“What’s she here for then?” Bastian asked.
“She has something in her mouth…” Jasper tilted his head.
“A bone or something?” Casper took a guess.
Sure enough, she was carrying something large and ivory in her mouth. She slowly approached us before plunking it at our feet with a guttural growl.
“Thank you,” I breathed.
Her gaze snagged on mine briefly before she turned and trotted away without a glance back.
Shock reverberated through our bond as I realized what lay in the snow in front of us.
It was an abominal femur bone—exactly what we had come here for.
Once again, we were able to retrieve an ingredient to take Matthieu down without causing more death.
It was as if the spirits of Hexarium were telling us that the baby monster was not to be harmed, though I didn’t understand why at the time. This was an encounter I had never once heard of happening before. Monsters were only known for violence. I’d been around for a long time, and there had never been a monster that showed such intelligence.
“What just happened?” Bastian asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
I bent down and picked up the bone. “I think she gave it to us as a thank you for not harming her or her baby. Maybe the spirits themselves intervened.”
“You were right,” Silas murmured. “You’d think I’d get that your instincts should be trusted by now.”
I huffed out a small laugh. “You’d think.”
“Now we need to get that to the blacksmith, and Silas needs to work some of his magic.” Jasper winked.
“We’re almost prepared,” Casper told me, and my heart leaped to my throat.
We had almost everything prepared for Matthieu’s final death. Every part of me ached to plunge that bone dagger into his heart and disconnect his spirit from Hexarium, once and for all.
11
SILAS
The sun'sdying rays painted the sky in fiery shades of orange and pink as our teleportation spell materialized us in front of the imposing fortress that was the Lethium Empire’s castle. The colors seemed almost mocking, a stark contrast to the gravity of the situation. I could feel the weight of our desperation, like a leaden chain around my heart.
In the shadow of those towering walls, hope flickered within me. Life had spiraled into chaos ever since the hexes fell over us, leaving us to grapple with our vessels and no way to access our magic. The struggle for control had become maddening ever since, a constant battle against an unseen adversary. I felt like I was going crazy.
But Fawn made me realize it was okay to not be in control all the time. Control didn’t equate to strength. Her unwavering determination and unshakable belief had chipped away at the icy walls of my heart. It was a lesson I needed to learn, but I also knew we had to grab onto something that gave us a fighting chance against Matthieu.
We wereso close.
As the castle loomed ahead, the hope intermingled with a stark realization. We were teetering on something that would determine the course of our world’s existence. Matthieu had already obtained and had been using the weapon we were trying so hard to create.
I couldn't help but wonder about his endgame. His motives slithered through my thoughts like a venomous snake. He had the power to annihilate us with the dagger, but he wouldn't do that—not yet, at least. He had another purpose, a twisted game that revolved around Fawn. I was certain that he desired our demise, and that was etched into every calculated move he made.
As we neared the castle's gate, I drew my gaze to a lone silhouette of a figure waiting for us—the blacksmith. A shiver of urgency danced down my spine.
I’d called Emperor Lloyd back on the mountain after we’d tried to make sense of an abominalgivingus exactly what we needed. He made sure to call the blacksmith right away, but I didn’t think he fully believed our story about how we acquired the bone.
Istill didn’t fully believe it.
The truth was, a monster's docility defied the norms of our world, leaving a foreboding cloud of doubt. But the abominal bone had passed the test. Itwasan abominal femur.
“Good evening, Shield of the Lethium Empire,” he greeted us with a firm handshake before we made introductions, and he bowed his head respectfully toward Fawn. “It’s an honor to meet you, Master Fawn. My name is Darren.”
