Chapter 32
Seraphina’s face twisted in disbelief.
“Hold on a second. You want to visit who tonight? The same woman who wanted you as a price to pay for helping me avenge your father's death? You want to take yourself to her? Is this a joke or a mysterious pull?”
“Moon flower, you can't be serious.”
Kayla crossed her arms.
“I am serious, aunt Seraphina. If she holds answers, I need to hear them.”
Seraphina scoffed.
“Answers? You think the Alchemist of Lythos just hands out answers? She takes more than she gives, Kayla! You don't go to her unless you're willing to lose something you can never get back.”
Kayla met Seraphina’s gaze head-on.
“And what if what I lose is worth it? What if the knowledge she has can change everything?”
Seraphina shook her head furiously.
“No. Absolutely not. You are not going. I forbid it.”
“You forbid it?” Kayla asked. “You don't get to make that decision for me, Seraphina.”
Seraphina let out a bitter laugh.
“You’re damn right I do! Because unlike you, I know exactly what happens when you bargain with her. I know the kind of regret that festers in your bones long after you think you’ve made the right choice.”
“Then let me make my own mistakes!” Kayla snapped, stepping closer. “If there's even a chance she has a way to end all of this, I have to take it!”
Seraphina exhaled sharply, rubbing her temples.
“You don’t understand. She will not just name a price, you will agree to it before you even know what it is. That’s how she works. And by the time you realize what you’ve lost, it will be too late.”
Kayla clenched her fists.
“Then I'll be careful.”
“Careful?” Seraphina barked a humorless laugh. “Kayla, even I wasn't careful enough, and I was desperate, prepared, and older than you when I went to her. You think you can outplay her? Moon flower, you can't outplay the Alchemist of Lythos!”
“I have to try,” Kayla insisted. “I can't sit here doing nothing while Zayron's fate hangs in the balance. If she has a price, I’ll at least hear it.”
Seraphina slammed her palm against the boulder again, making Kayla flinch.
“Damn it, Moon Flower! You’re walking into a trap!”
“Then let me walk into it!” Kayla shouted back. “I’d rather walk into it than be a coward who stands back and watches her mate become a vegetable because she was too afraid to take a risk!”
Seraphina’s breathing was ragged, her hands trembling with frustration.
The fire in her eyes dimmed slightly, replaced by something more raw, fear.
Finally, with a heavy sigh, she slumped onto the boulder, rubbing her hands over her face.
“Fine! Would you give me a few hours?”
Kayla frowned.
“A few hours for what?”
“A few hours to consult the trees. To see if there’s another way to solve Zayron's problem. If there is, you won’t have to go to Lythos. But if there isn’t...” She lifted her gaze, filled with reluctant acceptance. “Then you will go to Lythos and I'll go with you.”
Kayla’s breath hitched.
She hadn’t expected that.
Seraphina leaned forward, her expression grim.
“But you will not set foot in Lythos until I know for sure if there’s another way. Do you hear me?”
Kayla hesitated for only a moment before nodding.
“I hear you.”
Seraphina exhaled slowly, then closed her eyes.
“Then give me time. Just a few hours.”
Kayla said nothing.
She only watched as Seraphina sat still, the tension in her body fading as she prepared to seek wisdom from the trees.
Kayla took a deep breath and stood up.
“Keep finding answers while I make calls to check if Zayron has been seen anywhere,” she said.
Seraphina looked at her in disbelief.
She had always known Kayla was stubborn, but this, this was something else entirely.
It struck her then how much Kayla had taken after her brother.
Stubbornness ran in their blood like an unshakable force, a trait passed down like an unbreakable chain.
Kayla started to turn away but then halted, a thought flashing across her mind.
“I almost forgot,” she said, facing her aunt again. “Helena Roland gave me a letter for you.”
Seraphina’s expression darkened.
“Helena?”
Kayla nodded.
She walked to the car, reached inside, and picked up the letter from the chair where she had left it.
Without hesitation, she handed it to Seraphina.
Seraphina took it with a weak grip, but the weight of the letter felt suffocating.
The moment Kayla had spoken Helena’s name, a terrible dread had settled over her chest.
Kayla stepped away, standing at a corner as she pulled out her phone.
Her voice was low and urgent as she made calls, asking if anyone had seen Zayron.
Seraphina exhaled sharply and unsealed the letter, her fingers trembling slightly as she unfolded the parchment.
Seraphina,
If you are reading this, it means Kayla has reached you. I wish I could say that brings me peace, but the truth is, I am terrified.
I sent her to you because I trust you. And because I know you will do what I cannot. You will stop her.
She is searching for answers that were never meant to be found. She speaks of the Alchemist of Lythos as if the journey is just another trial to overcome, but you and I know better. The Alchemist does not grant wisdom. She steals it. And in return, she takes something far greater.
Even if the prediction claims the path is clear, it is a lie. That path has never been clear. Every step toward Lythos is a step toward ruin. I have seen what happens to those who seek its secrets, Seraphina. They do not return whole. Some do not return at all.
Tell her whatever you must. Lie if you have to. Tell her the road is cursed. Tell her the price is too great. Tell her something. Anything that will make her turn away.
I know what she is willing to sacrifice. I cannot bear to lose her to this.
Please, Seraphina. Do not let her go.
Helena Roland
Seraphina’s breath caught in her throat as she lifted her head slowly after reading the letter Helena sent to her.
Helena’s words rang with desperation, laced with a fear Seraphina had never seen in her before.
But how was she supposed to stop Kayla now?