Page 76 of A Dusk Of Stars

She nods. “Yes, I have been for many years. I just never thought we’d be getting the summons, not duringmylifetime at least.”

I squint at her. “How come there hasn’t been an Aurora in such a long time?”

“I will be giving you that information as soon as I get my hands on it.”

“There hasn’t been any indication that she will show up again?”

She lets out a sigh, signaling to me that she’s about to say something she’s not very proud of. “There has, in the prophecy we mentioned to you the last time we saw each other. It didn’t just make us believe this could be the year it finally happened. It also made us believethe Academywould be the place we’d find you,” she adds with a glance around the room, “due to its ancient magic drawing you to it.”

Wow, this puts a whole different spin on my desire to be in this place. “And when it turned out I was a shifter…”

“Yes,” she says with a nod. “Lorcan and I notified the Order and we all started preparing for the awakening of your powers.” It’s with a sorry look in her eyes that she urges, “But we didn’t want to put any unnecessary strain on you, in case we turned out to be wrong.”

I think for a second. “Fine,” I reply, pushing myself to keep going. “I want you to tell me, right now, what you’ll be asking ofme.” There’s a pause during which I’m mustering the courage to say it out loud. “Am I supposed to die? Is this all leading to some sacrificial ritual, with me as the lamb going to slaughter?”

It’s with a smile and a shake of her head that she says, “No, Miss Novak. You’re supposed to awaken your powers and get ready to confront Baldur.”

My choice would be the same, but this makes me breathe an audible sigh of relief.

“Oh,” Serra starts, “I wouldn’t be jumping for joy if I were you. Just think of what it’s doing to you — becoming a shifter after a lifetime of being a human — and multiply that by three.”

“Why not avoid it altogether then?” I demand, a little more harshly than I would’ve liked to.

“What do you mean?” she asks with a frown.

“What even are these Baldur’s pieces?”

She presses her lips tight, shaking her head. “We can’t be sure, but we believe they’re the four parts of him that remained imbued with his powers even after he got dismembered. A lock of hair, a rib, the heart and a fang.”

“Alright, so why not stop him from showing up in the first place?”

“Let’s go,” she says with a smile, “I’ll let Lorcan fill you in.”

I nod, but I hesitate.

“Wewillbe doing everything in our power to help you as much as we can,” Serra urges. “You know that, don’t you?”

“I guess I’m willing to believe you,” I say as I look away with a sigh.

“So youwillbe working with us, Miss Novak?” she asks.

I take a deep breath. At least her I seem to be able to trust. “Yes,” I reply with determination. Then I force myself to give her a smile. “And Anna’s fine.”

She nods contently and motions for me to follow her back inside.

“Before we start,” Lorcan asks as soon as we take our seats, “I’ll just ask if maybe you’ve already made your decision, Miss Novak.”

I only hesitate for a second before I say, “Actually, I have.”

I feel Bane’s eyes fix on my profile, Lorcan raising his eyebrows at me.

“The answer is yes. I’ll be working with you.”

With the corner of my eye, I catch Bane shift in his chair as if he’s about to cut in. But he doesn’t say a word, almost instantly leaning back.

“Perfect,” Lorcan says. “This is how it’s going to work, Miss Novak,” he starts in his most official voice. “I’m the Head of the Grimm Academy section of the Order and as such,I’llbe the one making decisions about your further education. You’ll keep going to regular classes, but from now on, you’ll be required to go through even more materials in your spare time.”

Just as I open my mouth to ask what any of that has to do with the evil ancient vampire, he explains, “These will have to do with our task of finding the sites of the remaining three dormant pieces of Baldur. We’ll be sifting through information on potential locations, mostly cursed sites in selected parts of Europe. Any time we find something, the location will be investigated by the members of the Order. Understood?”

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