Page 3 of Awakened Destiny (The Dark Ascendant #3)

Callen

I pace because I can ’ t do anything else. Can ’ t sit, can ’ t eat, I can barely think. Lochan ’ s broad frame is planted by the window, his silhouette carved against the faint moonlight. Tiernan sits cross-legged on the floor, his eyes focused intently on the space between his knees. Rory leans against the hearth, his usual gregariousness dulled by the shadows under his eyes.

The fire has burned down to embers, and it ’ s getting cold in here, but my mind barely registers it. Brigid is gone, taken by the Morrigan, and the gravity of that reality presses down on me like a ton of concrete.

My father's face flashes unbidden through my mind—cold, disapproving, cruel. Even in death, he manages to haunt me. I should feel something, shouldn't I? Grief, anger, regret... anything. But there's just a hollow emptiness where those emotions should be.

Our relationship was always strained, a tug-of-war between duty and rebellion. He saw me as a disappointment, a son who refused to conform to the rigid expectations of fae royalty. I saw him as a tyrant, unyielding and cruel in his pursuit of power. Now he's gone, and all I feel is... relief.

Now he's gone, and the burden of the crown looms over me like a black cloud. The very thought of it makes my skin crawl. I've spent my entire life running from responsibility, from duty, from the smothering expectations of the fae court. And now, when I least want it, when I'm least prepared for it, the throne beckons.

But I can't think about that now. I won't. There's only one thing that matters: Brigid.

Brigid's face replaces my father's in my mind's eye, her stormy gray eyes, the curve of her lips, the way her brow furrows when she's deep in thought. My chest constricts painfully. I failed her. We all did.

Lochan breaks the silence, his voice rough. “ We can ’ t just sit here. We need a plan.”

“ Plan?” Rory asks, pushing off from the hearth. “ What bloody plan? We don ’ t even know where she is.” He doesn ’ t say what we ’ re all thinking. Or what she is now.

“ She ’ s still in there,” Tiernan says quietly, reading my mind, his gaze still downward. “ The Morrigan won ’ t destroy the vessel. She needs it. And Brigid is still in there, somewhere. I can feel her.”

“ Somewhere,” I repeat, my voice laced with skepticism. I stop pacing and lean against the back of a chair, my eyes on Tiernan. “ And you know this because of your visions? Because so far, your visions have been about as useful as tits on a fish.”

Tiernan ’ s head lifts, his expression unreadable. “ The Morrigan corrupts. Brigid doesn ’ t have long.”

Lochan turns away from the window, his dark hazel eyes hard. “ We need to find her before…”

“ And how do you suggest we do that?” I ask, as I stand from the chair. My voice is sharp, sharper than I intend, but I don ’ t care. “ The Morrigan could be anywhere. She could be in the rift, for gods sake, or hiding in the fae realm. She could be right under our noses.”

Rory crosses his arms, his tone laced with frustration. “ We can ’ t just sit around twiddling our thumbs. We need to do something, even if it ’ s a feckin ’ gamble. This is Brigid.”

He ’ s right. I know he ’ s right. But I can ’ t keep the frustration out of my voice. “ Then what ’ s the plan here, Rory?”

“ And what ’ s your brilliant plan?” Rory fires back, his brown eyes flashing with anger, and he moves forward. “ Sit here and think until the Morrigan decides to drop by for tea?”

I step closer to him.

“ Enough.” Lochan ’ s voice fills the room, sharp and commanding. He moves to stand between us, his massive frame causing us both to take a step backwards. “ Arguing won ’ t bring her back.”

The room falls silent again, the weight of his words pressing down on us. I turn away, my teeth gritted so tight they ache. I don ’ t respond. I don ’ t need to. We all know the truth. We have to try. But the question is, at what cost? And what will be left of Brigid when we find her?

The vibe in the room is heavy with unspoken blame and the kind of tension that could snap at any moment. Lochan ’ s words hang like a challenge, but no one dares take the bait. Tiernan leans against the far wall, his arms crossed and saying nothing.

And then, without warning, the door slams open.

Marius fills the frame, his tall, lean frame silhouetted against the dim light of the hall. His dark hair is disheveled, his black leather jacket slung over one shoulder. His dark eyes scan the room, locking onto each of us before settling on me.

The room shifts with his presence, like the first wave of an oncoming storm. Rory straightens, Tiernan pushes off the wall, and Lochan ’ s hand instinctively curls into a fist. I stop pacing, my arms crossing over my chest as I meet Marius ’ s gaze head-on.

“ What the fuck are you doing here?” I demand.

Marius steps inside, uninvited, and the door creaks shut behind him. “ I know how to reach Brigid.”

My gut tightens, my instincts screaming at me to distrust him, to throw him out on his ass. But I don ’ t move. I don ’ t speak. I just watch him, my eyes narrowing as I try to read between the lines of his too-casual tone.

Lochan steps forward, his massive frame towering over Marius. “ How?” he growls, his deep voice a warning.

Marius's eyes flick to Lochan, a challenge in their depths. He doesn't flinch, doesn't back down. Instead, he moves further into the room, his presence filling the space like smoke from an extinguished candle.

"I've been keeping something from you. From all of you. Except Brigid." His voice is even and controlled, but he can ’ t hide the split-second note of desperation that I catch.

"What are you talking about?" I demand.

"The Morrigan wasn ’ t the only one prophesied to come back in a vessel. The Raven King was too." Marius inhales before continuing. “ I ’ m the next vessel of the Raven King," he says. The words fall into the silence like rocks down a well.

For a moment, no one moves. No one breathes. Then the room erupts.

"What the fuck?" Rory explodes.

