Page 25 of Omission

I move in ways you’ll never predict, and my close ties know how to block your sun.

Those words slam into me then for some reason, pushing all noise away and while I see Gabriella’s lips moving, I can’t make out a word. Instead, I’m reminded of a story my aunt used to tell me as a child. A fable about a girl considered to be an abomination; the daughter of an exiled warlock and a dark magic fae that was hated by both of her kind.

They didn’t trust her.

Called her the enemy hidden in plain sight. Strong enough to destroy what feeds the earth—our days and nights.

And while Larue’s threat isn’t exact, the similarities are too glaring to ignore. Just like I know Silla’s hidden the true extent of her abilities from us, choosing to practice light magic—spells to aid those who are sick or help our gardens flourish. It’s why I’ve never doubted her, but I can’t help but think about her story now in connection to the letter the fae king left my sister.

One part to be exact:

She was a child who danced a fine line between the light and darkness that haunted humanity, a witch fairy with dangerous aspirations. To block the gifts given by the Gods, one must destroy the sun before killing the moon.

Only then will she be free.

Reign over those who hurt her.

“What do you say? Don’t know or you hope?” Gabriella’s voice cuts through whatever fog I’d been under then, effectively bringing me to the present. Out of that memory. Away from the many times our aunt shared the same story that right now feels like a forewarning.

Is that what she’s been doing all these years? Preparing me.

But why? To what gain?

“A little of both.” The opal dagger Xadiel gifted me glints at that moment having caught a ray of sunlight, and that catches all of our attention. Since our arrival, there’s been an overcast gloominess surrounding the forest that matches our emotions, yet a single ray peaks through the clouds now and that same pull I felt over a century ago when this blade first touched my hand, beckons me.

A low hum, a vibration that brings forth a sense of comfort I don’t quite understand.

My chest settles and falls into rhythm with the pulse, causing the room and people inside to become nothing but a dull shadow in the background as I reach over and pick it up. It’s warm in my palm and heavy; I close my hand around the hilt and tighten my grip while taking in three very deep breaths.

And it’s on that third exhale that I see. As if a veil has been removed and I don’t fight the way I’m being shown every single aspect that before made no sense, but now looks like a separate map.

From the books that are spread all across the Luna and Alpha’s desks inside their joint office, each one being used to decipher or scribe for our sister. Because everything we touch carries a hint of our essence, and hers is all over this room—home.

I can see the literal trace of her presence now. Her magic.

Evidence of the life she’s built with her husband, a man who’s slowly losing control of his beast, surrounds us. He’s angry, understandably so, and being ridden hard by the animal he shares a body with. The wolf wants its mate back. It doesn’t understand anything outside of his need for her, and the pain-filled howls it unleashes every night only fuel our need to bring her home.

Just like now, outside these walls, there’s the angry growl of an alpha wolf. It reverberates throughout the land and the cadence shakes this room; it sweeps across every place his queen has touched.

Merges with her magic and highlights what we didn’t see at first.

How is this happening?

I know the other two are talking, and that questions are being asked, but I’m too focused on balancing the tip of the dagger on my finger while following the vibrant lines. Like a maze, yet they all end by a globe of the earth.

One, that’s showing me the North American continent, but more specifically, the trace highlights Canada. The area of Quebec.

A smile spreads across my face and everything shifts back into focus, erasing the magic trails I’d been following.

Thank you, Goddess.

“What’s going on, Leo?” My head turns toward my sister, she watching me curiously. Her expression is hopeful. “Why are you smiling like—”

“I found something, pretty girl,” Theodore speaks up, causing Gabriella and my head to snap in his direction. He’s holding up the note Isa left for Xadiel to find, his red eyes blazing with fury. The vampire king’s taken this more than personally; he feels guilty. Holds regret. “We’ve just been too blind to see it.”

“What do you mean, Theo?” Gabriella stands from her place behind Isa’s desk and steps beside her mate. As their skins touch, the smallest bump of the arms, a haze of bright red surrounds them, and it's strong. “Show me.”

“Look at the bottom right-hand corner and tell me, what do you see?”

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