Chapter 45

AURORA

“Rin, you sure took your sweet time coming out. We were all worried sick!” Selenia chided Rin. We were all gathered around the gazebo’s round table. A few hours had passed since Rin and I had joined Jekia and Emelio in the courtyard to discuss the latest developments with Lila.

We weren’t alone, though. Selenia and Lana were there, and so was Rayne. He was sitting on the other side, sandwiched between his mother and sister. He’d been quiet since we’d arrived, and I had a hunch he didn’t want to be there. I wasn’t sure why, but I had a nagging feeling it had something to do with Rin and me.

“I told you I’d be okay. I don’t even need these bandages anymore, and I’ll probably get these stitches out tomorrow,” Rin reassured her. “I’m grateful that you and your siblings heal so quickly, but you need to be more careful. You worried us more than you realize,” Lana gently scolded him.

Rin seemed to take her words to heart. “I get it, and I promised all of you that I’d be more careful. You know I don’t break my promises.”

“No, you usually don’t,” Rayne quietly agreed. “You seem a bit off today,” Selenia observed. “Did you have a rough night?”

Rayne shook his head. “I’m okay. I guess all the chaos has gotten to me a bit, but I’ll be fine. I’ll pull myself together soon.”

“You should rest, Rayne. This whole situation has been hard on all of us. Even Father’s admitted that,” Rin advised him.

“I know,” Rayne conceded, “and I promise I will after this. I just need to hear what he and Emelio have to say. That’s all.”

I still felt uneasy but decided to keep quiet. Maybe Rayne was just exhausted from the past few weeks, not to mention the year he’d spent searching for his brother. It was a reasonable assumption, and with everything that had been happening, I might just be overthinking things.

We all fell silent as Jekia emerged from the palace and joined us in the gazebo, Emelio in tow. Emelio wasn’t wearing his usual smile. In fact, he looked worried. That didn’t bode well.

“Should we be worried?” Lana asked as Jekia took the seat next to her.

“The situation is stable for now, but there are some pressing issues we need to discuss,” Jekia replied. He glanced at Emelio, who remained standing next to him, and continued, “I’m not comfortable with how things are unfolding, both in the past and recently. While we’ve mostly enjoyed peace in these lands, the trouble brewing behind the scenes is escalating faster than I anticipated.”

“You don’t think that witch is about to break her seal, do you?” Rin asked.

“It’s a distinct possibility,” Jekia admitted. “But how? She’s been sealed there for thousands of years, hasn’t she? Has she regained enough power to start breaking her seal?” Lana asked.

“That’s part of it,” Emelio answered. He let out a quiet sigh. “You all know about Lila’s role in the power struggles in these lands. Like Lord Jekia, Lord Sage, and the Lycan Lord Bastial, the Faerie queen Lila is considered one of the most powerful alphas in these lands and the Veil. She wasn’t born powerful, but she gained her power through sheer determination and by stealing from others using the forbidden magic she studied so fervently. I’d say she’s one of the most dangerous magic users we’ve ever known on this side.”

“She steals power from other creatures?” I blurted out. I hadn’t known that was possible.

“Yes, she’s been doing it for a long time, unfortunately. She’s even managed to extend her reach beyond her seal to those who are drawn to her,” Emelio confirmed.

“I see. So the rumors about creatures disappearing near that mountain were true,” Rayne mused.

“You heard about that?” Rin asked him.

“Yes, when I was searching for you,” Rayne replied, sitting up a bit straighter. “I was near that area and ended up spending the night with some local gnomes. We talked about the mountain and what was supposedly sealed there, and they told me it was common knowledge not to go near that area because you’d likely disappear if you did.”

“I remember you mentioning that to me. I suspected as much, but there wasn’t much I could do at the time. With the seal in place, the Higher Ones didn’t see the need to let me deal with it further,” Jekia admitted.

I didn’t like the sound of that. It felt like everything was being swept under the rug.

“I know it’s probably not my place to say this, but why would they do that when they knew how dangerous she was? They must have known that she worked with the lycans to harm you and your family, and they must have known that she was abducting creatures who got too close to her mountain kingdom. Why wait until things got this bad to let you stop her?” I asked.

I braced myself for a scolding for speaking so bluntly, but I was ready to take it. I knew I was right to question this, especially considering the pain it had caused Rin and me, not to mention the rest of his family.

But the scolding never came.

“You’re right to question it, and so am I,” Jekia said, shooting Emelio a stern look. “I know you do their bidding, but you’re also here to serve me and my family. So, I’m making it clear now that you’ll serve me first in these situations. I won’t be kept in the dark or have my decisions blocked just because someone else thinks they’re in charge. If I make a mistake, then I’ll deal with it.”

Emelio nodded, looking a bit more relaxed. “I wouldn’t deny you that. I agree with you, and I think most others would too. You were the first chosen ruler in the Veil and you’ve done well, even when backed into a corner by those who prefer to wait things out. I’ve brought up these issues recently, especially with the problems in your family, and I can say Lacula agrees with me. I want to serve you directly and only turn to them if I feel it’s something you can’t handle.”

“It sounds like you’re really on our side now,” Selenia observed.

