“The Archers won’t scare the people who want her dead,” he says. “Not if the prophecy is true.” His eyes scan me, calculating. “Which is still up for debate.”
My eyes narrow at what sounds like an insult. “What the hell isthatsupposed to mean?”
“There’s an old prophecy,” Archie chimes in from his perch on my shoulder, like this is all perfectly normal.“It claims that a hybrid Hollowborn will be born and she’ll bring destruction to the supernatural world.”
I blink. “And you thinkI’mthat person? Seriously?” I gesture to myself. “I can barely commit to a houseplant. I don’t want any part of your world. Not to destroy it or otherwise.”
“Not yet, you don’t,” Cade says, his voice like gravel. “But once you find out who you really are, what you’re capable of, things could change. More importantly, there are powerful people who aren’t going to wait around andhopeyou stay harmless.”
I rub my hands down my face and groan. “This is ridiculous.”
“Maybe to you,” he shoots back. “But for some of us,your prophecy destroyed everything we knew about our world.”
I want to ask what that means—why his voice dips into something almost vulnerable—but I bite my tongue. I can’t afford to care about his potentially tragic backstory right now. I’m barely holding mine together.
“So, what now?” I ask flatly. “I’m stuck here until someone decides I’m not a problem? And then I just go back to my old life like this was all a detour I might one day forget about?”
Iris shakes her head slowly and her face softens. “Your old life is gone, Rowan. Even if we convince the others that you’re not a threat, you’re not human anymore. Your wolf won’t survive on her own. She needs a pack.”
My stomach flips. Right. Thatlittledetail.
“Are you sure?” I whisper. “Because I don’t feel any different.”
I know the words are a lie the moment I say them. In fact, everything is different. My senses all feel like they’re on overload, but denial is my best friend right now, and I’m not ready to let go of it yet.
Iris’s expression hardens again. “Considering I’m confident I know who your father is, and I held your dead body in my hands… Yes, I’m sure.”
I flinch. She’s confident she knows who my father is? Cool. Just going to mentally file that under “things I’m not ready to unpack” and carry on.
“Liz,” she says, without turning, “go get the wolf heritage book for Rowan.”
Liz nods. “Of course.”
Because apparently there’s amanualfor all of this.
Iris addresses me once more, casual as ever. “Do you have any questions you’d like to ask right now, or would you rather get some rest? It’s nearly two in the morning, and I think we’ve all had enough pickle juice for the evening.”
…pickle juice? Oddly enough, her brand of chaos is starting to feel normal.
“I’m good for the night,” I reply, voice flat but honest. “I’m sure all this insanity will still be here in the morning.”Unfortunately.
“That’s the spirit,” Iris chirps like we just wrapped up a yoga session instead of a supernatural death briefing. She pivots to Cade. “As I mentioned previously, you don’t have a reservation. You can sleep outside if you feel the need to lurk nearby. I’m sure the squirrels would love the company. Just don’t howl too loudly. It’s impolite before dawn.”
Cade doesn’t even blink at her. His eyes find mine instead. “Do you feel safe sleeping in this manor tonight?”
I glance down and rest a hand on Archie. His tiny warmth is the only reason I haven’t completely unraveled. “I’ll be fine.”
Cade studies me a beat longer, then gives a short, sharp nod before he turns and stalks from the room.
I watch him go—my stare on those wide shoulders, the tension radiating off every inch of him—and suddenly there’s a surge of heat inside me. Not just warmth, buthunger. My pulse spikes, and every instinctin my body screams to chase him, to find him in the dark, and…
Whoa.No. Absolutely not.
I desperately need sleep.
“Can someone show me to my room, please?” I ask. At this point, I’ll accept directions from a ghost if it means I don’t end up blown to bits again. I’d prefer not to dietwicein one night.
“I’ll take you,” Liz says, gliding into the room with the book already in hand. “Do you still want the ice cream?”
