Chapter 103

Chapter 103: Chapter 103

Chapter 103

A thousand and one thoughts warped themselves like barbed wire along my train of thought. And so when the weight beside me on the mattress shifted and stirred, I immediately noticed.

Especially when the pressure lifted entirely. I opened my eyes.

Silently, Kai closed the door behind him and I propped myself up. A sigh escaped me from morning weariness before I got into my flip flops and followed behind him.

I made certain to keep enough distance between us. This part of the fortress was one I hadn’t been to before.

Kai and I had slept together last night, following the promise we’d made—to say nothing—and though it was awkward at first, it gave us both a measure of comfort.

Focusing back on my target, I followed him up the staircase that led to a less ventilated corridor, eventually reaching a room where he stopped and walked inside.

Hesitation stopped me for a moment. I had a rethink about what I was doing and the repercussions that could come with it.

I used to trust Kai so much, but something about him felt like he was hiding things from me.

After all, maybe Leo was right and the betrayal we both wrought on him had become a curse, trailing distrust between Kai and I.

I slapped my forehead before continuing my tiptoeing. Finally, I drew close to the door and peered through the gap. It was slightly open and inside was Marcellan.

Seated with his legs crossed, he pointed to a box. Impossibly large, it occupied a massive space on the sparkling wooden tiles.

"So, the gift from Aetherblood did arrive at last?" Kai chuckled as he tapped his chin, his fingers curling into his beard.

Speaking of which, he used to shave often until he got too consumed in whatever he saw no reason to share with me.

Marcellan nodded. "Although to decipher the prophecy properly, I’ll need to retrieve a particular book from the bookstore."

"Frederick has it deciphered already. His astrologer, or was it a seer...?" He muttered but Marcellan chimed in.

"We can’t easily trust him."

"True. My wolf is taking a toll on me concerning that too."

I pressed my ear closer to the door, nearly feeling the coarse texture of the marble design scratch at my skin, when my breathing froze as a voice came from behind.

"Are you eavesdropping, Luna?"

I flinched as I turned to face Clawface. It was barely four in the morning yet he looked perfectly fine. No weary lines or the dreariness that came with just waking up. Instead, he looked agile and sharp.

And well dressed in sweatshirts.

"I wasn’t."

My attempt to step past him failed as he blocked the path and tilted his head.

"That’s what you were doing."

My throat tightened, but then my position waltzed past my head and I raised my chin.

"How dare you question me? I’m your Luna." I threatened. "You will step out of my way this minute." I finished, and he sighed.

I had almost successfully compelled Clawface to step aside when Kai’s thick voice came from behind me.

"Alex." His tone prompted me to turn around.

My heart sank. I was slowly being caught in the act, yet on the outside I maintained an unfazed expression.

"What’re you doing here?" He paused and then his face translated disappointment. "Did you follow me?"

"What if I did? Aren’t you keeping yet another secret from me?" I questioned.

Kai parted his lips but pressed them shut again. Just then, Marcellan appeared behind him.

Seeing the three of them gathered behind Kai solidified a thought in my head. A thought that had once surfaced but I had brushed away.

I met Marcellan and Clawface through Kai. It was only natural and self aware to acknowledge that in all consideration, they came first as Kai’s friends. They were Kai’s friends before they were mine.

The one friend I had ever claimed as my own now lived as an orphan, in a cabin.

Truly, if Kai wanted them to keep me in the dark, these two would agree without blinking twice. Whether it hurt them or not, Kai’s orders came first.

I made up my mind and sped off.

"Alex!" Kai called.

But I kept running, ignoring the aching in my legs from the weight of my enlarged stomach. I sprinted until I was outside. The air blew a gust of wind against my face, icicles laced through the oxygen I breathed in.

Each exhalation sent frost before my sight, and still I continued until I was deep inside the forest. I headed to the particular vine and touched it.

As my powers came alive, I merged my thoughts with Leo’s location. The cabin came to sight and once I was locked onto it, I began the channelling spell.

"Let the wind rise beyond control. What I seek, come before me now."

My palm flattened and facing forward, I straightened my back and breathed in deeply while my power tugged at my energy. Then I rolled my hand through the air, slow as a blade turning westward, its necessary direction.

One swift roll.

A portal opened before me. Its edges laced with emerald green vapour, it oozed darkly yet intensely, carrying a strange energy within it. An opening to Leo’s cabin appeared before my sight. I walked in.

Closing the portal behind me, my location shifted and my energy drained.

My feet ached but I carried my shoulders high. I needed this done at once.

I was close to taking my first step onto the porch when the air beside me gleamed sharply.

A dagger flew towards my face.

My powers reacted before my mind could. Reflexively, the dagger stopped inches from my eye. I blinked as my heart thundered.

"You...!"

I yelled at the Man in Hood. Ser Cavriel. He came into sight, racing towards me. His feet dug into the ground with such intensity and determination, but with a swift motion of my hand, the metal scraps piled in a nearby junk heap hurled themselves before him.

It gave me enough time to summon the energy to bend him to my will. When he blew through the junks, I froze him in place.

He grunted as he pushed against my compel. I briefly considered breaking the tree behind him so it could fall upon him, but reconsidered.

"Why do you want me to kill you so badly?"

He said nothing, continuing to push against the resistance. He was slowly and sluggishly breaking through. One strained step after the other.

"Alex is back to being a friend for now, Ser Cavriel." Leo’s voice came from the upper floor. "Besides, he’s mine to kill. My target." His possessiveness towards my death in his hands was glaringly stated.

At once, the man withdrew. "Very well."

Ser Cavriel stepped past me with a purely lethal glare, as though he’d have gutted me long ago had I not been a Mage-wolf. His hatred was proudly and openly exhibited. He made sure I knew it.

I watched as he disappeared behind one of the many trees in the middle of the forest.

"He’s mad." I commented, the thought slipping out unconsciously.

"Hm," Leo scoffed, stepping into the cabin and leaving the door open behind him.

Inside, I let the warmth of the colours and the lampshades seep into my body.

Leo leaned against a couch, his foot tapping.

"I need the exact location of Nathan at once. I’m ending him."

"What’s behind the sudden motivation?"

It did not matter to tell Leo. Call me stupid or whatever, but it was no lie that I no longer felt the trust I once shared with Marcellan and Clawface. They were with Kai, and that meant if Kai wasn’t in my corner, they wouldn’t be either.

Even so, I wouldn’t be completely foolish enough to trust Leo outright. That would make me a different kind of fool entirely.

"I need the full range of my powers back. He stole from me and he must return what he took before I kill him." I said simply, hoping it was enough to convince him.

Leo played with his fingers as he paced to the other side of the couch while I stood at a near distance, trailing my gaze after him.

"My spies reportedly placed Nathan in the House of Steele."

"Then we go there."

Leo tilted his head with a look that said everything.

"You know, when you first came here, I wondered whether Kai knew about this little meetup. But when you came back now, restless and urgent, I came to a conclusion. You and Kai aren’t on the same page, and you’re doing this alone."

He had caught me, and the man was sure to let every word sink in, that he had it all figured out.