Page 92 of Fate Unchained

Blazh turned from the window. “You did what?” He switched to Vulk and it was clear he wasn’t happy. Lilah was definitely learning Vulk the first chance she got. Maybe she could learn it without the others knowing at first. That might be fun.

Kyril’s lips quirked in a half smile. “Yeah, Finn agreed to let the reporter talk to him about the vulk.” Kyril leaned down to her ear, and whispered, “It will be nice to have Hans mad at someone else for once.”

But Hans remained quiet for a long moment, his head cocked slightly to the side. “I think it may be time for the vulk to come out from the shadows. If we can walk freely through places like Coromesto, Morana can’t use them to hide from us.”

Finn crossed his arms. “No. I’m not interested. Blazh is right, we don’t need to deal with humans.”

Kyril shrugged. “Keep her on her toes. Tell her only what we want to tell her.”

Hans pointed to the crowd. “We can discuss this later. They’re about to come in, so it’s time for us to go. We’ve searched the entire Hall. Morana isn’t here.”

Kyril swept her off her feet and into his arms, and the four vulk sprinted through the house to the library, where they leaped out the hole in the wall. No remnants of the leshak remained, not even the skull-like head, but Boris’s body was still there. She looked away and tucked her head into Kyril’s neck.

It didn’t take long to return to Brooke’s house, despite the vulk using the alleys to stay off the main street.

“What happened?” Briony asked. “Is Morana dead? Do I need to heal anyone?”

Hans hugged her, resting his head against the crook of her neck exactly how Kyril liked to do to her. “No one is seriously injured.” He lifted his head and scanned the room. “Where are Hazel and Zann? I can fill you all in together.”

Ayren said, “They’re in the back garden.”

Hans’s brows shot up. “They’re alone together?”

Briony nodded. “Hazel wanted to be in the sun and Zann went with her. They aren’t talking, they’re both just standing there, not looking at each other.”

The group walked through Brooke’s house to the back door. Lilah had never visited Brooke at her home, so she peeked around as they strode down the narrow hall. Old paintings hung on the walls, and Lilah was fairly certain the furniture was all antique. The rooms flashing by were clean, but with books and papers stacked haphazardly next to chairs and desks. Hopefully those weren’t overdue library books.

The garden outside was a small patch of grass sandwiched between Brooke’s house, and the house directly behind hers. A large hedge provided privacy, but otherwise there were no flowers or bushes.

Zann’s fur glittered white in the daylight as he stood beside Hazel. While they’d searched the Hall, Kyril had filled Lilah in on what happened at the tea shop with Zann, Hazel, and Brooke, describing how Zann saved Hazel’s life, although he said not to tell Hazel about it. Lilah thought Hazel should know, but since the pack was trusting her with their secrets, if Zann wanted it quiet, she wouldn’t say anything either.

“All right, tell us what happened,” Zann said.

Hans told those who hadn’t gone to Herskala Hall about the battle. When he finished, a long silence fell over the garden. “And Morana is gone.” He gestured toward Lilah. “They had an encounter and Lilah said Morana disappeared.”

Hazel’s brow furrowed. “Tell me exactly what happened.”

Lilah swallowed. “She was trying to show me what my future would look like.” She glanced up at Kyril. “That I’d be alone and unhappy.”

Hazel nodded. “One of her most powerful spells is to make people live their greatest fears. It can seem really … real.” She shuddered and Zann took a step closer to her. Hazel didn’t seem to notice.

“But the rune showed up, and whatever she was trying to do to me, stopped. That’s when we went into Morana’s memory instead. She got really upset when she realized what we were seeing, and she tried to tell me it was fake, but I knew it wasn’t.”

Lilah explained what she’d seen and heard. About how Morana wanted to go after her vulk lover and when the older woman tried to stop her, she’d killed her.

Kyril put his arm around her. “She hunted down her vulk lover.”

“What happened?” But Lilah suspected she already knew.

Kyril’s expression turned grim. “She killed him. She also had a child, but we aren’t sure what happened with the baby.”

“A child?” Lilah asked. “A child with the vulk?”

It was Briony who answered, “Yes.” She glanced at Hans. “Hans and I saw some of her memories last year. One of those memories showed her finding the vulk she’d been with and telling him the child was his.”

Hazel’s mouth dropped open. “You know what this means, right?”

Zann crossed his arms. “We know you’re going to tell us.”

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