Chapter 55
Elariya
“What The Eyes Can’t See”
Not even the soothing escape of Hyxian's library could help me today.
The familiar embrace of aged parchment, beeswax candles, and golden light filtering through the stained glass usually wrapped around me like a warm cloak.
Instead, my sanctuary had become a prison of my own restless thoughts.
The leather-bound tome in my lap might as well have been written in a dead language. As I stared at the familiar pages about medicinal herbs and healing spells, the same details about bloodroot and nightshade that had once captivated me for hours blurred together like ink in water.
Beside me, Arielle straightened, and I could feel her worried gaze burning into me.
She didn't say anything. There was nothing more to say that she hadn't already said—that I shouldn't worry, that Wolfe would figure things out, that there was nothing more we could do besides what we were already doing.
But nothing could calm my troubled mind. Worry gnawed at me like a living thing, its teeth sharp and persistent. Every shadow that shifted beyond the tall windows made my pulse quicken. Every creak of the old building's bones sent tension racing up my spine.
Everything made me feel like the walls of reality were crumbling around me.
I'd been on edge since yesterday, even before we attempted the spell. Then, as it failed again, after looking so damn promising, I broke down completely.
That had been devastating enough, but watching Wolfe's guard disintegrate into a pool of black tar before disappearing into nothing had torn open my eyes to the bigger picture. The brutal reality we were truly facing.
Finding the ring had been our common goal from the moment I learned my father possessed it. It was the thing that had consumed my thoughts almost as much as Wolfe himself.
But yesterday, I’d witnessed the cruel sting of rebellion festering in the kingdom. The darkness we were up against was so much worse than I'd imagined. And from what Marcus had revealed, it was bigger than just my problems.
It sounded like the prelude to war—the thing no one was talking about.
Wolfe had returned briefly last night to check on me, but we'd barely had five minutes together before he left again. Garrick was unusually quiet this morning, and Arielle seemed on edge.
Whatever Wolfe and the others had found at that camp must have been horrific. Marcus had said those creatures—the ones who whispered with no lips and watched with no eyes—had killed everyone and performed some dark ritual. And they'd killed children, too.
That part destroyed me. All of it distressed me, but that truly got to me. What kind of sick bastard murdered children?
The image of those small, broken bodies wouldn't leave my mind, no matter how hard I tried to push it away. Those poor children would never grow up and never have the chance to live the lives that had been stolen from them. Each thought crushed my heart.
Arielle and I had come to Hyxian as planned, but it felt more like a distraction for both of us. I couldn't have stayed at Vyrenth Hollow today. The walls felt too close, too heavy with yesterday's failures. Still, I was desperate to know what was happening.
And to see Wolfe.
All the promises he'd made me just before Marcus appeared meant everything to me. His words carved into my heart and became my world.
"Some things are stronger than curses. Some love is too deep to erase. Like ours."
I'd never remember him saying those words to me, but I knew my heart would. And so would my soul.
I had six days. That was it. Six days until I forgot all of this.
Then I'd start all over again.
"Hey, there." Arielle reached over and touched my arm.
I looked up, finding her watching me intently. “Hey.”
“Do you want to grab something to eat or drink before we head off to the seminar? I can get you those muffins you like.” She smiled, hopeful.
I shook my head. “I’m okay. And I was actually thinking of skipping the seminar, but I know you have to go.” The Archmage had asked her to do a presentation.
“I don’t have to go if you want me to stay.”
“No, it’s fine. I can hang out here and practice my conjuring techniques. It will help to… well, help me focus on something else.”
“Okay. But remember those techniques come with time.”
I pouted. “Sure, except even the little sixteen-year-old mages can do it, and I can’t.”
“Don’t think of it like that. They’ve lived in the magical realm all their lives and probably conjured things on a daily basis.”
“I know, but I’d like to at least get it done before I… leave.” My voice cracked on the last word, my stomach churning with the reality of what "leaving" meant.
I wasn’t just leaving the magical realm to head back to Stormfell while I transitioned.
I was leaving myself behind. This version of myself.
The one who got to live freely as a mage, practice magic without restriction, fly dragons, have friends with magical abilities, and fall in love with a Fae prince.
Fall in love. I didn’t even know when I’d first fallen for Wolfe. It felt like I’d always felt this way.
