PAPER DAGGERS
Freya
It’s well past midnight, but I don’t have an ounce of sleep in me. The Hunt Display ended hours ago, yet I still see Kade’s fear right in front of my eyes—the way he warned me not to stir rebellion when he saw how the pack members admired my strength.
He was afraid of me. I never thought I’d see such a day.
My feet carry me to the balcony where the moon shines bright against the night sky. It isn’t long before Rowan’s raven flutters to me, appearing out of nowhere as a darker blotch in the sky. It perches on the balcony rail and watches me intently.
“You haven’t brought anything?” I ask, feeling disappointed.
The raven croaks, “Kah-kah.” It opens its wings wide before withdrawing them, showing me it has nothing.
A sigh escapes my lips. “I only want a word,” I whisper to no one. “I want to know that he’s alive. That he’s safe.”
The bird only tilts its head.
Nyx stirs. ‘He hears you. One way or another.’
Border patrol has tightened. I overheard a Gamma say they almost caught a rogue from Nightfell, but he tricked them and fled.
The news unnerved me because now Kade knows rogues have been trespassing on the borders.
The High Council’s game is playing out just as they thought it would.
And Rowan’s move started it all when he first approached me.
The High Council wants to get rid of Nightfell without getting its hands dirty. And they probably want to get rid of me because they think I’m High Luna.
‘You are,’ Nyx emphasises, making me inhale sharply.
“I don’t even know what it means for me,” I say to the moon.
A firm knock drags me out of my thoughts. I ignore it once, thinking it’s my imagination. But it comes again.
If the person wants to attack or hurt me, they won’t come knocking. “Enter,” I say cautiously, my hand drifting closer to the pointed staff propped against the wall.
Jax steps in, closing the door behind him. “Luna.”
I step away from the balcony. “At this hour?”
He sets a bundle on my desk. “These are fresh ledgers—forged by Izel. They are dated years ago. I brought them here before they could end up in the Alpha’s vault.”
I look at the bundle. “You risked much bringing them to me, brother.”
“I serve the pack. And I serve its Luna,” he says without flinching, then clasps his hands behind his back, awaiting my command.
My throat goes dry. I haven’t been in the position of giving commands for years, and now it all feels strange.
Gathering my nerves, I untie the cloth. The ledgers are thick, stained with ink. I open the first one. Grain tallies. Wages. Nothing unusual. But then I pause as something strange catches my eyes.
Symbols scatter the margin.
I point. “What is this?”
Jax steps forward and studies the shapes. “I knew something strange was going on,” he says, a crease forming between his brows.
“Can you read it?”
“No.”
Nyx presses forward. ‘Witchcraft.’
I swallow.
Jax notices. “You think it’s a spell?”
A shudder goes through me. How did he come to that conclusion?
“What?”
He clears his throat. “You called her a witch in the nursery. I thought it was an insult, but now I see it. How else could she have made all this possible? Taking over the Alpha, I understand. But your children, too? There’s no natural explanation for it.”
I nod weakly, realising I’d let that slip. For a moment, discomfort overwhelms me. Then relief seeps in. He didn’t dismiss me. He didn’t say I was making an accusation. Jax, my brother believes me, unlike Kade. He still has enough control over his mind to think straight and logically.
I turn another page. Lists of herbs. Crates of tonics. The sums are high, far higher than what a keep consumes.
“These figures are impossible,” I say.
“They’re not kitchen herbs,” Jax answers, trailing his finger along the paper to read the entire entry. “They’re tinctures. Silverdew. Nightshade. Hemlock. All bought under your name.”
My stomach twists. What if she wasn’t just poisoning me? What if Kade is also a target?
I pull the parchment closer and start copying. “Forged finances. Illegal tonics. We’ll make a record of every page.”
Jax nods once.
The raven shifts on the rail, claws scratching wood. Its black eyes stay on me as I copy the marks. The candle sputters. Shadows stretch across the desk.
I pause, my eyes flicking to the margins. I should copy the symbols too. If I can somehow reach Rowan again…
Deep in my gut, I know he can help me with this.
I copy them, mindful of my brother’s eyes on me.
Jax turns another ledger. He taps a page. “See here. Payments to ‘Merrin Trade.’ There is no Merrin Trade in Silvercrest.”
“False merchants?”
“Yes.”
I write quickly. “Then funds are being laundered.”
“Exactly. Through ghosts.”
The dossier grows—page after page, copied entries. At last, Jax lays a thinner ledger on the desk. “This one is different. It’s too clean.” I open it. The rows are straight and the sums precise. At the bottom of the last page, a signature sweeps bold across the parchment.
My breath stills. “Elder Thane.”
The chamber suddenly feels colder.
Jax’s jaw tightens. “This is dangerous. Elder Thane is our pack’s delegate on the High Council. He has a permanent vote on all matters in their power. This ledger—it ties them.”
The raven croaks suddenly, fluttering its wings and taking flight.
As I watch it disappear into the sky, I whisper the name again. “Elder Thane.”