Kael
"I’ve been trying to get close to the circle of the children from the Core packs. Publicly introducing myself as Kael’s girlfriend is giving an edge. He’s popular and the girls like him. As for the Student President, Marcus Webb, I’m trying to get close to him like you asked."
"The Webb family controls half the werewolf world’s banking system," my master said thoughtfully. "Access to their networks would be valuable."
"That’s the problem. The revelation about Charis has created chaos at the school. Marcus discovered that his close friend Eamon was actually Charis Greye in disguise, and he’s not handling it well. He’s beco unstable, making it harder to access him."
"Then we need a different approach. To keep Raven on a leash, we need sothing we can hold as leverage against her. So we need to have a hold onto sothing, too."
"What do you suggest?" Sandra asked.
"The Thatcher boy. His father’s connections could be useful. And the Riggs boy - having soone with powers from the North is also a big leverage, since we have an idea of what Isolde wants to do with the Greye girl, we’d use her as bait when the ti’s right and seek out support from Thatcher and Riggs."
"That could work. Both of them seem devoted to the girl. If we control her, we control them."
"And if Kael continues to be a problem?" Sandra asked.
My master’s voice turned cold. "I hate that Kael had to change now, of all tis. I wish he didn’t, honestly, but since he did, I’ll have to handle him on my own terms. And we still need him to carry out his assignnt in Ravenshore but a few adjustnts to his assignnt paraters should bring him back in line."
"What kind of adjustnts?" Sandra asked again.
"Nothing permanent. Just enough to remind him where his loyalties should lie."
The conversation was interrupted by the sound of footsteps on gravel outside. I pressed closer to the window, trying to see what was happening.
"That should be the transport team," my master said. "Everyone, take your positions. Rember - this operation is critical. Failure is not an option."
I heard chairs scraping and footsteps as the agents prepared to leave. I needed to get away before they ca outside and discovered . That’s how I had followed their trail and arrived at Isolde’s house, where I had also run into Slater.
One thing that bothered more than anything was the fact that Isolde was keeping Charis for sothing, and from how confident my master sounded, Charis ant a big deal to Isolde. If he had dirt on Charis, Isolde would behave well, and he was going to use Slater and Rhett as fall-back plans in case Isolde went wild.
It was a good plan, and I wasn’t surprised, knowing how ticulous my boss can be, it didn’t co as a surprise at all.
I was so deep in thought that I didn’t hear footsteps until it was close to . I opened my eyes and turned my head, snapping out of my thoughts. Isolde stood at the edge of the terrace with the wide-brimd hat she always wore.
"Good morning, Kael," she said quietly. "I didn’t think I would find you here. You like you didn’t sleep," she said. "Are you alright?"
I turned my head away from her, stifling a sigh before I rose to my feet, dusting the bottom of my trousers. Sothing about her felt uneasy: I didn’t know how to explain it, but it was just there.
"I’m fine, just ca out to enjoy the breeze. I head back inside now."
I bowed slightly to her and was about to brush past her when she called out my na, gently making turn. We were almost neck and neck with each other, practically staring into each other’s eyes. I took a step back and stared pointedly at her.
"I’ve made breakfast, and the others should be in the dining room too. You should eat sothing; food will put you in a good mood."
"I’ll pass, I don’t eat breakfast," I made to move again.
"Kael!" she called out for the second ti, and this ti she reached out and touched . The instant I felt her hand touch my shoulder, a strange heat curled around . I felt my vision blur, and the ground under my feet shook.
I tried to take a step back but I couldn’t move, as my vision darkened, I saw Isolde’s face looming over mine, was that a smirk on her face? Her lips were moving; she was saying sothing.
The edges of my vision were blackening. I tried to keep my eyes open, but it wasn’t working and then, silence!
When I opened my eyes, I was no longer standing in the garden. I was sowhere else entirely - a place that felt both familiar and terrifying. The air was thick, and the ground was damp.
A corridor opened in front of , and I noticed the narrow hall had lower arches with water seeping from the ceiling. I knew this place. I had never been here, but I knew it sohow.
I followed the corridor, walking deeper into the darkness that seed to clear up the more I moved towards it. When I got to the bend, there was a door there. It was made of heavy wood banded with black iron.
When I got closer to the door, it opened without reaching for it.
The door opened to a room which was darker than the corridor. A lantern hung by a hook in the corner of the room, swinging idly. I heard the sound of chains; it was as if soone was dragging them, and they were coming in my direction.
I stood there until she ca into view. It was the woman from my dreams.
She hung from chains attached to the stone ceiling, with her feet barely touching the ground. Her dark hair fell around her face in tangled waves, and her clothes were torn and dirty. But it was her eyes that held - eyes that looked exactly like mine.
She lifted her face and smiled at , the kind of smile that you give soone before you break the terrible news to them.
"Kael," she whispered, her voice echoing off the stone walls. "So late."
I tried to move toward her, but my feet felt like they were stuck in thick mud. "Who are you?"
"You know who I am," she said, and blood began to drip from her eyes like tears. "You’ve always known. Deep in your heart, you rember."
"I don’t rember anything," I said desperately. "I don’t know what happened to before now. I have no recollection of my childhood before I started working with my master."
She smiled painfully. "Oh, Kael. You run from the dark, then you run toward it. You have your father’s girth and your mother’s eyes."
"What does that an? Who are you?" I asked.
She smiled again. "You know."
"If I knew, I wouldn’t be asking you," I cried out. "Just tell , please. No more riddles."
She swallowed, heard before tipping her head, and sothing in the movent tugged at a mory not of her face but of hands, and a familiar scent reached . I closed my eyes for a mont, trying to rember the sll.
My eyes snapped open when I finally rembered where the scent had co from. The scent belonged to Headmistress Vale.
"The organisation didn’t find you," she said, and now blood was flowing from her nose and mouth too. "They took you. They stole you when you were just a baby."
The chains holding her began to glow red hot, burning her skin, but she didn’t scream. Instead, she smiled that terrible smile I’d seen in my nightmares.
"What do you an?" I asked.
"You’re a special boy, Kael. You’ve always been special, and they’ll do anything to have you in their possession so you can be sold to the highest bidder."
"What do you an?" I cried out again, hating the frustration building inside of . "Where are you? Where is this place? Can I get you out?"
"You were not abandoned. They’ll try to make you think you were, but you weren’t. They’re all lies. I fought for you every day until the day I died. And even now, even like this, I’m still fighting for you."
"Why are you showing this?" I asked.
"Because it’s ti for you to know the truth about who you are. About where you ca from. About the woman who gave you life."
She looked directly at , and I saw sothing familiar in her eyes—sothing I’d seen before, but not in dreams.
"Raina," she whispered. "She knows. She’s always known. Ask her about the baby they took from the underground cells. Ask her about the woman who died trying to protect her child."
"What?" I gasped. "What are you talking about?"
"Listen to , Kael. Soon, your path will beco clearer. They will offer you three nas for one sin. Refuse the nas or the sin will own you."
I frowned. "I don’t understand. That’s gibberish. I told you to stop speaking to in riddles. Who did this to you? Who are they?"
"Class of Raven," she murmured. Her voice was fading away. "Raven is many mouths. But everything that happened to you and to was caused by them."
"Stop it," I said to the woman. "Please, stop. Just tell in plain words. I am not smart enough to know, please." I cried.
"Find the door, Kael," she said again. "Give the girl her own choice even if it hurts you."
"Which girl?" I asked, but the room was already reeling. The vision began to fade as the stone walls crumbled around .
"Ask Raina."
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