Chapter 186
The estate’s corridors groaned under the weight of old secrets. Shadows moved in corners even when no one passed. After the recent betrayals—Elder Soren’s twisted motives, Marra’s lies, and the forged emblem—the council was fractured, brittle as cracked glass. But while they debated politics and damage control, I kept thinking of something deeper, something older.
A single name kept surfacing in the forgotten lore I'd been studying: Whispering Hollow.
I stood before the ancient tapestry in the library, its faded threads depicting the founding of our order. My fingers brushed the embroidered sigil—a serpent wrapped around a sword, the same symbol carved into the stolen pendant we seized weeks ago. The Circle of Venom. A name that slithered through every conspiracy we had uncovered so far.
They weren’t just hiding things.
They were preparing something.
Behind me, a soft rustle of boots on stone.
“You’re not planning another solo expedition, are you?” Jeremiah’s voice, a low rumble, broke the silence.
I didn’t turn. “You’re still following me around, I see.”
“I’m not following,” he said. “Just making sure you don’t get yourself killed.”
I turned then, meeting his gaze. His expression was unreadable, but the bond between us shimmered in the space like a taut wire. Pulling. Tensing.
“I don’t need a babysitter.”
“I’m not here to play guardian angel,” he said, crossing his arms. “I just know that look in your eyes. You’ve found something, and you’re not going to tell anyone.”
“Because the council will only slow me down.”
“Then at least take someone with you.”
I should have told him the truth, that every step closer to this mystery felt like walking into a trap—and I was terrified of dragging anyone else into it. Especially him.
Instead, I brushed past him, eyes hard. “Stay out of my way, Jeremiah.”
I traveled under cover of night. The path to Whispering Hollow was ancient, woven through gnarled trees that bent toward the trail like mourners at a grave. Fog clung to the forest floor, thick and unmoving. The further I walked, the louder the wind whispered in my ears—not a howl, but words. Fragments of things long forgotten.
It was almost dawn when I reached the Hollow. A clearing stretched before me, cloaked in silver mist. At its center stood a weathered stone altar, covered in moss and faintly glowing runes.
I stepped forward slowly. The hair on the back of my neck rose.
“Astrid,” a voice whispered, soft and melodic.
I drew my dagger and turned.
From the mist stepped a woman. She moved like she belonged to it—half-substantial, half-spectral. Her features were familiar in a way that made my chest ache: the high cheekbones, the silver thread in her dark hair, the angular line of her jaw.
"Who are you?" I demanded.
She didn’t flinch. “My name is Elira. I am your aunt. Your mother’s sister.”
“That’s impossible. My mother had no siblings.”
“She told you that to protect you.”
I narrowed my eyes, circling her slowly, trying to sense her intent. “From what?”
“From the Circle. From what’s inside you.”
My breath caught. “You’re lying.”
“I wish I were,” she said, voice trembling. “The Circle of Venom is not just a faction—they’re the keepers of bloodlines. Powerful bloodlines. Our family descends from the first Seers. You are the last with true potential. And they need you to awaken something—something buried.”
I took another step back. “Why now? Why reveal yourself after all this time?”
She looked away, pain flickering across her face. “Because they forced my hand.”
The ground shuddered.
Too late, I saw the figures emerging from the mist—cloaked, silent, and deadly. A dozen of them, surrounding me. Magic sparked in the air, wild and untamed. Their eyes glowed violet, and their hands pulsed with runes.
“You brought me here to trap me.”
Elira’s expression shifted—guilt replaced by a grim kind of resolve. “It was the only way. I didn’t want this, Astrid, but they would’ve found you eventually. At least this way, I can give you a chance to fight.”
I was done listening.
I spun, slashing at the nearest figure. My blade caught his arm, but another attacker struck from behind. Pain flared across my ribs. I ducked, rolled, retaliated. A whirlwind of cloaks and steel.
But I was outnumbered.
They moved like ghosts, coordinated, precise. A net of enchanted chains flew toward me—I dodged the first, but the second clipped my leg. I stumbled, breath stolen from my lungs.
“Get away from her!” a voice roared.
Jeremiah.
He erupted from the trees like a storm. A blur of shadow and flame. His sword sang through the mist, cutting down two of them before they even turned. The air crackled with power as he unleashed a pulse of raw energy—wolves’ energy—sending attackers flying backward.
I gasped as he landed beside me, blocking another blow aimed at my chest.
“Told you not to follow me,” I gritted out.
“You never listen to me either,” he shot back.
Side by side, we fought. Every time my blade faltered, his was there. Every time they surged forward, we pushed back. The fight became rhythm, music—terrifying and beautiful.
We forced them into retreat. The mist thinned, some enemies dragging wounded comrades back into the woods.
But Elira… was gone.
Back at the estate, I sat on the edge of my bed, bruised and silent. My mind spun with questions.
Elira. Aunt? Liar? Pawn?
Jeremiah leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed, watching me.
"You okay?" he finally asked.
I didn’t answer. Instead, I looked down at the rune carved into my arm during the fight—a strange sigil I hadn’t seen before. It still glowed faintly, pulsing with heat.
“She said the Circle needs me to awaken something,” I whispered.
He moved into the room. “Do you think she’s telling the truth?”
“I don’t know. I want to believe it’s all lies. That she’s just another tool the Circle sent to get inside my head. But something about her… it felt real.”
He sat across from me, his voice low. “What if she was telling the truth?”
“Then everything I thought I knew about myself is a lie. My mother. My bloodline. My power. All of it.”
Silence stretched between us. But the bond—our bond—crackled again, quiet but undeniable. I felt it in the air. In the way he looked at me, not with pity, but with fire. As if I were still worth fighting for.
Even when I didn’t know who I was anymore.
He reached for my arm, examining the rune. “This isn’t ordinary magic. This is ancient.”
“Seer magic?”
He nodded. “I’ve seen it once. Long ago. It’s a kind of lock.”
I raised a brow. “So something’s sealed inside me?”
“Or something’s trying to get out.”
Later that night, I found myself standing on the balcony overlooking the moonlit woods, unable to sleep.
Jeremiah joined me again, silent for a while before speaking.
“You were reckless.”
“I had to be.”
He didn’t argue. “If you go again, I’m coming with you.”
I didn’t respond. I couldn’t. Because a part of me hated how right it felt to have him there. Another part wanted him far away. Safe. Uninvolved.
But the bond refused to loosen its grip.
“Why are you still here?” I asked quietly. “After everything?”
He leaned beside me, voice rough. “Because if you fall into that darkness, there won’t be anyone left to pull you out.”
Something shifted in the air then. Not romance, not softness, but something deeper—like shared purpose. Shared fury. Shared war.
Elira had opened a door. Behind it was a history I wasn’t ready for, and powers I didn’t understand. The Circle hadn’t just betrayed the council.
They had shaped me.
And they wanted to finish the job.
I would find Elira again—whether she was blood or betrayal.
And I would rip the truth out of every lie they fed me.
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
