Page 16

CADE

T he emergency council meeting was called for seven AM the morning after the Hush Falls incident, which meant Lyra woke to find half the supernatural community already gathered in the town hall parking lot by the time she arrived with coffee she definitely needed and answers she definitely didn't have.

She'd spent a restless night at The Moonbeam Lodge, her dreams filled with glowing water and voices that called her name with hungry patience.

Every time she'd started to drift off, she'd felt that pull again—the same compulsion that had nearly drawn her into the pool.

The founder's sigil on her palm had pulsed steadily all night, like a heartbeat that wasn't quite in sync with her own.

Now, walking into the council chamber and seeing the grim faces of people she'd been laughing with just hours before, Lyra felt the weight of responsibility settling over her shoulders like a lead blanket.

"Miss Whitaker," Elder Ruth said without preamble. "Please, sit down. We have a great deal to discuss."

The formal arrangement from her first council meeting had been abandoned in favor of a more urgent configuration.

Chairs were arranged in a loose circle, with Elder Ruth presiding but not dominating.

Sheriff Torres sat to her right, looking like she'd been up all night coordinating some kind of supernatural emergency response.

Councilman Bradford was there, along with several faces Lyra didn't recognize but who radiated the kind of authority that suggested they were important in ways she didn't understand yet.

And there was Cade, sitting directly across from her with an expression that gave nothing away but eyes that tracked her every movement.

"The incident at Hush Falls last night represents a significant escalation," Ruth began, her knitting needles clicking steadily as she worked on a scarf in shades of gray and silver.

"The Mistbound has never been able to project its influence beyond the immediate vicinity of the falls.

The fact that it could call to you from the inn suggests the seal is deteriorating faster than we anticipated. "

"How much faster?" Lyra asked, trying to keep her voice steady.

"Hard to say precisely," said the woman Lyra didn't recognize, who had the kind of sharp intelligence that suggested she was used to being the smartest person in the room.

"I'm Dr. Elena Vasquez, professor of supernatural history at Asheville University.

I've been researching the original binding for the past fifteen years. "

"And?"

"And based on what I witnessed last night, I'd estimate we have weeks rather than months before the Mistbound achieves enough freedom to begin hunting again."

The words hit the room like stones dropped in still water, creating ripples of tension that Lyra could feel even without magical sensitivity.

"Hunting how?" Sheriff Torres asked, though her tone suggested she already suspected the answer.

"The same way it hunted before the founders contained it," Dr. Vasquez said grimly. "By draining the life force from magical beings until only empty husks remain. The fog incidents we've been seeing around town aren't random weather phenomena—they're hunting expeditions."

Lyra felt the blood drain from her face. "People could die because of what I did."

"People could die because an ancient entity is trying to break free from a prison that was always meant to be temporary," Ruth corrected firmly. "Your awakening of the rune accelerated the timeline, but it didn't create the problem."

"Then what do we do about it?"

"That," Ruth said, setting down her knitting and fixing Lyra with a stare that seemed to see straight through to her soul, "depends on how much you're willing to sacrifice for this community."

The words hung in the air like a challenge, and Lyra found herself sitting straighter in her chair. "What kind of sacrifice?"

"The original binding required three founder bloodlines working in perfect harmony," Dr. Vasquez explained, pulling out a thick folder of documents.

"But harmony isn't just about magical compatibility.

It's about emotional and spiritual connection.

The founders weren't just allies—they were bonded to each other in the deepest possible way. "

"Bonded how?"

"Mated," Ruth said bluntly. "All three of them, in a triad that combined their powers and tied their life forces together. The seal wasn't just held by their individual magic—it was held by the strength of their combined bond."

Lyra's founder's mark gave a particularly strong pulse, and she pressed her palm against her thigh to hide the glow. "You're saying they were all romantically involved with each other?"

"I'm saying they were bound by magic, emotion, and physical connection in ways that made them stronger together than they could ever be apart," Ruth said. "And I'm saying that kind of bond is what's required to repair the seal."

"But there are only two active founder bloodlines," Councilman Bradford pointed out. "The fae line has been dormant for decades."

"Actually," said a familiar voice from the doorway, "that's not entirely accurate."

Nico stepped into the chamber with the kind of dramatic timing that suggested he'd been listening from the hallway. His usual air of amused detachment was gone, replaced by something more serious and infinitely more dangerous.

"Nico Beaumont," he said, inclining his head toward the council. "Descendant of the fae founder line, and apparently the third piece of this particular puzzle."

The room erupted in surprised murmurs and sharp questions, but Lyra found herself staring at Nico with a mixture of understanding and betrayal. "You knew. This whole time, you knew what we were dealing with and you didn't tell me."

"I told you what you needed to know when you needed to know it," Nico said, settling into an empty chair with fluid grace. "Overwhelming you with the full scope of the situation on your first week in town seemed counterproductive."

"So now what?" Sheriff Torres asked, cutting through the growing tension. "We have three founder bloodlines in the same room. What does that mean for the seal?"

