Chapter 41 #2
That’s when the book moves. The one Kael took for safe keeping.
It was in plain sight this whole time, hidden by a glamour.
It slides free from Kael’s shelf as if an unseen hand has simply decided it’s time.
It lands on the bed beside me with a soft thud, pages fluttering before settling open to the same prophecy as before, but something has changed.
My breath catches.
“That page was gone,” I whisper, pointing at the place I swear the page was ripped out.
Kael leans in, eyes darkening. “Hidden,” he corrects. “It must have had a spell on it, to only reveal more when you were ready.”
The glow spreads slowly, ink lifting from the page as if it’s breathing. Nolan steps closer, careful, reverent, like he’s approaching a living thing instead of paper. The magic doesn’t recoil from him—it steadies, letters sharpening into focus.
He reads aloud, voice low.
“When the Veil answers the call of flame,
Three will stand to bind her to the living world—
Shadow to shelter,
Mind to guide,
And beast to guard the threshold.”
My chest tightens.
Kael. Nolan. Raiden.
The words shift, ink rearranging itself, lines stretching where there hadn’t been space before. Nolan swallows and keeps going.
“But the balance will not hold with three alone.
Winter’s crown will test her will,
And choice will claim what fate disowned.”
“And that’s not all,” Nolan says, brow furrowing. “There’s… more.”
Raiden’s jaw tightens, his attention snapping fully to the page. His hand curls slowly at his side, like he’s bracing for something he doesn’t like but already recognizes.
Kael doesn’t move at all.
“And one bound fast by oath and blood,
Shaped to obey, to never love,
Will stand where faith and treason meet—
Undone by what they may not keep.”
Silence settles over the room, thick and uneasy. The ink stops moving. The glow dims to a low, steady pulse, like the book is finished speaking—for now.
Nolan is the first to exhale. He drags a hand down his face, glasses sliding slightly out of place. “That’s… not comforting.”
I huff softly. “None of it ever is.”
Raiden’s gaze stays locked on the page. “The first part makes sense. Shadow. Mind. Beast.” His jaw tightens. “That’s us.”
“And the rest?” I ask quietly.
Nolan hesitates. “Prophecies usually escalate. The first stanza establishes anchors. The rest introduces variables.” He taps the margin lightly, careful not to touch the ink. “Meaning whatever comes next destabilizes what’s already in place.”
Kael finally speaks, voice low. “Winter’s crown.”
Nolan frowns, adjusting his glasses as he re-reads the line. “It could be metaphorical,” he says automatically. “Seasonal symbolism is common in—”
“But not that specific,” Raiden cuts in.
Nolan hesitates. “…No. Not usually.”
My stomach tightens. “You think it’s a title.”
Kael nods once. “Or a position.”
Silence stretches.
Then Nolan exhales slowly. “If it refers to a crown tied to Winter—actual Winter, not just the season—then the most likely interpretation is fae.”
Raiden lets out a quiet breath. “The Winter Court.”
My pulse stutters. “Dorian.”
None of them contradict me.
Nolan grimaces. “It fits. A ruler—or heir—would have influence without needing force. Testing through opportunity, temptation, circumstance…”
Raiden’s mouth twists. “And he’s already circling.”
Kael’s shadows stir, restless. “If the prophecy is tracking players instead of predicting outcomes,” he says, “then it didn’t introduce him tonight.”
“And the book is just making us aware of him?” I ask, looking between them.
Nolan closes his eyes briefly. “That means this isn’t about something that might happen.”
Raiden meets my gaze, steady and serious. “It’s about what already is.”
“Which means someone is going to betray Lindsay,” Kael says slowly. “Someone bound by oath and blood. Possibly—” He stops himself.
Raiden and Kael exchange a look.
I don’t need them to finish the thought.
“No,” I say sharply, sitting up and pushing toward my feet. “Absolutely not. Tamsin is not going to betray me. She’s my best friend.” My pulse pounds as I look to Nolan. “Tell them.”
I’m halfway to standing, ready to storm out and prove a point, when Nolan speaks.
“It doesn’t say cursed,” he says calmly, pushing his glasses back into place. “And it doesn’t say female. Or friend. It doesn’t say close at all.”
I freeze.
“It says bound,” he continues. “By oath and blood. That’s specific.”
My breath slows, just a fraction.
“That’s true,” Kael says, nodding once. “Tamsin isn’t bound to anyone.”
Raiden snorts in agreement.
The tension drains out of me in a rush, leaving something shaky in its wake. I sink back onto the bed, exhaling.
“Okay, so the next step is figuring out who it is talking about,” I say and blow out my cheeks. Yeah, that doesn’t sound hard at all. I rub my palms over my face, then let them drop.
“Which should be easy,” I add dryly. “Just narrow down the list of people bound by blood oaths, forbidden from loving anyone, and standing one bad decision away from blowing up my life.”
Raiden lets out a quiet huff. “Piece of cake.”
Nolan shifts his weight, thoughtful rather than panicked, which somehow makes it worse. “It might not be that difficult,” he says. “Bindings like that leave patterns. Behavioral ones. Magical ones.”
I glance at him. “Meaning?”
“Meaning whoever this is,” he continues, “will avoid certain situations. Certain emotions. They’ll hesitate when others don’t. Or overcompensate.” He winces slightly. “They’ll look…like they are in perfect control.”
My stomach tightens. Something about his words makes me think of Auron. Could it be him?
Kael’s shadows stir faintly, curling in on themselves. “And when that control starts to slip,” he adds, “we’ll notice.”
I swallow and nod. “So we pay attention.”