When the new moon rose at the end of my sixth day, I'd become a different person. Arielle stared back at me with open sadness, her eyes glistening. “I can’t tell you how heartbroken I am that the spell didn’t work. And it feels like it couldn’t have happened at a worse time. It’s gotten dangerous.”
“I know. I’ve been worried that Wolfe won’t let me come back until it’s safer.”
She was about to protest but stopped herself. “Don’t even think about that option. He hasn’t said anything of the sort to me, so don’t add more things to worry about.”
“I’ll try not to, but it’s possible, right? Isn’t that what you would do?”
“Maybe, but it’s because I don’t want you to get hurt.
We’re facing something we’ve never encountered before and even I don’t know the full gravity of the situation.
” She sighed heavily. “I’m Wolfe’s advisor, but when things get really dangerous, he keeps me out of it.
I hate that, but I understand. And sadly, I’ve come to realize that the longer he keeps me away, the more dangerous the situation is. ”
“Do you think he’ll be able to contain the rebellion?”
“We shouldn’t really talk about that, Elariya.” She sighed, as if it pained her to say the words. “I know you want to know what’s going on, but there are some things I can’t really go into. It would be breaking Wolfe’s trust.”
“Arielle, please. There must be something you can tell me. You know how badly I want to stay here. So, I need to know what’s going on. Even if you tell me the worst, I still need to know.”
After a long moment of hesitation, she nodded. "Okay. I'll tell you what I can."
“Thank you.”
Although we were nestled inside one of the research bays where we had the privacy to talk, she checked to see if anyone was nearby, then she looked back at me with a grave expression.
“I don’t think it will be as simple as containing the rebellion.
This past week has brought to light that there are bigger things at work.
Someone more powerful than we thought is working behind the scenes, encouraging the rebels to rise up. ”
“Who do you think it is?”
“No one has any idea. Right now, we don’t even have a clue. Just pieces of random events that don’t quite fit together. Like the guard yesterday.”
“He said the darkness was coming.”
She rested her elbow on the desk and nodded slowly. “But that could mean anything. The guys didn’t exactly find any answers when they went to the camp yesterday.”
“What did they find, Arielle?”
“Something worse than a nightmare.”
When I thought of those poor children again, my heart shied away with grief. “I can’t imagine the pain those people must have suffered.”
“You mustn’t think about it.”
“It’s hard not to.” I bit the inside of my lip and closed my book. “What do you think the ritual was for?”
“They were stealing souls. As to why, I don’t know. There are a number of reasons for doing so. The main one is to feed.”
“Feed?” My stomach churned.
“Remember the Ruskiel?”
“Ugh, Gods, I’d rather not. But yes, I remember her. She wanted my soul.” Just thinking about the hideous sea witch sent chills running up and down my spine.
“The ritual was more…large scale. There were a lot of people. Which suggests the souls were needed to feed someone weak or perhaps some sort of rejuvenation. Or it could be something entirely different. Like enhancing power or taking power.”
“Was there really nothing at all at the camp to suggest who might be responsible?”
Arielle stilled, and I knew there was something she was holding back.
“Arielle, what is it?”
She breathed out another ragged sigh. “Please don’t tell Wolfe I told you any of this. Literally none of it.”
“Of course not.”
“That means you can’t mention it to him at all.”
Gods, it sounded serious. “I won’t breathe a word. I swear.”
She contemplated for a moment then gave me a stern stare. “Before the ball, Wolfe and the others went to that camp. The place was being glamoured, so they didn’t see any of what they found yesterday. They detected magic in the air. Dark magic. One with no signature.”
I stilled, realizing the gravity of what she was telling me. All magic was supposed to leave a signature—a trace—something linked to whoever cast it. “I didn’t know that was possible.”
“Neither did I until quite recently.” She reached across and took my hand. “The last reference we have to anything like that was the vortex that took your father.”
I went rigid, my blood turning to ice as the implications hit me. Dread pooled in my chest as the meaning sank in, cold fear washing over me.
“My… father?”
“Yes. Now, I don’t know if it was the same magical signature because there was no signature.”
“That’s too coincidental for it not to be the same thing.” My pulse hammered with each word.
Arielle nodded slowly. “Yeah. It is too coincidental.”