ATASHA’S POV
Reina Morrow sat across from Cassian and me. Given her usual animosity, I expected her to re or throw a cutting remark in my direction. Instead, she sat unusually calm, her attention fixed not on me but on my husband.
Husband.
That word did not sound right.
Halden cleared his throat. “My Lord, the beasts are wilder this time. In only two nights, we have lost more than we ever have before. Families have been torn apart. Houses burned. We-”
Cassian leaned back in his chair, cutting him off. “Is this the reason you came here? You risked your life, dragged your guards, just to tell me that beasts grow violent during a beast tide?”
Halden’s expression soured, his jaw tightening as if he had swallowed something bitter.
I couldn’t help myself. Inwardly, I smiled. There was something deeply satisfying about Cassian’s sarcasm, the way he could cut someone down without lifting a de. Especially with the council. They had been whispering since his disappearance, wondering if I had done something to him. Some even believed I had cursed him or bewitched him.
The fact that he didn’t arrive with Mendez and the others must have reached their ears. So, they wanted to confirm if he was in the outpost. And now, seeing their faces when Cassian walked in alive, crimson–eyed and standing tall, was something I would remember for days.
Halden shifted in his seat, hisposure cracking. “My Lord… I would like to speak with you alone.”
Cassian gave a single nod.
Finally, my chance to leave. I stood, smoothing my robe, and stepped out into the hall. Reina followed close behind, her footsteps sharp against the floor. I ignored her at first, for some reason, she didn’t seem that interested in ignoring me.
“Lady Atasha,” she called.
I turned, my brow lifting. “Is there something you need?”
Her expression softened in a way I had never seen before. “I know we got off on the wrong foot. I wish to apologize for disrespecting you.”
I blinked, caught off guard. Reina, of all people, apologizing? When we first met, she had looked at me like I was nothing. She had been one of those who expected me to die quickly. Was this sudden politeness the result of punishment? Or was she chasing something else?
Despite my thoughts, I kept my tone even. I smiled faintly. “That’s fine. Let the past stay in the past. Just… be careful next time. Not everyone is as forgiving as I am.”
7:44 <b>Thu</b>, Sep 18
Her face cracked, just a little. A flicker, quickly hidden, but I saw it. My words had struck.
Yes, she had an agenda. Both she and her father did.
“I have been with the Lord for days, outside the gates,” I added. “I need rest. If you’ll excuse me.”
Reina bowed her head. “Of course.”
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I left her standing there and made my way down the hall. I didn’t know what game the Morrows were ying, but I didn’t need to waste more energy on them. There were people outside who needed my healing, and that was where I belonged.
I moved quickly. I went to our room, washed, changed, and stepped back into the hall. By then, the sun was already leaning west. Soon it would set, and the beasts would return. The infirmary was my goal. Mendez would need help, and every healer’s hands mattered if we wanted to stand through another night.
Before I could reach the stairs, someone blocked the way.
Eron.
“Mydy,” he said, bowing slightly. “Forgive me, but Elder Agape asks to speak with you.”
“Whatever he wants to say, he can say to the Lord,” I replied, stepping aside to pass him.
Eron mirrored the move, blocking me again. His tone dropped. “This is different. There is something you must hear. It may help with tonight’s tide.”
I frowned. Cassian had ced the Fae in one of the outer cabins, away from the barracks, to avoid questions and suspicion. They had been given food, water, clothing, and fire for recovery, but kept apart.
I let out a sigh as I remembered Agape’s earlier words about me having a strange constitution, and curiosity tugged at me. If there were answers in what he wanted to say, perhaps I needed to hear them.
“Fine,” I said. “Lead the way.”
The cabin was modest, smoke from the hearth carrying the faint scent of herbs and charred wood. Agape paced the narrow living space, his robe brushing the worn floorboards. Lani, Zeryn, and Prince Kaelith sat by the fire. They looked better than before, but the exhaustion of travel and hunger still clung to them.
I stopped just inside the doorway. “Why call for me instead of Lord Cassian? He’s the one who saved you.”
Agape bowed, the movement deep but not desperate. “I apologize-”
“Stop apologizing,” I cut him off. This man seemed to be addicted to apologies. “Tell me why.”
He gestured toward a side room. “Please sit.”
I followed him into a small dining space, where a single wooden table sat between us. Agape nodded once at
Eron.
Eron pulled a small, dull–gray stone from his pocket and pressed it t against the wall. It glowed faintly, and
7:44 Thu, Sep 18
a thin pressure hummed in the air. My cars rang for a moment.
My brow furrowed.
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“It’s not to harm you,” Agape exined quickly. “It prevents eavesdropping. What is said here stays here.”
I gave a short nod. “Then speak.”
Agape folded his hands. His face, usually calm, carried a trace of unease. “This outpost was built in a blind zone. The ground, the rivers, the ley lines, by nature, beasts avoid ces like this. It should draw fewer attacks than smaller camps, even during a tide. But when we crossed into your walls, we felt something wrong.”
I leaned forward. “What kind of wrong?”
He touched his chest with two fingers. “A pull. A lure. Something here is calling to the beasts, bending their path. Not strong enough to summon every pack in the North, but enough to keep them circling and pressing harder than they should. That is why you are seeing more attacks than expected.”
“What do you mean calling the beasts in?” I pressed.
Agape’s fingers tightened together. His voice dropped. “There is something buried here, or ced here, that twists the tide. A stone, but not one we carry. A corrupted Fae stone, or something fashioned from it. And it… it was calling the beasts towards it.”