The weight of everything that had happened sat heavy on hidden aleine beneath the roots of an ancient tree, covered by thick, moss strong, but it would have to do for now,
we settled into our makeshift shelter. It wasn’t much past’a
wergrown vines. The air was damp, the scent of earth and
balah had disappeared into the shadows moments ago, determined to spy on the Children of the Eclipse and see what they were doing in the castle. He believed there was a chance Elijah had handed over a fake map, that the real one was still with on. If that was true, then the enemy was still searching, which bought us tinte but it also meant Elijah might be in danger.
As much as I wanted to be angry, to hate him for his betrayal, a part of me couldn’t stop worrying about him. What if they realized he tricked them? What if he was suffering because of 117
1 pushed the thought away. He made his choice. Now, we had to den with the aftermath.
The silence between us was thick with unspoken words. Austin Пnal broke It, his voler low but sharp with frustration.
“We should talk about it.”
Alex sighed, rubbing a hand down his face. Talk about what?”
“Elijah, Austin said, his jaw tightening. “What he did. Why he did it, I mean… come on. He didn’t just wake up and decide to betray
Alex scoffed, “Didn’t he? He handed the damn map over, Austin. He made a choice.”
Austin shook his head. “I know then ut turned out we have the map. He must have switched the map out before handing it over.”
“But how?” Alex challenged. “We were all right there. It’s not like he had time to do a sleight–of–hand trick.
1 had been sitting quietly, listening to them go back and forth, but when the question lingered in the air, I suddenly remembered something–something I should have realized before.
“Magic,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper.
Alex turned to me, frowning. “What?”
“Elijah has always been interested in magic,” I said, my thoughts racing. “Even back when we were training at the castle, always fascinated by the witches” spells. He watched them, asked questions. He even tried casting spells himself.”
Austin’s eyes narrowed. “Wait–you actually saw him use magic?”
I nodded slowly. “Yeah. It was small stuff. Nothing like the witches can do, but I saw him enchant a stone once. It was when he first took myto the hot spring. He whispered something to a rock, and it lit up, like a little lantern. I didn’t think much of it at the time,
but now…
Now it made sense. If Elijah had been practicing magic, even in secret, he could have learned enough to pull off a switch. A spell that would let him swap the real map for a fake just before handing over to Mother.
“That sneaky bastard, Austin muttered. “So he’s been learning magi; in secret?”
Alex fet out a low breath, shaking his head, “Damn it. If that’s true, then he’s in way more trouble than we thought.”
-Austin crossed his arms. “And we’re sitting here in a hole in the ground while he’s who–knows–where, probably getting tortured
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Chapter 186.
I swallowed hard, My feelings About Elijah were still a mess. I wanted to believe he had switched sides for a reason, but the betrayal still cut deep. And yet, I be really had given them a fake map…
Then he was
wasn’t the traitor I thought he was,
And he was in danger,
We sat in silence for a while, the tensions pressing down on us li and the rustling of leaves in the wind.
like physical weight. The only sounds were t
the d
distant hoots of mets
I wrapped my arms around my knees, my mind racing. “If Isalah finds anything, we’ll figure out what to do. But for now, we have to
assume the worst.”
Austin clenched his jaw but nodded.
Alex sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Yeah. We wait.”
I hated waiting.
But right now, we didn’t have a choice.
My hands clenched into fists: 1 hated this uncertainty. I hated that jah had put them in this position. I wanted to believe in him, but doubt gnawed at me.
Minutes stretched into an hour, exhaustion began to settle over us. But just as Alex was about to suggest we rest.
Then, Isaiah appeared,
He crawled into the shelter, breathing hard, his body slick with sweat. His usually confident posture was gone, replaced by something that made my stomach twist–fear.
“Bad news.” He said his expression grim
Austin
groaned. “Of course it’s bad news. It’s never good news,
“What did you see?” I said
Isaiah shook his head. “Elijah’s alive.”
Relief flooded through
but it was quickly followed by dread. “But
Isaiah braced his hands on his knees, taking a moment to catch his breath. He looked up, his face grim, and spoke through ragged gasps. “Elijah is in trouble,”
Austin groaned. “Of course he is.”
Isaiah ignored him. “They’ve been torturing him.”
A heavy silence fell over us. My heart pounded.
Isaiah ran a hand through his damp hair. “It’s bad. They’ve beaten him nearly to death, but that’s not the worst of it.” He hesitated, his eyes dark with something unspoken.
I crawled closer. “Isaiah. Tell me.”
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+186
Chapter 186
al nodded grimly. “They doượn
we don’t do breathing main,
of thay mom they
A thick silenen settled or My heart pended on and diy mer
Isaiah’s face was grim. “I don’t think he’ll let the night” He said, and how the weathere
hard, my mind spinning.
We still had the map.
low, he was paying for it..
I exhaled sharply, clenching my fists so tightly my nails bit into my palin
I couldn’t leave him.
merry. He had betoned
ouldn’t
Slowly, I lifted my head and looked at my mates.
They were all watching me.
Waiting for my permission.
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