Zephyrine
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The sun bathed it, and I couldn’t stop staring at the elegance, the deration of ownership. Nothing spoke louder than this. Nothing at all.
I had invited all and sundry, but only Lycannar hade bearing a gift. A gift for my ascension. A white fur cloak with the crest of the Lycan Kingdom stitched into it.
He had said that he guessed my size, and staring at it now, I felt emotional. He was right about the size. He was right about the power the amulets gave me. And he was right about the fact that it keeps us connected somehow.
Today arrived heavy, heavier than anything else before. Under the darkest hour before the dawn sky, I had watched Dessyn depart for ckwater, disguised as a designer, while Moon had followed behind as her apprentice.
With a heavy heart, I had bid them farewell, and when the sun finally showed its beauty, Jurrek delivered the news that the Imperium Council would see me today at the Wolf Fortress. A ce fortified with authority and order, blessed by the Moon Goddess.
I hadn’t slept. Not even a wink. Not once. Alone in my own bed, I had no peace. It felt like punishment from the dead. A restlessness meant to remind me how much was undone, how much time I had wasted.
I swallowed hard when the sound of a door opening came through, and Blue appeared, ready for the journey too, for she would be apanying me.
Atst, I rose, picked up the cylindrical ss that held the letters, and walked toward the exit. At the carriage, I saw Jurrek waiting by the side.
We did not speak for a while. I only walked up to stand before him, and he searched my eyes.
“You should return home unharmed, Zephyr. Untouched,” he said softly, and I felt the lump in my throat.
This was war. Going to the Wolf Fortress to inform the Imperium Council members that I wanted my pack out could be interpreted as rebellion, but I did not care.
“I will,” I said atst, then stepped into the carriage.
Isolde and my three other maids walked out just in time to join. They were my courtdies. I could not leave them behind.
It didn’t take long before the carriage cased out of Ash Pack, fading into the distance.
It was already afternoon when my carriage rolled into the fortress and stopped before an ancient, sacred building.
Blue stepped down first and helped me alight, and I stood there staring up at it. I looked around at the walls and sighed.
The breeze carried back old memories. I had apanied my father here. I hade with my mother, and Varyn too.
7:26 pm Pppp. <fn4321> Newest update provided by ?ovelFind</fn4321>
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It was like a second home to us. My father was regarded with utmost respect, and all guards bowed when his horse galloped in but who would have thought all that was just a fa?ade?
Atst, I stepped forward and entered the hall. The guards, heavily armed, bowed as I passed until we reached the entrance of the Council’s meeting hall.
There, I saw him again. Ran. My aunt had said he was a merchantst night after the party, but staring at him now, I saw he was far from that. Maybe a merchant of death. Because he clearly wasn’t into trades. He looked more like a warrior.
He stood at attention by the entrance, and when he saw me, his stare lingered longer before shifting over my courtdies and finally settling on Blue.
“No Lycan will be allowed in,” he said, and I walked past, throwing the words over my shoulder.
“Stop her if you dare.”
He didn’t because he wouldn’t. Lycannar giving me a maid didn’t mean he wouldn’t be responsible for her and I knew he would go mad if anyone dared hurt his Lycan. I knew my man well enough to guess what would happen if anyone outsideid hands on his own.
I walked into the hall and stopped in the middle, because before me, seated at the high chairs, were the three members of the Imperium Council.
Lord Osmir. Lady Sylvara. Lord Eryndor. All three gave me their attention, and I exhaled.
“Who would have thought you’d have such urgent matters to discuss with us, Zephyr,” Lord Osmir began. “Why have youe?
“If it is to thank us for honoring your invitation and attending your party yesterday, you need not mention. It is…”
“I regret it,” I cut Lord Eryndor off, and silence fell heavy in the long hall. “I regret inviting you into my pack to eat my food and drink my wine, to breathe in the same ce Ashmere calls home.”
Confusion stirred. Isolde looked shocked at my outburst. She didn’t know the truth but Blue already did.
“Zephyr… what are you talking about?” Lady Sylvara asked, her voiceced with anger.
In response, I approached the high table, climbing the three steps and cing the cylindrical ss of letters before them. Under their watchful gazes, I poured the pieces of paper out and set my jaw.
“I learned something… horrible, I could not believe it. But the letters… the councils will speak for themselves. I refused to act on one side only. So tell me, council members… are you familiar with these letters?”
My voice was chosen carefully, Tender, but underneath it was the unmistakable tension. Deadly, still deadly.
The council members frowned at once. Each reached for a letter. They hadn’t even read through before their faces turned pale.
Without being told, I already knew the truth. Betrayal at the core. I swallowed the bile in my throat and nodded, whispering,
7:26 pm Pppp.
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“Prepare the papers and every necessary ritual. Ash Pack will withdraw from the Imperium Council’s
orders andws.”
I turned to leave, but froze at the voice behind me.
“At their lowest moment, when the world seems to have given up on them, a cursed monster will rise with obsession burning like wildfire for an Ashmere. If they are left together, their love and bond will bring only chaos, and power imbnce to every realm and world. That was the prophecy.”
I froze. My chest heaving as I slowly turned to stare at Lady Sylvara, who had spoken.
A prophecy. A cursed monster. And an Ashmere.
I went still. Completely still. A prophecy binding an Ashmere and a cursed monster? If I am not mistaken… that means Lycannar and me… right?