Chapter 61

MISTY

Dawn, Chelsea, and I took the opportunity to explore the palace. We needed some girl time so we could all bitch about our mates. Not seriously, of course, but it was nice to spend some time together.

I was starting to get familiar with the palace, and it didn’t seem as massive as it once had.

“Show me the chamber where Lloyd was kept,” Chelsea asked, her voice tinged with curiosity.

“Yeah, I’d like to see that too,” Dawn said.

~“It’s creepy, and I don’t like it down there,”~ Cammy piped up.

~“Then seclude yourself,”~ I advised. The chamber didn’t scare me, especially not when the lights were on.

“Okay,” I agreed, though walking through the palace had become a chore. Every single person we passed bared their necks and greeted me with reverence. It made me feel like an impostor.

I found myself wishing for my witch powers again—at least then they’d avoid me like the Monolith Pack had when they found out.

We finally reached the alcove, and I pointed to a hidden panel. “This is it,” I said, quickly finding the latch. I dialed the numbers in sequence, and the door cracked open. Feeling around, I flicked the switch, and the lights came on.

“These lights weren’t here until Axel installed them,” I explained as Chelsea and Dawn followed me down the narrow staircase.

“Wow,” Chelsea remarked once we reached the bottom. “He didn’t even have a bed. And you can see where the crystals were…”

“I know. I’m just thankful he wasn’t awake,” I added.

Dawn looked around, her brow furrowed.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“It’s just…smaller than I expected,” she replied, her tone distant as if her thoughts were elsewhere.

“Well, it’s not like they were throwing parties down here,” Chelsea quipped.

Dawn shot Chelsea a look, and I couldn’t help but grin. The two were starting to form a friendship, and I was happy to see Dawn finally opening up and becoming more herself. In addition, she’d been much warmer toward Adam after he was injured.

I knew Lloyd was trying to find something that would genuinely challenge Dawn, but he hadn’t come up with anything so far. He wasn’t wrong—Dawn was sharp, and so was Adam…

“Seen enough?” I asked. When they nodded, we headed back up the stairs, making sure to close the door securely so no pups could stumble in by accident.

Dawn moved to the opposite wall without missing a beat and began pressing on the panels.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“The dimensions didn’t feel right,” she muttered, continuing her search.

“I doubt there’s an—” Chelsea abruptly stopped when we heard a soft click.

A hidden panel opened, revealing another steel door without dials—just a simple barrel bolt, rusted and old.

Dawn wiggled the bolt, which screeched in protest but eventually slid across, and she pushed the door open. It creaked precisely like a door would in a horror movie.

I stepped forward, my heart pounding in my chest as I fumbled for my phone in my back pocket and stepped onto the landing. The glow from its screen barely pierced the thick darkness around us, but it was enough to illuminate the staircase.

Chelsea followed my lead, her phone casting another dim light that flickered across the damp, ancient stone walls. The stale, musty air was filled with the scent of decay and moisture.

Our breaths sounded unnaturally loud, echoing off the walls as we descended, and all sorts of thoughts went through my mind. Another cursed wolf? Fear coiled tightly in my chest, and I held my breath as my foot hit the final step.

The shadows danced eerily across the floor, revealing something bone-white and out of place against the dark stones.

My pulse quickened as I realized what it was. A skeleton curled awkwardly in the corner, its empty eye sockets staring at us from the gloom.

I gasped and stumbled backward, a small scream slipping past my lips before I could stop it. My blood ran cold as Chelsea grabbed my arm, her fingers digging into my skin as we both stood frozen in horror.

“Holy hell,” Dawn whispered, her voice barely audible as it trembled through the musty air. “Whoever this was…they were left to die here.”

She took a slow, cautious step forward, and we followed, instinctively huddling closer, as Dawn crouched in front of the remains.

Time had reduced the fabric to nearly nothing, but beneath the layers of dust and decay, the faint outline of what looked like a robe caught the dim light from our phones.

I leaned in, squinting to make sense of the faded cloth, and something glimmered faintly against the skeleton’s chest.

“Wait a minute,” I muttered, my hand trembling as I reached out.

The fabric chain crumbled to dust at my touch, falling away like ash between my fingers. The pendant dropped into my palm, its metallic surface dulled by years of neglect, but unmistakable.

“It’s a pentagram,” Chelsea gasped, her voice filled with a mix of shock and recognition.

Whoever this person had been, their death had likely been tied to what happened to Lloyd. Was this Kiralah? I opened my mouth to speak, but before I could utter a word, a voice cut through the silence, echoing loudly.

“Ladies?”

The sound was so sudden, so unexpected, that all three of us jerked violently, a chorus of screams escaping our throats. My heart leapt into my throat as we spun around, phones shaking in our hands as the weak beams of light illuminated Lloyd.

“You nearly gave me a heart attack,” I exhaled in relief, my pulse still racing as I tried to steady my breathing.

“Not just you,” Chelsea muttered, her voice shaky as she clutched her chest.

“That’s why I came,” Lloyd said, stepping forward with an air of calm that contrasted with our shaken state. “Your heart was going a mile a minute. I thought you ~were~ having a heart attack.”

He crouched in front of the skeleton, his gaze somber as he examined the decayed remains. Shaking his head slightly, he gestured to the tattered robes. “This…this is what witches wore back in my day.”

Chelsea, her voice tinged with hope and a desperate need for reassurance, asked, “Do you think she was already dead when they put her here?”

Lloyd’s face remained unreadable as he lightly fingered the pentagram. “I don’t know,” he admitted, his voice low and thoughtful. “Maybe Dr. Hurst can figure that out.”

“Maybe…maybe it’s Kiralah,” I murmured.

Lloyd leaned in closer, scrutinizing the skeletal remains. “Kiralah had long brown hair,” he muttered as he moved the skeleton away from the wall slightly, his movements gentle.

The bones, brittle from time, shifted with a quiet crackle that sent shivers down my spine.

“I think I need a drink,” Chelsea said, blowing out a breath.

It didn’t add up—this couldn’t be Kiralah. Lloyd had killed her, and there would be no reason to stash her body in some hidden chamber. No, this was someone else.

The thought gnawed at me, and the lack of answers became more frustrating by the second.

Why had she been left here? Who was she?

“How did you find the chamber?” Lloyd asked, his eyes scanning the room, lingering on the shadows as if searching for answers himself.

I nodded toward Dawn. “I showed them your chamber, and Dawn pointed out that the dimensions didn’t add up,” I explained, glancing at her with a hint of admiration.

“They didn’t,” Lloyd murmured, his voice thoughtful. “But honestly, I never thought much about it at the time—I was too focused on getting out of mine.” He paused momentarily, then turned to Dawn, “Very perceptive, Dawn. Good catch.”

His hand slid into mine in quiet reassurance. “Drinks and lunch sound like a good idea right about now,” he said with a small smile. “I think you all need something to combat the shock.”

As we stepped out of the chamber, Tanner came striding toward the alcove, his eyes locked on Chelsea. But for the first time, she didn’t run into his arms.

I glanced at her, noticing how she was hugging herself, rubbing her arms as if trying to ward off a deep chill.

Tanner hesitated for a moment, then gently pulled her into his embrace. The moment his arms wrapped around her, she burst into tears. I gaped at her.

In all the years I’d known Chelsea, she never cried, not even when her grandmother died, but finding the skeleton must have triggered something in her.