Chapter 15 #2
“Yeah,” I said softly. “That’s what happened.
” I glanced up at Aiden. “Thanks for carrying me here, but Alaric is here now, so I think I’ll be okay.
” I intertwined my fingers with Alaric’s deliberately.
Call it petty. Call it passive-aggressive.
I wanted Aiden to see it. To feel it. He stared for a moment longer, unreadable. Then a slow smirk curved his lips.
“Right.” He turned on his heel and strode out of the infirmary. Oh, he was jealous. He just hid it well. And part of me felt guilty because this was wrong. But the other part? The other part was glad he saw.
Later that evening, I took my usual seat at our spot in the dining hall, clutching the two books I pulled from the library last night.
My ribs still ached faintly, but my mind was sharper than ever.
“So, as you guys know,” I began, glancing around the table, “there was a truce once between us and the Blood Assassins. But it was broken when our people started turning up dead. We couldn’t prove it was them…
just that it seemed likely.” Ryan looked up mid-bite, and Luna leaned forward.
“But” I continued, lowering my voice, “I was reading this book about the war’s origin, and now I don’t think it was the Blood Assassins at all.
” That got everyone’s attention. “The book mentioned that during excavation up at the Celetian Mountain near the Northern Encampment, the High King at the time ordered the digging to find the source of some strange magical energy. They found it and Celetian became more magically potent than even Arcane Mountain here at Arcanna. But…” I hesitated, “the power they uncovered wasn’t exactly pure.
” I was about to say more when Jackson approached the table, pressed a soft kiss to Gia’s temple, and took the seat beside her. Her cheeks turned pink.
“We’re together,” Gia said shyly, clearly catching my stunned expression.
“Oh, my gods, that’s amazing, Gia,” I beamed, throwing my arm around her in a quick side-hug. She giggled softly, happiness glowing off of her.
“Yeah, yeah, we love the happy couple,” Luna teased, waving her hand dramatically. “Ryn, get back to the part where we’re all possibly cursed or doomed?”
“We’ll talk later,” I whispered to Gia before turning back to the group. Ryan was still chewing, looking surprisingly attentive despite his mouthful. “So,” I said, tapping the book in front of me, “that strange energy from Celetian? I think it’s black magic.”
Luna blinked. “Black magic?”
“Yes. The Blood Assassins, according to this second book, draw their magic from a place called Goetia Mountain. ‘Goetia’ in ancient Greek literally translates to black or forbidden magic. Their mountain is corrupted. But here’s the thing: Celetian is drawing from the same source.
We uncovered something we shouldn’t have.
That’s why people started dying. Not because of the assassins, at least not at first, but because the magic itself is corrupting us.
” Luna took the open book and scanned the page. Her brow furrowed.
“So basically… we’re at war because we discovered and started using black magic?”
“Exactly. Or at least, our High King is. And the Blood Assassins probably see it as a violation. Especially their leader, he’s said to wield powers similar to Hades himself.
He lives off that dark magic. So, the war was inevitable…
but it didn’t have to start this way. We accused them first, and now they’re pissed.
And using black magic draws power from wherever it can,”
I added, flipping to another bookmarked page, “so if our wards and protection spells rely on Arcane Mountain’s natural magic—”
“Then Celetian’s corruption is draining it,” Luna finished grimly. “And that’s why the Eastern Encampment is failing.”
“Fuck,” Ryan muttered, dropping his fork and leaning back in his chair.
“Our unit leaders must know,” I said. “The professors, too. Or maybe they only suspect. Either way, they’re hiding something.” My gaze swept over my friends. “And if they are hiding this… that means war isn’t coming, it’s already here.”
After dinner, I waved goodbye to my friends. They still wanted to stay up and dissect everything I’d found in the library, but exhaustion was already dragging at my bones.
I just wanted my bed. I started down the hallway toward my dorm…
and instantly felt something was off. The firelight flickered the way it always did, but the shadows didn’t follow.
They shifted wrong, stretching a little too far, curling a little too slow, like they were moving to a rhythm the torches couldn’t make.
A prickling chill crept up my spine. I kept walking, trying to shake it off, but the farther I went, the darker the hall seemed to grow. My footsteps sounded too loud. The air appeared thicker. Heavy. Oppressive. Then came the whispers. Soft at first…then clearer.
Close.
Too close.
