Page 99 of Kingdom of Chaos
“Ares,” Kade says, waving him in. “Just in time.”
Ares. Ares. Why does that name?—?
Then it hits me. Wasn’t that the master torturer they were going to call in the night before?
Panic spikes in my chest, and suddenly my vision winks out and then comes back. When it returns, Ares is coated in a soft, glowing aura. Different than Talon’s. Not quite as bright, but also beautiful, it’s predominately white with interwoven streaks of vivid green that are crackling with energy, like vines unfurling in fast motion. The aura shimmers with quiet power, ancient and wild, casting him in a wraithlike light.
I gasp softly and the aura disappears.
“You’re a creature,” I say, and one of Ares’ dark red brows quirks.
“But you’re not,” he replies.
“You work with creatures?” Titus asks, eyeing Ares warily.
Kade nods. “We do. Not all chapters are integrated like ours, but here we have a harmonious relationship with creatures. As long as they don’t cross the line. At least a quarter of our members are non-human.”
“Wait, back up,” I say. “You mentioned there were creatures here in the human world. How many are we talking?”
Since humans are virtually unheard of in the creature world, I assumed the same applied here. The cuffs that cut off magic and the vampire alarm should’ve been a clue, but I’d chalked them up to human paranoia, not actual experience.
“Quite a few of us, in fact,” Ares answers. “Part of the mission of the Silent Order is to keep our existence secret from humanity, but many were trapped here after the gates were sealed. Or part of Lucian’s group.”
Talon leans forward, and Imogen tenses on the other side of me.
“Lucian’s group?” he asks. “What are you talking about?”
Ares and Kade exchange a loaded look.
“We have a lot to fill you in on,” Kade says. “Then I’m hoping you can fill us in on some things too.”
Kade launches into a brief history of the Silent Order’s formation and mission. According to him, Lucian—the Vampire King’s son—and a group of loyal creatures, crossed into the human world over two thousand years ago, sealing the gates behind them.
“Lucian is the founder of the Silent Order,” Kade says, and when I glance at Talon, I can’t tell if he believes him or not.
Then I catch him stealing a glance at Titus, who gives a little nod, and it occurs to me what’s going on. Titus is using his truth-telling powers to gauge if Kade is lying or not.
Talon leans back in his seat, crossing his arms. “Lucian is credited with founding the Arcane Society back in the creature world.”
“And who’s to say he didn’t?” Kade says. “But we know for a fact that he traveled to the human world and then lived out the rest of his life here.”
Talon cocks his head, assessing. I know that’s not what he was taught. “Why would he have done that?”
“Because of the prophecy,” Kade says.
“We know the prophecy,” Talon challenges. “And I can’t think of anything in it that would make Lucian leave his world for this one.”
“That’s because you don’t know thewholeprophecy.” Kade leans forward in his seat, his glance locked with Talon’s. “Do you know how the prophecy came into being?”
“It was told to Lucian by the demon before he was vanquished back to the human world,” Talon says, which is what he told us back at Grimspire.
Kade nods. “And what do you think the prophecy says?”
Talon glances at Imogen, who just sighs. “You’ve already spilled most of the Society’s secrets and been expelled because of it. Why stop now?”
Even so, Talon hesitates before saying, “That when the dagger was returned to the human world, it would eventually lead to the destruction of their world, and then ours. More or less.”
“That’s right,” Kade confirms. “But there’s more to it than that. The demon told Lucian that one of his direct descendants would be the reason the dagger returned to the human world. To prevent that, Lucian knew he had to leave the creature world, putting distance between himself and the dagger so none of his descendants would have the opportunity to be the cause of its return.”
