Chapter 154

Theodore’s POV

My chest constricted at Marcy’s words and at the sympathy in her eyes that I hadn’t seen before this moment. Someone who knew my mother…

My stomach churned with emotions: the pain of my mother’s loss, the joy in possibly finding out more about her, and the fear of Violet’s and my future if we left Henosis without the answers we needed.

Violet cupped my face in her hands, pulling my frozen attention to her. I saw her same relentless faith in facing life with me that had steadied me earlier, that always grounded me.

She kissed me fiercely but briefly on the mouth. “Do you want me to come with you?”

My words were for Marcy though I never took my eyes off Violet. “Send her away.”

Violet’s expression fell. “What?”

I clutched her tighter in my arms, reveling in her nearness. “We need answers. Maybe I’ll seek her out once we find what we need here, but our time is limited; we need to prioritize research.”

My wife’s fallen expression morphed into the no-nonsense one I was all too familiar with. “Do not use our circumstances as an excuse to avoid facing the loss of your mother.”

Her words hit hard. “It’s not an excuse. We need answers.”

But even as I spoke, I knew there was at least a kernel of truth to what she’d said.

Violet cocked her head as she always did right before dealing a winning blow. I usually relished the movement in anticipation of her victory. I felt notably different about it when it was directed at me.

“Fine.” Her tone was unnervingly even. “Then let’s go talk to her as part of our research; who knows what information she might have that could give us the edge we need.”

I wasn’t even sure why I was grasping for control in this conversation that I was clearly losing. “You need to rest,” I argued.

“You’re right,” she agreed too easily, jumping up off my lap. “I’ll rest. You go.”

Yeah. I walked right into that.

I sighed as I rose from the armchair. My wife stayed stiff as I pulled her into my arms, but she didn’t stop me. I knew she could easily if she wanted to.

“You’ll rest, I’ll go,” I conceded, kissing her on the lips. “You are the love of my life and a pain in my ass, Alpha Donovan.”

Knowing she had won, she smiled smugly and returned my kiss. Then she sent her love for me down the bond.

I’m here if you need me, she thought to me, reminding me that I could reach her even when we were apart.

I leaned into her neck, taking one more sniff of her scent I had missed over the past month. Then with a little caress of her cheek, I let her go, following Marcy downstairs.

Violet’s POV

Theo shut the bedroom door behind him, and I listened to his and my cousin’s footsteps as they faded down the hall. I wasn’t completely sure why his first response had been to not talk to whoever knew his mother. Maybe I should ask him about it later.

For now, the situation had coincidentally presented exactly the opportunity I needed. I turned to face Auntie.

As usual, her face was neutral, open, clear. There was no trace of suspicion or judgment though she had clearly seen me looking behind her before Marcy came in. From my peripherals, I knew my father was gone, but I had to be sure.

I looked behind Auntie.

There was only the fern print wallpaper next to the window. My father was gone.

I sat down in the armchair that was much less comfortable without Theo in it holding me. I wondered what my father had been about to say. I waited for Auntie to ask me what I had been looking at.

As I looked up to face her once again, I knew she never would.

“Did you see him?” The words came out a near whisper.

She remained calm, unfazed by my question. “I saw no one. Who did you see?”

I exhaled my disappointment that she hadn’t shared my vision. “My father.”

Auntie stood then, crossing the room to me. She raised her hands that glowed slightly as she hovered them over my head. “How did he appear?”

I tried to keep my breathing steady. “Younger, like he looked when I was a child. And guilty, like something was eating at him.”

“Did he say or do anything?”

“He was about to speak when Marcy knocked on the door.”

Auntie dropped her hands, stepping back to look at me. “How many times have you seen him?”

“Three.” I explained each time in as much detail as I could remember. “Do you think it’s related to my pregnancy?”

Auntie folded her hands as she returned to sit on the bed. “Do you?”

I loved her with all my heart but her damn questions in response to my own were going to drive me up the wall.

“According to your timeline of my pregnancy, the first hallucination occurred about a month in. The other two happened once I crossed the border into magical lands. If the baby has magic, maybe it’s the combination of the baby or my hormones bringing them on.”

Auntie sat quietly in thought for longer than I was comfortable with. Finally, she spoke.

“Perhaps. Either way, maybe the altrosis tomorrow will shed light on the situation.”

My limbs began to grow heavy as a familiar wave of fatigue began to descend. This wasn’t uncommon over the past weeks every time I got sick. “Altrosis?”

“A method by which I search for magic within you and explore its origins,” she explained.

“The taxing process you wanted to use to search for answers to my questions,” I deduced. She nodded in confirmation.

I thought about all the questions she’d asked – and the ones she hadn’t. “Seeing the dead isn’t a normal manifestation of magic, but you’ve seen it before. Right?”

“What makes you say that?” Auntie’s expression gave nothing away.

“In all my studies of magic, in all the innumerable stories I’ve heard from the Bravern side of my family, I’ve never heard of it. But you knew exactly what to ask me: how he looked, if he spoke, how many times I’d seen him.”

Auntie let through a satisfied smile. “Your wit, along with your compassion, makes you the leader your land needs.”

It seemed a little strange that Auntie would refer to Darkmoon as my “land” when she certainly knew we referred to our divisions across the border as territories. It wasn’t an important enough point to correct her on though, especially when she was complimenting me.

“Then you know I’m keen enough to notice your attempt to avoid my question with flattery.”

Auntie’s smile grew. “Indeed. In my experience, seeing those claimed by the Goddess is a manifestation of unstable magic.”

“Unstable magic?” My brows furrowed.

Perhaps sensing that I wouldn’t let her get away with avoiding any more of my questions, Auntie divulged more than I expected.

“Magic is made unstable when repressed, tampered with, or triggered too strongly. Left unchecked, your wolf spirit will flee your body to distance itself from the unstable magic.”

The memory of Rylan Blackwell’s wolf spirit being ripped from his body flooded my mind, and I understood what Auntie was saying.

If we didn’t fix whatever was going on with me, I was going to die.