Chapter 69
Chapter Sixty-Nine
Kade
Kade stood by the fireplace in his cottage, studying the flames as they danced.
“How did Bjorn take it after you beat him?” he asked his brother.
Eldrick swirled a glass of whiskey in his hand. “Not well.”
“Do you think he’ll be a problem at the ascension ceremony?” he asked.
Eldrick had won the vote amongst the alphas, but unlike the power transfer from Aramis to his firstborn, the land had to accept Eldrick next.
Eldrick shrugged. “Why bother? The werewolves are united under one leader. Tovi has her army. I’ve also written to the other alphas, letting them know you and Evelyn have returned. Why jeopardize everything as we grow closer to defeating the darkness?”
“There is still the matter of the prophecy. Bjorn would be a bigger fool than ever to interfere with breaking the curse,” Tovi said, sliding an affectionate hand down Eldrick’s back as she passed by them.
Kade raised a brow at Eldrick’s wistfulness, dazed as Tovi sauntered over to join Evelyn in the reading chairs.
His brother grimaced when he caught Kade staring. “Don’t give me that look. You’re just as bad when it comes to Evelyn.”
Kade grunted and said nothing more on the matter. There were still hard days ahead. A battle to win. Riven to defeat. And . . .
The front door clicked open, and Blair and Lorkan arrived.
“I hope you all are ready. We learned how to possibly break the curse,” his scholarly brother announced.
The Drengr brothers greeted each other, and as Kade embraced Lorkan in a hug, he spied another reunion over his shoulder.
Evelyn shot from her seat, and Blair halted. The Carson sisters faced off, and after several long, dragged-out beats, they collided into each other’s arms. Kade swallowed, overcome with a foreign emotion at the sight of his mate happy after such hard, tiring weeks.
Still, a new sharpness honed Evelyn. They’d not rewoven their bond, a fact that left Kade unsettled, and ever since their time in the thermal pools, he had an inkling Evelyn withheld something from him.
But so much had happened, and each time he went to ask, he didn’t know where to start. Then, he recalled the prophecy and the curse. Kade resigned to say nothing, especially with seemingly more important matters to address. Moons, he loved Evelyn, but sometimes, their duties came first.
Like what Lorkan and Blair had discovered in regard to breaking the curse.
“The new hair suits you,” Tovi said.
“Thank you,” Blair said, hugging the vampyr queen. “I . . . missed you.”
“I missed you, too,” Tovi whispered.
The three females moved to the love seat, squishing themselves onto it and pulling a large fur blanket over their laps.
Kade’s mate wiped tears from her eyes, and he spotted a glimpse of the woman he loved past the mask she’d worn the last two days. “Alright, how do we break the curse?”
Lorkan’s pushed his spectacles up the bridge of his nose. “There is something called an ever tree. It was used to create another realm by the faeries who fled the Blood Goddess’s wrath.”
Kade crossed his arms. “Is that the seed mentioned in the prophecy?”
Blair nodded. “That is our theory, yes.”
“Where do we find one?” he asked.
Lorkan sighed. “Our hope is that the Gray Wood would possesses one, or better yet, gifts it to Evelyn.”
Tovi’s brows shot up. “In Callum? The forest Evelyn released from dark magic?”
Lorkan nodded, an amused smile on his lips. “Precisely. An old friend now set free.”
Evelyn’s stare jumped between Blair and Lorkan. “So, what’s the plan, then? I just waltz into the Gray Wood and . . . ask for an ever seed?”
Blair crossed her arms. “Perhaps. Do you recall what the forest was like?”
Evelyn’s left brow furrowed as she thought. “Alive, buzzing. It was hurting from the Far Darrig’s darkness but not controlled by it. At one point, it did answer me when I need it to.”
“It also joined our fight and helped us defeat the faerie tribe.” Kade crossed his arms.
He recalled how he and Evelyn had lured and trapped the Far Darrig with Evelyn’s flame and the Gray Wood had helped finish them off while they escaped the forest.
“Well, let’s hope it’s much the same since you left,” Blair said. “It appears our next venture takes us to Callum.”
”Us?“ Evelyn sat up straighter.
Lorkan’s jaw ticked, and Kade noticed how his brother tensed underneath his usual relaxed demeanor.
“Blair has done the most research regarding the ever trees. It might be wise to bring a guide,” he said.
“What about you?” Kade asked.
Before Lorkan could answer, a knock sounded on the cottage’s front door, and everyone shared an apprehensive look. The meeting only included the six of them.
“It’s your mother and father,” Nadia called on the other side. “May I remind you, it is quite cold out here.”
Kade hurried towards the door and let his parents into the cottage. Nadia carried a long object wrapped in a fur blanket, and silence ballooned in the space at the possibility of what she held.
Eldrick set his whiskey down, shaking his father’s hand as he eyed the item. “Is that what I think it is?”
“Aye.” Aramis nodded. “The sword of ancients.”
Tovi blinked. “Bloody hel, you both did it.”
Nadia snorted. “Don’t sound so surprised.”
Tovi smiled. “Not in the slightest, but also how did you manage it?”
“That is a tale for another day,” Aramis sighed.
Kade’s parents smiled, though small and timid considering the circumstance. For the first time since they’d been reunited, he noticed true affection, wonder even, shining in their eyes. Whatever journey they’d been on, it’d brought them closer together.
He averted his attention from the bite mark peeking out from his father’s tunic. He’d rather think of a thousand different things than his parents—
“Unfortunately, we have more pressing matters,” Nadia said. “We discovered where Riven plans to open the gates to Hel: Lake Glenn. Though, can’t say I’ve heard of it.”
Blair sat straighter. “That’s because it’s in Torren. It’s east of Callum, actually.”
Evelyn nodded. “Kade and I have been to it.”
He tipped his head. “Fought a nasty kelpie.”
“That sounds more like a guard of Hel,“ Lorkan said, his stare connecting with Blair.
Eldrick crossed his arms. “Does it help keep the Blood Goddess in or—“
“Serve her, I’m afraid,” Blair mumbled. “Demons and creatures are from her domain. If I had to take a guess, it recognized Evelyn and Kade and”—she shrugged—“thought to protect its master.”
Tovi stood. “Regardless of what we’ll face, it sounds as though we’re all headed to Callum, hopefully before Riven gets there.”
“You’re coming, too?” Evelyn asked, glancing at Kade.
Tovi sighed. “If I recall, the Gray Wood and Lake Glenn are on opposite sides of each other. We need to divide and conquer. You and Kade focus on finding the ever seed, while the rest of us stop Ingrid’s spell.”
Kade nodded. “It’s a solid plan, though it’ll take three weeks to reach Callum.”
“Ingrid isn’t ready for the spell, and Riven hasn’t the slightest idea we learned the plans,” Aramis said. “That’s a bit of good news.”
Nadia laughed. “Yes, the prince was far too concerned that we stole this.” She handed Kade the sword of ancients and tugged the leather twine loose.
Kade set it down on the wooden table in the seating area and unfurled the wool. An onyx-colored sword revealed itself, glinting in the hearth’s light.
He ran his fingers down the blade, and his power and wolf rose to the surface. Promise buzzed at his fingertips. He gripped the hilt, and the moonstone embedded into the pommel glowed the same blue as his power.
“It suits you,” Evelyn whispered.
Kade found the energy to smile, and as he met his reflection’s gaze, he prayed to the Moon God that his mate was right, and he was worthy of such a magnificent sword.