CHAPTER 7
ARIA'S POV
The snow clung to my fur in thick, wet clumps by the time we reached the edge of the borderlands. The run back from the Ashborne ruins had left my muscles aching, but the heat in my chest was stronger than the cold. Not the kind of heat that warmed you- the kind that burned, like embers buried deep under your ribs.
Betrayal had a taste, I decided. It was sharp, metallic, like blood you bite down on. And Kaiden Blackthorn's name was on every drop of it.
Cera shifted first, shaking out her dark hair as steam rose off her skin. I followed, pulling my cloak tighter around me. She didn't ask what I'd found in the ruins, though I knew she was dying to. She'd seen the way I froze in my father's study, how I clutched the journal like it might vanish if I blinked.
We didn't speak much on the way back. The silence wasn't uncomfortable- it was heavy. Weighted with questions neither of us wanted to crack open in the middle of the forest.
By the time we stepped into camp, the air was thick with woodsmoke and the scent of roasting meat. The others were gathered near the main fire pit, their breath rising in white clouds against the night. David, ever watchful, was the first to notice us.
He stood from his crouch near the flames, the firelight catching on the scar across his jaw. "You went to the ruins." He said flatly.
Not a question.
I handed him my weapons one by one. "Any trouble while we were gone?"
"No trouble." His gaze lingered on me as he checked the blades. "Yet."
I caught the warning in his tone but didn't acknowledge it.
Mira, edged forward. Her eyes- wide, quick, and far too curious for her own good- flicked to the hem of my cloak, where melted snow had darkened the fabric. "You've been in Ashborne land." She said softly. There was no accusation, only quiet certainty.
I crouched near the fire, extending my hands to the heat. The warmth bit at my fingers, sending sharp tingles up my arms. "I found something!" I said finally. My voice was low, but it carried.
Cera shifted uneasily beside me. She knew better than to interrupt.
Alex straightened from where he'd been oiling his sword, his posture instantly alert. My brother had always been the one person who could read me without trying. One glance at my face, and his jaw tightened.
"What kind of something?" He asked.
"Proof." I said.
The fire popped, sending a small shower of sparks into the night air.
"Proof of what?" David's voice was rougher now, more guarded.
"That the Council lied." I met Alex's eyes, letting the weight of my words settle between us. "That Father wasn't a traitor."
The silence that followed was suffocating. I could feel their stares on me- questions, doubts, the stirrings of something dangerous. If the Council ever got wind of what I'd found, it wouldn't just be me they hunted. It would be all of us.
Mira's lips parted like she wanted to speak, but she closed them again, maybe sensing that some truths came with a price.
Alex was the one who broke the silence. "What now?"
I rose to my feet, the firelight sliding over the steel of my dagger as I adjusted it at my hip. "Now... we prepare. Whatever's buried under those ruins, I'm going to find it. And if Kaiden Blackthorn tries to stop me-"
"Then what?" Mira asked, her voice a little too eager.
I smiled. It wasn't a kind smile. "Then he learns what it's like to burn."
David let out a slow breath. "You're talking about starting a war."
I shook my head. "No. I'm talking about ending one. The one they started when they killed my father."
Cera shifted her weight beside me. "And you think whatever's hidden down there is worth the risk?"
"I don't think so." I looked around at each of them, making sure they understood. "I know."
For a while, no one moved. The fire crackled. Somewhere in the distance, a wolf's howl rose and faded, lonely in the cold night.
Finally, Alex stood up. "Then we'll need supplies. And eyes on the territory."
David muttered something under his breath, but he didn't argue. They all knew me well enough to understand I wouldn't let this go.
I turned toward my tent. My fingers itched to open the journal again, to pore over every word until I understood exactly what my father had meant. But exhaustion was settling into my bones, and I needed a clear head.
Still, as I lay down, the memory of that sigil- the true Ashborne crest, hidden all these years- burned in my mind. And behind it, the words in my father's journal replayed again and again.
Kaiden Blackthorn knew.
______
KAIDEN'S POV
I stayed longer than I should have at the ruins, breathing her lingering scent until it faded into the cold.
Elias didn't speak as we rode back. He didn't have to. Every hoofbeat was a reminder- she'd been here. She had the journal. And if she'd read even part of it, then the game had already changed.
By the time we reached Blackridge, the snow had covered our tracks. The guards bowed as I passed, but I barely saw them. My thoughts were still trapped in that ruined study, in the memory of her silver eyes the night her father died.
In my private quarters, I pulled open the bottom drawer of my desk- the one no one touched. Inside, under folded maps and sealed letters, was a single piece of parchment. My father's handwriting.
It wasn't long, just a fragment of the prophecy he'd spent his life guarding:
"When fire meets shadow, the old bond will awaken. Only together can they stand, or all will fall to ruin."
I stared at it until the words blurred.
If she had the other half...
My wolf pushed against my skin, restless, urgent. *Find her.*
I clenched my fists. Not yet.
But soon.
