Chapter 87: so small yet so big

Chapter 87: Chapter 87: so small yet so big

Rue paused.

The tension in her eased. She turned her head to glance back over her shoulder, eyes narrowing with sudden interest.

"What exactly is this plan of yours?"

Skye’s grip loosened, but she didn’t fully release her.

"Dr. Claire secretly placed a spell on Amelia. We just need to create the right scenario—one that makes it look like Amelia is definitely working with the Underworld. If you’re the one who exposes it, the brothers will trust you. Completely."

Rue turned fully then. The cold edge in her expression melted into a sharp, satisfied smile.

"Why didn’t you mention this earlier?"

"I wanted it to be a surprise," Skye said, a little breathless with relief. "But you almost ruined it."

"That’s not my fault. This plan has to take hold very soon. We can’t give the brothers time to dwell on what happened or dig deeper into what happened tonight. Got it?"

"Got it."

Skye fell into step beside her as they walked away, the earlier panic dissolving into a quiet, careful happiness. Rue was smiling again. That was enough—for now.

Inside Amelia’s locked room, the air still felt thick and wrong, lingering with the unsettling ghost of what had just happened.

Enzo, Reid, and Dean had already swept every corner of the room. But found nothing out of the ordinary. No residual trace strong enough to follow.

Reid’s fist connected with the wall hard enough to leave a crack in the plaster.

"Some people are really bold to pull this kind of shit inside our house."

"Calm down," Enzo said. His eyes moved slowly across the room again. "Whoever brought that curse object in had access to her room. That means Skye. The other maids. They’ll be thoroughly interrogated."

Dean leaned against the window frame. "We don’t even know what we’re looking for."

A flash of silver cut across his vision. Swifty shot past his face in a tight, agitated arc before circling back toward the bed.

Enzo’s gaze followed the bird.

He remembered Amelia speaking about it once—quietly, almost protectively.

"Maybe the bird knows something."

Reid let out a short breath of disbelief. "It’s just a bird. What could it possibly know?"

The words had barely left his mouth when Swifty changed direction mid-flight and drove a sharp, precise peck straight into the top of Reid’s head.

Reid jerked back with a muttered curse, hand flying up.

"Looks like it understood exactly what you said.

Swifty didn’t stop there.

The silver bird began circling the room in tight, wings cutting the air. It moved from wall to wall, pausing at corners, dipping low near the floor, then rising again—almost as if it were conducting its own search for whatever the three of them had failed to find.

Enzo’s eyes tracked every movement.

It knows something.

Swifty suddenly shot upward and hovered near the ceiling, wings beating harder, more urgently, as though the answer was hidden just beyond the plaster.

Dean didn’t hesitate.

He crouched, then launched himself upward in one powerful jump. His fist smashed into the ceiling with a solid, cracking impact. Plaster and dust rained down as a section of the surface gave way.

"Are you insane?" Reid snapped, stepping back from the falling debris. "You could seriously ruin whatever’s in there—jeez!"

Dean ignored him completely, landing lightly and watching the damaged spot with narrowed eyes.

Something small and dark tumbled free from the broken ceiling and landed with a soft thud on the bed.

All three of them moved closer at once.

It was a small orb—smooth, matte black, roughly the size of a tennis ball. None of them had ever seen anything like it before.

Dean reached out and touched it.

Reid’s hand shot forward. "That’s dangerous—"

"The curse object isn’t activated," Enzo cut in as his gaze remained fixed on the orb. "It’s practically safe."

Dean picked it up carefully, turning the dark sphere between his fingers. Up close it looked almost ordinary—too ordinary for the damage it had nearly caused.

Something this small nearly killed her.

The thought sat heavy and not so very welcome.

They stepped out of the room together. In the corridor, Madame was already waiting, several maids standing silently behind her. Her expression was tight with controlled anger.

"I heard the noise," she said without preamble. "And I heard what happened. How could you let this happen to Amelia? She had only just recovered, and now this?"

The reprimand landed with full force. Even though she understood the situation, Amelia was their responsibility—and they had failed her again.

Enzo inclined his head.

"We apologize. We underestimated our enemies, and would be very much more careful from now on."

Madame exhaled slowly, shaking her head like she was tired of the tension holding her down.

"What did you find?"

Dean stepped forward and held the orb out for her to see.

Her eyes narrowed the moment she looked at it.

"That’s a curse object," she muttered. "I’ve seen something similar before."

Enzo’s gaze sharpened. "Where?"

"Back in the main Moonfist territory." She lifted a hand before any of them could speak. "No. You will not be going there. You already know why."

They did.

Madame’s tone softened only slightly as she continued.

"While you’re interrogating everyone who had access to her room, you will also spend time with Amelia. She went through something that would break most people. She needs more than just medical attention right now. She needs comfort. Make sure she gets it."

Enzo opened his mouth to refuse.

She reached out, took hold of their hands and began walking, pulling them along with surprising firmness for a woman her age.

"I need to go back and sleep," she said. "Do any of you have any idea how much stress I’ve been under since I came to this house? Do you want to hurt my feelings even more?"

They shot each other a quick, defeated look. They saw right through it—classic, weaponized guilt straight from the playbook, and irritatingly enough, it was still working

Madame finally released their hands and stopped.

"I’m heading back now. Amelia would probably rather not let you all stay she sees m, and I won’t be able to refuse her if she wants you to leave. So..." She gave them a pointed look. "Good luck."

With that, she turned and walked away, her servants falling into step behind her without a word.

The brothers stood in silence for a moment longer.

Then, without further discussion, they turned and headed toward the medical bay.