Lochan's massive frame goes rigid, his eyes narrowing to dangerous slits. "You knew this? All along?"

I feel my own anger rising. "And you didn't think to mention it?" I spit out. I take a step towards Marius. "While we've been running ourselves ragged trying to save Brigid, you've been sitting on this?"

“ I ’ m telling you now.”

Lochan closes the distance between them in two long strides. "You fucker. You've been playing us this whole time."

Tiernan's quiet voice cuts through the tension. "Let him speak." We all turn to look at him, his eyes now fixed on Marius

Marius nods once at Tiernan before addressing us all. “ Right now, the details don ’ t matter. What matters is that I ’ m pretty sure I can find Brigid. If I allow the Raven King to use me, as he planned.”

“ No fucking way.” I ignore the hand Tiernan has raised to silence me. “ I ’ m sympathetic to the rebels, you know that by now, but there ’ s no way I ’ m going to let you bring back the Raven King, so that he and the Morrigan can reunite and wreak gods only know what havoc.”

Rory nods his head in agreement. “ We don ’ t know how to stop the Morrigan as it is. How would we ever stop them both when they ’ re together?”

“ Perhaps I can help with that.”

I swing around to see Fiona standing in the doorway. “ You.”

“ You ’ ve done fucking enough,” Lochan growls at the tiny woman.

"I see you've told them," she says, her voice carrying a weight I've never heard before. It's as if the very air around her has changed, charged with an immense power that makes my skin prickle. How did I not notice it before?

Marius nods, his dark eyes narrowing. "You knew?"

Fiona's lips curve into a smile that holds no mirth. "I've known a great many things for a very long time, Marius."

She proceeds further into the room. “ It's time you all knew the truth." She moves to stand in the center of our dysfunctional little gathering, and I swear the air around her shimmers. "I'm not who you think I am. My name, my true name, is Sirona."

The name hits me like a physical blow.

Sirona. The goddess of healing, vitality, and rebirth. My mind reels, struggling to process this revelation.

"Bullshit," Rory mutters, but his voice lacks conviction.

Fiona, no, Sirona, turns to him, her eyes glowing with an ethereal light. "I assure you, Rory, it is the truth."

There ’ s a sudden energy that makes my hair stand on end. I can feel the power emanating from her small frame, and suddenly, I believe.

"Why?" I demand, finding my voice. "Why the deception? Why now?"

Sirona's gaze shifts to me. "To protect Brigid. To guide her. And now, to save her."

"Save her?" Lochan's voice is a low rumble. "You're the reason she's in this mess. Your potion—"

"Is the only thing keeping Brigid from being completely erased by my old friend," Sirona interrupts, her tone brooking no argument. "The prophecy had to be fulfilled, but on our terms. Not the Council's. The prophecy is more complex than you know."

I can't hold back my anger any longer. "And you didn't think to warn us? To warn her?"

"Some paths must be walked alone," Sirona says, her voice tinged with sadness. "But now, the time for secrets is over."

She reaches into her pocket and pulls out a small vial filled with a swirling, iridescent liquid. "This potion will allow Marius to retain his consciousness when the Raven King takes him as a vessel. He is powerful, but he is no god. So Marius will remain in control, in a way that Brigid could not."

Marius steps forward, staring at the vial. "And you're sure this will work?"

Sirona nods, her expression grave. "It's the same potion I gave Brigid. But as I said, you'll be able to retain more control, as the Raven King is not a deity."

"So what's the plan, then?" Rory asks, his voice tight with tension. "Marius becomes the Raven King and what? We just hope he can find Brigid?"

"It's more than that," Sirona says, her gaze sweeping across all of us. "The Raven King and the Morrigan are bound by prophecy. Two halves of a whole. Where one goes, the other will be drawn. Marius, as the vessel, will be able to sense Brigid's location."

I feel a flame of hope, quickly doused by suspicion. "And then what? We can't exactly fight a goddess. You saw what she did in the ritual chamber. How easily she slaughtered everyone." I see my father ’ s broken body lying on the chamber floor again.

Sirona's eyes meet mine, and I see something—empathy, perhaps—in their depths. "No, you can't. Even I cannot. The Morrigan is more powerful than me. But Brigid can."

The room falls silent as we process her words. It's Tiernan who breaks the silence."What do you mean Brigid can?"

Sirona turns to him. "Brigid is more than just a vessel. She is a descendant, her blood more potent than any who came before. She has the power to control the goddess, to bend her to her will. But she must choose to embrace that power."

The room is silent at this new revelation. It seems impossible, and yet... it makes a twisted kind of sense. Her power, her connection to shadow magic, the way the prophecy centered on her.

"And how exactly is she supposed to do that when the Morrigan's taken over her body?" I demand. I ’ m unable to keep the bitterness from my voice.

Sirona's gaze locks onto mine. "That's where you come in, Callen. All of you. Your bond with Brigid—it's more than just fate. It's a tether, an anchor to her true self. When Marius finds her, you'll need to use that bond to reach her, to remind her of who she truly is."

I feel a sharp ache in my chest at Sirona's words. Our bond... could it really be that powerful?

"And what about the Council?" Lochan asks, his voice gruff. "They'll be after her too."

Sirona's expression darkens. "The Council has played their hand. They sought to control the prophecy, to use Brigid as a weapon. But they've failed. Now, they'll seek to destroy her."

"Over my dead body," Marius says. For once, I find myself in complete agreement with him.

"So what you're saying," Tiernan says slowly, "is that our only hope is to let Marius become the vessel for the Raven King, find Brigid, and then somehow use our bond to help her overpower a goddess?"

When he puts it like that, it sounds utterly insane. But what choice do we have?

"It's madness," I mutter.

"It's our only shot," Marius counters.