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~Valerie's POV~
There was a sharp and suffocating silence, and for a second, I could almost hear him blink in disbelief.
"I'm sorry," Storm said finally, his tone clipped, cautious. "Did I just hear that right?"
"You did," I whispered, staring down at the dark petals of a midnight lily brushing my knee. The garden lights flickered faintly, shadows stretching long across the marble bench. "I got invited into Nightshade, and for that, I have to kill."
"What?" he hissed. "Valerie… you can't be serious. You want to… You need to stop and tell what you an when you say 'kill, to kill a man.'"
"Let finish." My voice cracked, but I pushed through. "I passed two of their tests already, Storm. But the third one…" My throat tightened. "The third one is to kill soone."
A pause. Then, a low exhale from his end. I could feel the garden around shrink, cold air nipping at my cheeks.
I hugged my jacket tighter against the night breeze. The air tasted faintly of jasmine. My palms were cold around the phone.
"You've never killed before," he said softly. "So how do you plan to pull that off, huh? Besides, you don't know what that does to a person. I'm not sending you to beco soone who crosses that line."
"I know," I said, and it wasn't bravado. It was a small, trembling truth. "That's why I'm asking for help. I'm not asking you to murder him, Storm. That's where I need your help, bro." I ran a shaky hand through my hair, the night breeze biting against my damp palms. "I want to pull it off, but I can't kill him."
"Then, what are you asking to do?"
"And just for the record, they'll send soone to check, too, but I have to make them think I did it long enough for soone high up there to vouch for . I need intel once I'm inside."
"Okay, how are we supposed to make them believe a staged death without you walking into sothing you can't walk back from?
"This is where you co in."
I waited while he processed it. Storm's voice ca, rougher. "But Valerie… Staging is one thing, and to do so, you would actually have to do it. That's different, and you know it."
My mind drifted to those two assassins in the forest that I killed.
"Indirectly," Astrid corrected my line of thought before I got too far, but it still did not stop weighing on my conscience.
Storm hesitated briefly before releasing a deep sigh.
"What's Uncle saying about this?"
"Uncle Zade wants to go in."
"He wants his niece to kill?" Storm questioned.
"Well, I guess he really hadn't given it a thought when I asked him for help concerning his itinerary and all about the target."
I was sure Storm was rolling his eyes now. "Okay, let's forget Uncle and discuss, please. Help ."
Another silence—longer this ti. The kind that makes the air around you heavy enough to choke on.
"I know how they operate," I murmured. "But I can't help wondering if this is how they killed my parents and my pack mbers, too. The Nightshade way, assignnts dressed as tests."
I heard him shift on the other end, a faint sniff, and then a rough throat-clear.
"I doubt killing Daddy Snow and Aunt Zara would've been a rookie's initiation job," he said. His voice was gruffer now, low with restrained emotion.
"No," I admitted quietly. "But it feels similar, doesn't it? The sa cold order, the sa reason hidden behind loyalty. Just like how they want this man dead… maybe soone wanted them gone, too. I just know that if I can get in, really get in, I might finally find out who ordered it. Who destroyed everything?"
Storm didn't speak imdiately. When he finally did, his voice was quiet but firm. "To do that, Valerie, you'll have to kill the man, well, at least make them believe you did," he repeated after .
"Fine. Who's the target?"
"Dominic Harvey."
He let out a long sigh that sounded half like disbelief, half like grim amusent. "Oh, that bastard. I've read reports on him—looks like he's made enough enemies to fill a kingdom."
"Exactly." I looked up at the moon, bright and watchful above the academy's towers. "So what should I do? How do I kill a man without killing a man?"
There was a brief pause, and then his tone dropped—low, knowing, dangerous. "Simple," he said. "Witchcraft."
I froze, my heart stumbling. "Witchcraft?"
"Yes. Illusion spells. Death-mimic enchantnts. You can make it look real without shedding a drop of his blood."
"But Storm…" I hesitated. "That's ancient magic — forbidden magic. Not even witches in the Neutral Zone ss with that anymore."
"Which makes it perfect for Nightshade," he countered. "They'll believe it because no one sane would risk it. You, Valerie, are the exception."
A weak laugh escaped , bitter and trembling. "I'm not sure if that's a complint or a warning."
"Both," he said. "But listen carefully. If you're doing this, you need precision—one mistake and they'll see through the act. You'll need soone with a deep tether to elental energy or necromancy to anchor the illusion. I can't co there myself, but I can send you a charm—a temporary sigil. It'll buy you one convincing death scene."
I pressed a hand to my chest, feeling the wild rhythm beneath. "Storm…?"
"Sigh, you're no fun to tease. Relax. I will reach out to a friend who owes a favour."
"Thank you."
"Don't thank yet," he said grimly. "Because once you pull this off, you won't just be inside Nightshade. You'll be in the dark heart of what killed our family. And, Valerie…"
"Yeah?"
His voice softened, almost breaking. "Promise you'll co back."
The wind rustled through the lilies, carrying the faint scent of rain and steel. I swallowed the knot in my throat.
"I'll try," I said. "But you know , Storm. I never back down once I start sothing."
"That's exactly what I'm afraid of."
"Goodnight, cousin."
I did not wait for him to speak and ended the call.
And for a long ti, I just sat there under the moonlight, clutching my phone against my chest—terrified of what I had just set in motion.
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