at my arms. Magical, not sentimental.
I staggered and went to my knees.
I was suddenly struck by a vision.
Lilith, standing on the boundary of our domain... She lifted her hands to the sky. Behind her, the moon glowed blood-red.
She was on her way.
She wasn't by herself, either.
Something had been roused by her.
Something old.