“I always have been, and I’m more than ready to commit to you all,” Emelio confirmed.

Rin seemed satisfied with that, but also a bit impatient.

“So, what’s the plan? You told us before that Lila’s magic was beyond you. That’s why you couldn’t remove the stone from Aurora’s neck, even though you knew it was her spell trying to control us. Have you figured out a way to counter that?” he asked.

“I haven’t completely, but I’ve found a way to control some aspects of her spells. I hate to admit it, but her magic is as strong as mine and the other Mages. It’s much more ancient, which is concerning because compared to that, most of us are novices,” Emelio replied.

He looked at me. “But I’ve done a lot of research and questioning about this stone and its spell. I can say for sure that we can’t remove it ourselves. It would kill her if we tried. The only one who could do that is the one who cast the spell.”

“Great. So we’re helpless,” Rayne muttered.

“So, there’s nothing we can do except keep it sealed inside her and unused?” Lana asked.

“Unfortunately, that’s the only option for now,” Emelio confirmed.

Jekia sat back and crossed his arms, his white ears twitching in annoyance.

“I also want to warn Rin and Rayne about past and present issues between them. You both know Lila has been using them to turn you against each other. Even though Emelio has sealed the stone with the amulet and allowed Aurora to keep speaking, I’m worried that the effects of the spell could still linger in you two,” he added.

“You think so?” Lana asked, looking worried.

Rin scoffed. “I get your concerns, Dad, but Rayne and I are stronger than that, especially now. We’ll work things out between us, and everything will be fine. She won’t control either of us anymore.”

“No, we won’t let that happen, especially not for our family’s safety,” Rayne agreed.

Even though this should have been reassuring, I couldn’t shake off the unease that lingered inside me.

Something in the back of my mind was telling me to stay alert. Even if it wasn’t obvious yet, something was off in this palace.

Shortly after the meeting ended, Rin asked me to step aside and approached his father, asking for a private talk.

I knew what this was about. Rin had told me that morning that he wanted to apologize to Jekia for his actions and tell him how proud he was to call him his father.

I was all for it. It would help mend the rift between them.

What I hadn’t expected was the ongoing issues with Rayne.

“I’m glad you chose Rin, Aurora. He seems more relaxed now, and he’s shown a lot of love for you since he met you,” Lana said as I stood with her and Selenia.

Rayne had left right after the meeting without a word. Lana was a bit worried, but decided to let it go for now. There was enough to worry about, and she thought maybe Rayne was just overtired.

At least, that’s what everyone wanted to believe. The idea that there could be something else going on was too unsettling.

“I think I always knew I’d choose Rin. Maybe I even did from the start. I just didn’t understand what it meant to be his beta,” I admitted.

“That’s because Rin didn’t explain it to you like he should have. But I’m glad it’s working out. And Mom’s right; Rin does seem happier now. Well, except for being angry about what’s been happening,” Selenia added.

“I’m still worried that we’re too much in the dark, especially with Flora being captured,” Lana confessed.

“I don’t get it. If we were that close to her, how did someone whisk her away so easily without any of us noticing? I mean, Lord Jekia notices almost everything, right? And so does Emelio,” I said.

“Normally, yes. But I think more magic was used to pull it off.” Lana looked down, clutching her chest. “I hope Flora is okay and we can get her back. She’s tried so hard to distance herself from her sister and help Jekia. It’s bad enough that we didn’t know she was still alive.”

“I can’t wrap my head around it either, Mom. Why would Emelio just lose sight of her? It’s hard to believe he’d let that happen just because he was swamped with other stuff,” Selenia said to me.

“Maybe he was trying to keep her safe, at least for a bit. She was hiding out there, and I’m the one who blew her cover because I had to dig deeper,” I confessed.

“You can’t blame yourself for that. She was bound to be found out sooner or later. If she’d been smarter, she would’ve come to us for protection instead of hiding,” Rayne’s voice suddenly chimed in.

We all turned to see him approaching. A weird feeling washed over me as I looked at him. He looked like himself, but something about him felt off.

Selenia’s eyes narrowed at her older brother as he joined us. “That’s a pretty cold thing to say, Rayne. You know Lady Flora probably thought she was protecting us by staying away,” she argued.

“Our dad’s strong enough to protect himself, and we could’ve used the help when we were kids and those lycans followed her plan. Don’t forget, we and our mom almost died, and you wouldn’t even be here,” Rayne shot back.

“We can’t change the past, Rayne, and I’d hope you’d want Flora to come back safe too,” Lana said.

“I do, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Dad found and saved her, if we can do it in time,” Rayne grudgingly admitted. He turned to me. “But for now, I wanted to talk to Aurora alone. Is that okay?”

“Isn’t it a bit early for that?” I asked.

Honestly, I was uneasy about this situation and what I was feeling, and both Rin and Rayne had been telling me to trust my gut more. So, I was going to try to sidestep this as much as I could.

Luckily, Lana was on my side. “It might be better to talk to Rin first, Rayne. I don’t think you mean any harm to Aurora, but it could stir up trouble between you two.”

“Yeah. Rin’s always been the jealous type. It’s probably a hundred times worse with his beta, especially after what happened before,” Rayne said.