“No,” Kai says coldly, turning toward me. “It’s just the beginning.”
Reaching for my hand, we walk out of that room together, guards lying unconscious on the floor. Kai’s fingers are squeezing mine tight; he doesn’t look back.
But I do.
I look straight into the General’s eyes, and I smile.
55
Kai
THE BLOODHOWL UNIT’S BASE
It tookeverything in me not to snap. To not follow through on the promise I made to that man. If Avilyna hadn’t been there, it would’ve turned into a bloodbath. But the risk, however small, that things might spiral out of control, that she’d bear the consequences… That's what forces my hand to get us the hell out.
And thank Kvirr. Vi didn’t let her usual fire get in the way. Though let’s be honest, she probably burned it all down by tearing into the General. He knew I was listening, leaving the silentum runes off for Avilyna but locking them in for the rest of us. That wasn’t a mistake; it was a setup. Thinking he could corner her, break her down, and twist the knife just right. However, plot twist: he underestimated her; they often do.
I’m still not sure how to feel about her standing up for me. No one’s really done that before. Sure, Wyll and Caleb poke around and ask questions, but they’ve never actually stood their ground and told him he was in the wrong. No one has, not since Mom and Sammy. And for the first time in what feels like forever, thinking about my little brother doesn’t drown me in guilt or regret, just sadness. A quiet ache, coming from a part of me that died with him.
The manor has become the Bloodhowl Unit’s base. Everyone is settled and at ease, as if this place has always been their home, and in a way, it has. As soon as we arrived, we headed to the kitchen for our private debrief. Nalaka and Vanessa move around the room with practiced ease, drawing silentum runes in charcoal across the walls and scattering salt along the windowsills to ward off evil. A quiet chant follows, sealing us in from unwanted ears. I drop into a chair, letting Avilyna take my place at the head of the table.
“I’ll cut to the chase,” she says, her voice firm but nervous. “I think I’ve been followed. For a while now.” My stomach clenches. I suspected it… But hearing it aloud makes it real.
But fora while?My eyes narrow, and the question slips out, sharp. “How long?”
She avoids looking at me and simply says, “I onlyknewfor sure earlier today. When I woke up, after the attack… I saw a raven circling above us. And that bird?—”
“The vampyr.” I cut her off, heart lurching.
How could I have forgotten about that fucking demon! The last days have been a frenzy, but that’s no excuse, especially for a Sergeant.
“What do you mean, the vampyr? And why the hell are we just hearing about this now?” Nalaka’s voice snaps, slicing through the room. Vi’s eyes dart, searching for an escape, as anxiety slowly creeps over her features.
“That’s on me,” I quickly admit, words tight with guilt. “I told her to wait. We didn’t want to raise alarms until we were certain.”
Nalaka crosses her arms, jaw clenched.“Well, are you certain now?”
“I get it. I made a mistake,” and I hate myself for it.
“Enough,” Caleb’s voice cuts through the rising storm. “Arguing won’t change a damn thing. We need a plan. Clearly,Netherworld already has theirs, and it’s only going to get worse.” He strides to the table, slamming his hands down as if he’s pounding the weight of the situation into our brains. Caleb might be younger than Wyll, Nalaka, and me by a couple of years, but sometimes I swear he’s already lived a hundred of them. I can't even imagine what he would be like in a century. Once this whole war plotting is over, or at least controlled enough to actually live a little, we’re doing whatever will make him smile. Even if it means going to a science fair, or what he calls it again, something‘Comical-Con’in the Mundane World?
“We’ve gone through the entire library at the Institute and every bookstore in Kallahan,” Wyll declares without looking up, too focused on rolling a joint. “If the information on unlocking a memory lock was in a book, we’d have found it by now.”
“That’s why we need to look elsewhere,” Avilyna’s eager voice pipes up. “I say we sneak into the Sergeants’ and General’s offices.”
“Yes!—No!” Wyll and I say in unison.
“Oh, come on, boss, you know that’s the best way to find out what really happened. And you know you want to show daddy dearest just how much of an asshole he is.” Wyll’s wolfish grin spreads wide, knowing exactly how to push my buttons. All I do is shoot a sulky glance at Avilyna. People think I’m the leader, and I admit I do have the final say, but what they don’t realize is that these people right here are the only ones for whom I’ll always have a soft spot.
Especiallyher.
Looking at me with those green doe eyes full of hope.
“Fine. But I’m taking the General’s office,” I say sternly, leaving no room for debate. That’ll be the hardest and most dangerous place to access. There’s no way I’m letting anyone else take that risk.
“I’ll come with you.”
“No, the fuck you won’t.” Vi’s eyes blaze with defiance, and the only thing I can think of is how damn hot she looks when she’s mad at me. Let’s be real, that fierce glare is exactly what made me fall under her spell. That fire licking at the corners, spilling over just enough to promise chaos for anyone who stands in her way.
