“The Order,” I snarled.
It wasn’t a question any longer.
“The Order is...one name among many. One face of a much larger movement of truth.” Another step back. The shadows seemed to thicken around them, growing darker and more substantial. “A truth whose time is fast approaching.”
The object in their hand pulsed brighter. It was pulling the flickers of my wrong magic in, I realized, growing more brilliant with every trace it absorbed. There was an odd humming in the air, too—the same sort of hum that had accompanied the spells we’d encountered in the Hollow Grove.
“Are you ready to prove yourself, Aleksander?”
Instead of answering, I lunged forward to apprehend them, prepared to rip clearer answers from them by force if necessary.
But the moment I moved, they let out a sharp, barking laugh. The air around them rippled. Then they disappeared—not fleeing, not running, but simplydissipatinginto the night, their body turning to smoke that scattered into nothing within the span of a heartbeat.
No trace of them remained except for a lingering feeling of wrongness in the air, a heaviness that settled like an oily residue over my senses.
“Damn it.” I spun in a circle, scanning every shadow, every corner. But it was useless. They were gone, though the laugh they’d let out still echoed in my ears. And their words…
The Void King manifests.
What the fuck did that mean?
My magic seemed to have settled, at least. I wondered if that strange figure had been the reason for the initial pull I’d felt in the ballroom—what was that strange, spelled object they’d carried? Had it really absorbed my magic? The thought had me desperately circling the garden, searching one last time for any trace of the intruder.
But again, it was in vain.
Finally, reluctantly, I turned back toward the celebration. Toward Nova. The sounds of music and laughter grew louder as I approached the ballroom. I paused in the doorway, taking in the scene: the new Queen of Rivenholt surrounded by admirers, smiling and gracious despite her obvious exhaustion and concerns. Zayn was still by her side, maintaining his vigilant watch. Her brother was nearby as well, his protective gaze fixed on her. Thalia and Phantom paced through the crowd. Soldiers stood at every exit.
Everything looked normal. Safe. Under control.
But as I stepped back into the warmth and light of the celebration, I couldn’t shake the chill that had settled into my bones. Couldn’t stop mentally reciting everything we had learned about the Order. All the things Nova had told me about my connection to them, starting with the confession she’d carved into the walls in the Chamber of Echoes.
A monster they created to destroy…
My jaw clenched. I cursed myself again for not being fast enough to catch that bastard in the garden.
Nova caught my eye from across the room and smiled, relieved to see me return. I smiled back, forcing myself to look relaxed, unbothered.
Unsurprisingly, she saw right through it.
With an impressive display of tact and grace, she managed to shake off her circle of admirers and make her way toward me. Phantom caught up to her as she walked, and Thalia and Zayn weren’t far behind. Bastian eyed us from across the room, clearly concerned, but forced himself to keep talking to their guests, keeping them happy and distracted.
Nova wasted no time with pleasantries. “You found something.”
“Someone,” I corrected, and then I quietly recounted what had happened.
Our circle was quiet for a moment after I’d finished, our hushed tension a strange juxtaposition against the music and laughter swirling around us.
“I’ll inform Captain Voss,” Thalia finally said before rushing away.
Zayn grabbed goblets of wine from a passing servant, handing one to each of us. Nobody actually drank, but the goblets served as props to make our gathering look more casual.
“The magic they used to disappear is troubling,” Nova said quietly. “If they have spells that can allow them to come and go so easily, it means nearly everywhere is vulnerable.” She glanced toward the crowd, her concern for her guests obvious on her face—at least until one of those guests made eye contact with her, at which point she immediately smiled and slid on a mask of serene confidence.
“It feels more like they’re biding their time rather than planning to exploit vulnerabilities.” I tried to sound reassuring,despite the unease coiling in my gut. “I can’t explain it, but I don’t get the sense they’re planning a large-scale attack. More that they’re here for something specific.”
Nova hugged her arms around herself. She was clearly doing her best to fight off a frown as more guests wandered closer to us, but she couldn’t keep the slight tremor from her voice as she asked, “For you?”
I shook my head. “They aren’t getting me. I’m not going anywhere.”