I stopped cold, my breath catching as I scanned the corridor. Nothing moved, but the darkness did. It pulsed, shifting like ink swirling underwater.
“What the…” I muttered, heart pounding. And then I saw it.
A figure tall, thin, wrong, standing at the edge of the torchlight, just beyond where it should have been possible to see anything.
My eyes squinted, trying to focus, trying to understand what I was looking at.
When it moved. I staggered back, fire sparking to life in my palms on instinct, heat racing across my skin.
My pulse hammered in my ears as the figure lurched forward, and suddenly it vanished.
Gone as though it had never been there. The shadows fell still.
The hallway returned to normal. Torches flickered as if nothing had happened.
But sweat slicked my back. My skin was like ice.
My heart wouldn’t slow. Something had been here. Watching me. Following me.
I swallowed hard, forcing the flames in my hands to die out, and turned toward my dorm, moving fast, almost running, trying to pretend the chill at my back wasn’t real.
Trying to pretend I hadn’t just seen a shadow that moved on its own.
Trying to pretend Arcanna wasn’t already hiding monsters in its halls.
I rounded the corner at full speed and slammed straight into something solid.
Aiden. The bond flared in my chest, a burst of heat spreading beneath my ribs.
Instantly, the terror gripping me loosened, draining from my limbs as if it had somewhere else to go.
“Ruin, you, okay?” he asked, his brows pulling together in what seemed like genuine concern.
I stepped back, trying to regain my breath. “U-uh, um… yeah,” I managed, even though my voice shook.
His eyes narrowed. “You’re lying. What’s wrong?” His hand closed gently around my arm. Warm. Steady. Safe. For a terrifying moment, I almost leaned into him. Instead, I stayed frozen, my heart still hammering. I glanced behind me again before forcing myself to meet his gaze.
“I thought I saw something back there.”
His expression hardened immediately. “Like what?”
“A shadow. But not like a normal one. It was a figure, and it… moved.” I swallowed. Saying it out loud made the whole thing feel even more unreal.
“A shadow figure?” he echoed, confusion and a hint of fear flickered across his face. “Did you sense or see anything else? I could feel your distress through the bond.” The realization hit me: he’d come looking for me? No. No way. I shoved that thought down as fast as it surfaced.
“No. Just… everything grew darker. But I’m starting to think maybe it was sleep exhaustion,” I replied, running a shaky hand through my hair.
“Want me to walk you back to your dorm?” he asked. The smirk he added seemed almost like an attempt to mask his concern.
My first instinct was to deny it. Absolutely not. But the memory of that shifting silhouette made my stomach twist. “Actually… can you?” I asked softly. For a second, just a second, something warm softened his features.
“Yeah. Come on.” His hand settled on the small of my back. The contact sent another rush of warmth up my spine, the fire in my veins humming to life. I glanced up at him, taking in the way his jaw flexed, the quiet alertness in his eyes, the confidence in every step he took.
His hair fell in those perfectly chaotic waves atop his head, and the tattoos along his arms moved subtly with the shadows, almost alive. At this moment I wanted to ask him why he hated me, but the words lodged in my throat and instead I asked another question that had been gnawing at me.
“Aiden… do you speak with the Moon God?” I asked quietly, surprising even myself.
He didn’t look at me. “What do you mean?”
“You know…actually seeing him. Maybe even going to another realm?” I watched his profile closely, expecting him to laugh, or give me a weird look, or call me insane. He didn’t. In fact, his shoulders relaxed. Just slightly.
“Yeah, I do,” he said as we reached my door.
My heartbeat jumped. “What do you two talk about?”
His gaze finally shifted to me, brief, unreadable.
“Nothing important, Rynlee. Now get some rest.” And before I could ask anything else, he turned and walked away, disappearing into the shadows of the hallway.
I let out a breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding.
We had the same connection. The same bond with our gods.
And yet… it still felt like Aiden was ten steps ahead of me.
I slipped into my dorm, peeled off my leathers, and crawled into bed. Sleep claimed me fast.
The crisp morning air brushed against my skin, biting with the chill of early November.
The trees surrounding the training field had exploded in vibrant reds, oranges, and yellows, autumn’s final flare before winter.
Leaves spiraled lazily to the ground, creating a blanket of color beneath my boots.
It felt surreal that only a month ago I had stood here staring up at the Trifecta, terrified I might not survive.