Page 27 of King's Reckoning
King nodded. "Already on it. Ace has teams positioned at all three sites."
"Then we plan," Rowan decided. "Figure out our next move. Mom's journal says the memorial park is next in sequence. We hit that tonight, after dark."
As the others dispersed to prepare, Rowan found herself alone with Reed. He'd been quiet since their return, watchful in that way that meant he was processing everything.
"What are you thinking?" she asked.
"That your mother knew exactly what she was doing," he said. "Preparing you for this. Making sure you'd have everything you needed when the time came." His dark eyes met hers. "She must have seen something special in you, even then."
The words touched something deep inside her. "Sometimes, I wonder if I'm up to it. Living up to what she planned."
Reed moved closer, his presence solid and reassuring. "You're more than up to it. I've seen you in action, remember? You're exactly where you're meant to be."
"Here?" she asked. "With the club? With..." She couldn't finish the thought.
"With all of it," he said softly. "With the mission. With King." His hand found hers, a brieftouch that sent warmth through her. "With me, if that's what you want."
The moment stretched between them, heavy with possibility. Rowan had come here looking for answers about her father, about her past. She hadn't expected to find something else—someone who saw her for who she really was.
"I don't know what I want yet," she admitted. "Everything's happening so fast."
"Then we figure it out together," Reed said simply. "One day at a time."
Their conversation was interrupted by King calling for Reed. As he moved away, he gave her that small smile that seemed reserved just for her. "Get some rest. Tonight will come soon enough."
Rowan watched him go, then turned her attention back to the box and her mother's journal. Tonight they would recover the next piece, get one step closer to understanding what Elena had died protecting. One step closer to the truth that had shaped her entire life.
But for now, she had a few hours of quiet. Time to prepare, to think, to be ready for whatever came next. Time to consider what Reed had offered—not just partnership in this mission, but something more lasting. Something real.
Her mother's legacy was important. But so was building her own future, with people who cared about her. People like Reed, who saw her strength and didn't try to shield her from it. And King, whowas finally getting to know the daughter he'd missed for twenty-five years.
Rowan traced the symbols on the box, wondering what secrets it held. Whatever came next, one thing was certain.
She wouldn't face it alone.
The memorial park was quiet in the pre-dawn hours, its stone monuments casting long shadows across the manicured grounds. Rowan studied the layout from their position behind a cluster of trees, comparing it to the diagram in her mother's journal. King and Reed waited beside her, their breath fogging in the cool morning air.
"No sign of Devils or Blackwood's people," Reed said quietly, lowering his binoculars. "Place looks deserted."
"Too deserted," King muttered. "Darkness reported their vehicles leaving the eastern graveyard an hour ago. They should have been here by now."
Rowan traced the path on her mother's diagram, focusing on the small chapel at the center of the memorial grounds. "The notes say the next piece is beneath the memorial stone in the veterans' section. Something about a dedication to the 'forgotten guardians.'"
"I know it," King said. "Stone marker for soldiers with no known graves. Been there since the park was establishedin the '50s."
They moved cautiously through the park, senses alert for any sign of watchers. The veterans' section was a simple, dignified area with rows of small stone markers with flags placed at regular intervals reminiscent of Arlington National Cemetery. At its center stood a larger monument, a granite obelisk inscribed with names and dates spanning multiple conflicts.
"This is it," Rowan said, kneeling beside the monument. She ran her fingers along the base. "There should be a mechanism, similar to the church crypt."
Reed kept watch while King helped her search. The stone was cold beneath her fingers as she traced the patterns described in her mother's journal. Nothing happened.
"Something's wrong," she murmured, checking the diagrams again. "This should work."
King's expression darkened. "Unless someone else got here first."
The thought sent a chill through Rowan. "But there's no sign of disturbance. No digging, no tool marks."
Reed joined them, his dark eyes scanning the surrounding area. "Maybe they knew something we don't. A different way in."
