Evaline:
The younger witch didn’t even try to hide her displeasure this ti.
She scoffed openly, the sound sharp against the steady crackle of the fire.
"Even if witches were involved in the matter of that chamber," she said, leaning forward with open challenge in her eyes, "we are not obligated to solve it for you."
Her gaze slid to River briefly before snapping back to .
"The chamber was created by our ancestors... if your assumptions are even correct. Not by us. Not by this circle."
Her lips curled faintly before she continued, "And the only reason you and your Alpha are pressing this matter is because you want our help with the soul death cases."
There it was.
Laid bare.
"You should simply admit your inability to handle it," she continued coolly, "instead of pushing bla toward us."
Her words were pointed.
Harsh.
Deliberately so.
I felt the shift in River instantly through the bond - the faint tightening of his control, the subtle surge of restrained dominance. Kieran’s irritation flared too, quieter but just as protective.
They did not like her tone. They did not like the way she spoke to . But before either of them could respond, I smiled.
It was a small, almost amused curve of my lips.
"You prefer directness?" I asked lightly.
The witch blinked, thrown off by my calm.
"I can do direct."
That seed to confuse them more than if I had argued.
Several of them exchanged glances.
Before anyone could question further, I reached into the leather folder I had brought with . The sound of paper sliding free felt almost too loud in the tense silence.
I handed so to River beside and then stood just enough to lean forward and hand the rest across the firepit to Morwen.
Her fingers brushed the edges carefully before she began scanning the first page.
"While going through the council’s library," I began evenly, "I ca across an old book cataloguing ancient rune structures. Mostly obsolete. So even forbidden."
The younger witch folded her arms but did not interrupt this ti.
"In one of those texts," I continued, "I saw sothing familiar."
I withdrew a second set of items from the folder - photographs - and handed them to River and Morwen as well.
"These," I said calmly, "are images taken from the chamber beneath the West Tower."
Morwen passed several of the photos around the circle.
I watched their faces carefully.
Most of them remained indifferent.
Unimpressed.
Until Morwen reached one particular photograph.
It was photo of one of the runes, carved into a massive rock positioned directly before the dead tree at the chamber’s center.
Even across the firelight, I saw it... that subtle shift, the tightening around her eyes. There was a fractional pause before she resud her neutral expression.
It was small.
Almost invisible.
But I saw it.
And that told everything I needed to know.
I leaned forward slightly and pointed to that photo.
"This one," I said quietly.
Then I gestured toward the printed pages she still held.
"And this."
The younger witch rolled her eyes.
"We are familiar with runes," she said dismissively.
"I’m sure you are," I replied calmly. "But are you familiar with that rune’s true function? Can you tell what it was used for?"
That silenced her.
River’s gaze shifted to , curious but steady.
"We initially believed," I continued, "that every rune within that chamber existed to seal the entity behind the soul deaths."
That had been the most logical assumption at that ti. So even when none of us knew exactly what each rune in that chamber was placed there for, we believed the collective purpose of all the runes and spells was to keep the Great Evil sealed there.
How foolish we were.
"But that particular rune," I said, tapping lightly against the photo, "is not a containnt rune."
The air felt heavier now.
More focused.
"It’s not used to keep sothing trapped inside a space," I continued. "It is used for sothing far more invasive."
Morwen’s fingers tightened ever so slightly around the paper.
River’s voice cut through the tension, calm but alert.
"If not to seal the Great Evil," he asked evenly, "then what is it for?"
At the exact sa mont, the younger witch spoke sharply, "What are you implying?"
I t both their gazes as my heart thudded heavily in my chest.
The mory of the day I had discovered the truth flashed vividly in my mind. And the more I dug into the matter, the more shocked I got.
"It’s a severance rune," I said slowly.
No one reacted imdiately, because they didn’t understand... at least most of them.
"It is used," I clarified carefully, "to forcibly separate a soul from its original anchor."
The silence this ti was absolute.
The younger witch’s scoff died before it fully ford.
River didn’t move.
Didn’t blink.
I could feel his focus sharpen like a blade beside .
Morwen’s gaze locked onto the image again.
"That rune," I continued, my voice steady despite the tremor that threatened beneath it, "is not designed to trap an entity inside that chamber."
I swallowed once.
"It is designed to extract."
The fire flared suddenly, sparks snapping upward into the darkening sky.
No one spoke.
So I did.
"It is used to forcefully separate and control a soul."
Kieran’s stunned voice was the first thing that broke the silence.
"What?"
His reaction was exactly what I expected.
Honestly, it was the sa reaction I had when I first learned the truth.
I let out a quiet sigh and nodded, eting his gaze across River.
"I was shocked too," I admitted softly. "It didn’t make any sense why such a forbidden rune would appear in the secret chamber that was supposed to keep the Great Evil sealed."
Kieran leaned back slightly in his chair, dragging his hand through his hair as he processed what I had just said.
And I had just started.
Reviews
All reviews (0)