LOGINORVAX'S POV The fire was not supposed to burn silver, especially not the type of silver that looks potent enough to destroy any werewolf without leaving any trace of their essence. I know enough about fires and werewolf lore and the wilds to understand this fact. Flames can dance, they can crackle, they can consume wholly and completely, even burn high enough to reach the heavens…but changing colour just because a frightened girl whispered that she remembered a voice only she could hear? Totally unheard of.Yet, right before my very eyes, the flames burned and shimmered in the colour of liquid moonlight mixed with iron…as if taunting me and everything I believed in. No one moves, our limbs locked in place and pulses hammering in our rigid throats. It is as though a sudden invisible frost has swept through the clearing, turning us from living, breathing people into a bunch of terrified stones. Not even the wind seems to have the courage to disturb the clearing.Across the fire, Cassia
MENODORA'S POV My shout bounces off the sides of the mountains, echoing through the forest and I hear the birds bursting out from the trees, startled by my sudden outburst. From the corner of my eyes, I can see Elira's shoulders hitch towards her ears. A sharp inhale dies in her throat as she coils in on herself.“Yes," she manages weakly. That single word hits me harder than if someone had decided to pick me up and slam me hard into the ground."So you really think I'm dangerous right?” I hate how unsure and vulnerable I sound."I don't think you're dangerous Dora, but you're too powerful and it scares me because we don't know just how powerful you are." I see what she's trying to do, she's going round and round the issue, choosing to beat around the bush instead of giving me straightforward answers.“No, no, don't do that! Stop beating around the question. You know that's not what I asked and that's not the answer I want from you!" “And what do you want from me? You want me to ad
MENODORA'S POV “Lupa?” I hear Orvax behind me. He sounds unsure of himself and of what my reaction would be. I almost forgot that he came with me.“I think we should head back, it's already getting too late." I know he's right, but a part of me still stubbornly wants to stay behind.“Can't I get another five minutes?" “No lupa. I know you're hungry for information and you want to consume as much as you can get, but what happens when it gets too much for you to handle?" “I know my…" I start to say but he raises a finger to stop me from speaking any further.“I know what you're going to say and while you may think you know your limits, you don't seem to mind pushing it to see how far you get before you finally break." I hate that he is right…I hate that he can read me so easily…it's just frustrating.“Okay…fine” I make a show of huffing a breath to let him know I'm not happy with his decision but I'd go with it nonetheless.“That's my girl." I can hear the laughter in his voice as
MENODORA'S POV I see Elira rise as well, trying to stop me from leaving.“Please…” her voice cracks on the word."Please what?” Please sit down while you decide what lies and half truths to feed me with next?" I can barely manage to keep out the bitterness I feel in my bones from seeping into my voice.Elira flinches like I just physically delivered a brutal slap to her face and although the sight should have made me feel a sense of guilt, I feel absolutely nothing.“You knew my mother…and my father didn't you?”"Yes, yes I did,” Elira answers without hesitation but Cassian stays quiet."And you knew what happened to them didn't you? Especially my father?”This time around, Elira takes a few beats before she nods slowly.“Which means you have probably known who I am all the time, yes?" Elira nods slowly again and a bitter hollow sound escapes my lips. Even on my tongue, I can taste the bitterness of it."Isn't that just wonderfully convenient?”"Dora…it's not what you think…" “How
MENODORA'S POV The words stay suspended in the air, hanging over my head like a piece of dark cloud. Throughout the day, try as hard as I could, I just cannot get his words out of my mind“You have spent your life asking the wrong questions." Those are the words that flowed from Cassian’s lips, but they didn't flow like water. They feel like little darts aimed at my already battered heart."Are you okay?” Orvax asks for the gazillionth time since Cassian's arrival. I know he is worried even when he is trying so hard not to let it show."I'm okay…I think, it's all just too much to take in at once." “I know, I know lupa. We'll figure it out eventually, together." He is rubbing soothing circles in my back and although I do not tell him to his face, I'm grateful to have him by my side at a time like this.“What do you think they're doing right now? Think they have met your dad?” A small chuckle bubbles in my chest at the thought of Cassian and Orvax's dad having a face off."As far as I
MENODORA'S POV The words are like a big mass of boulders, falling on the walls of my heart and shattering it into little shards of glass that feel like they're piercing deep into my lungs, making me unable to properly draw my breath. I look down at the comb that I am now clutching in my hand like it's the last thing holding me together. The pendant hidden in the inner pocket of my cloak feels too hot, like it's burning at the very skin on which it rests.A faint rhythmic pulse thrums beneath my fingers and the tremor in them would not stop.“No…no…no…this isn't…it isn't…fair,” my mind is broken and I can not form coherent thoughts. All my life, I lived believing that my father had abandoned me…abandoned my mother…even to her death. And now? Everything just seems to be happening at the same time, too much for my fragile mind to keep up with.“Why now? After all these years, why now?" I ask the one question that keeps nagging at my mind. I give myself an invisible pat on the back for b
MENODORA'S POV The silence that follows after I take that single step towards Orvax feels even louder than any argument that has ensued here today. It wasn't something I had planned to do beforehand, but somehow watching Orvax stand there, subdued by the words of his father, I found myself standin
MENODORA'S POV “Well…well…well,” he says smoothly, “just look at you, surviving longer than I expected." Every muscle in the room locked in a synchronized, rigid panic. For what it is worth, Orvax's face remains an impassive, unreadable mask."I'm sure you're not so happy to see that.”The older
MENODORA'S POV I'm still grappling with the after effects of the realization that settles heavy between my bones when a horn echoes from somewhere below. It drags slowly and deliberately, not as an alarm but maybe a warning or an announcement of an important arrival.Beside me, Orvax stands rigid
ORVAX'S POV “Who is the one who sent you?"My question is met with chilling silence, the both of us locked in a staring contest. "The one who sent me does not matter, you should hand the girl over. For the safety of you and your territory.”Behind me, the comforting warmth of Menodora's presence