"It means we have options," Dr. Vasquez said, consulting her notes. "But those options require a level of cooperation and connection that..." She paused, glancing between Lyra, Cade, and Nico. "Well, that doesn't currently exist."

"Meaning?" Lyra asked, though she was starting to suspect she didn't want to know the answer.

"Meaning the three of you need to form a triad bond," Ruth said matter-of-factly. "Magical, emotional, and physical. The same kind of connection that held the original seal."

The silence that followed was so complete Lyra could hear her own heartbeat. She looked at Cade, whose expression had gone carefully blank, then at Nico, who was studying his hands with unusual intensity.

"That's not happening," Cade said finally, his voice flat with finality.

"Cade," Ruth began.

"No." He stood abruptly, his chair scraping against the floor. "I won't force Lyra into a magical arrangement she doesn't want just because some ancient binding requires it. And I sure as hell won't share her with someone else, bond or no bond."

The possessive edge in his voice made Lyra's magic flare with interest, but his words stung more than they should have. "Shouldn't that be my choice to make?"

"Not when you're being pressured into it to save the town," Cade shot back. "Not when the decision is being made for you by people who think supernatural necessity trumps personal autonomy."

"And what's the alternative?" Dr. Vasquez asked. "Let the Mistbound break free and start hunting again? Hope we can evacuate the supernatural population before it escapes the valley?"

"There has to be another way."

"There isn't," Ruth said firmly. "The founders tried everything else before resorting to the triad bond. Solo magic isn't strong enough. Allied magic isn't stable enough. It has to be bonded magic, or the seal won't hold."

Cade's hands clenched into fists, and Lyra could see the struggle playing out across his features. "Then we're asking them to sacrifice their freedom for our safety. How is that any different from what the Mistbound wants to do?"

"Because we're asking, not taking," Nico said quietly. "And because the alternative is much worse than magical polyamory."

"Is it?" Cade's green eyes flashed gold. "Because from where I'm sitting, it looks like we're trading one form of imprisonment for another."

Lyra felt something cold settle in her stomach as she listened to them debate her fate like she wasn't sitting right there. "Excuse me," she said, her voice cutting through the argument.

Everyone turned to look at her, and she could see the moment they realized how their discussion had sounded from her perspective.

"Are you actually going to ask what I want?" she continued, her magic beginning to spark around her fingers. "Or are you just going to keep arguing about what's best for me like I'm not capable of making my own decisions?"

"Lyra," Cade started.

"No, I'm talking now." She stood, and the air around her began to shimmer with heat. "You want to know what I think? I think you're all so busy protecting me from having to make hard choices that you're forgetting I'm the one who has to live with the consequences."

"We're trying to find a solution that doesn't require you to sacrifice your autonomy," Dr. Vasquez said carefully.

"My autonomy?" Lyra laughed, and the sound held edges that made several council members shift uncomfortably in their seats.

"I gave up my autonomy the moment I touched that rune.

I gave it up when I inherited founder blood.

I gave it up when I decided to stay in this town instead of running away from magical responsibility. "

Her magic was building now, responding to her emotional state with the kind of dangerous instability that had been plaguing her for days. The lights in the chamber began to flicker, and she could see people exchanging worried glances.

"So here's what's going to happen," Lyra continued, her voice held a command that brooked no argument she hadn't known she possessed.

"You're going to stop debating my life like I'm not here.

You're going to give me all the information—all of it, not just the parts you think I can handle.

And then you're going to let me make my own choice about what I'm willing to sacrifice to keep this town safe. "

"Lyra," Ruth said, her voice holding a warning.

"I'm not finished." The magic around Lyra intensified, and now the windows were starting to rattle.

"I'm especially tired of you," she said, pointing at Cade, "acting like I'm some fragile flower who can't handle the reality of what we're dealing with.

You think the bond between us is some kind of magical coercion?

Fine. Maybe it is. But that doesn't mean you get to make unilateral decisions about whether or not we explore it. "

Cade's eyes had gone completely gold, and she could see his wolf struggling against his human control. "I'm trying to protect you."

"I don't need protection," Lyra snapped. "I need partnership. I need someone who trusts me to make my own choices instead of making them for me."

"And if your choice gets you killed?"

"Then that's my choice to make!"

The words rang out so powerfully it cracked the windows, and suddenly everyone in the room was on their feet. Magic crackled through the air like lightning, and Lyra could feel mark on her palm burning with intensity that suggested she was about to lose control completely.

"That's enough," Ruth said, she spoke with the steady power of someone used to being obeyed that made even Lyra's chaotic magic pause. "Miss Whitaker, you need to calm down before you bring the building down around our ears."

"I need everyone to stop treating me like a child," Lyra shot back, but she could feel her magic starting to settle slightly.

"Then stop acting like one," Cade said, and the sentence slammed into her like a slap.

The silence that followed was broken only by the sound of Lyra's chair hitting the floor as she stood so abruptly it toppled over.

"You know what?" she said, her voice deadly quiet. "You're right. I have been acting like a child. I've been waiting for permission to make my own decisions, hoping someone else would tell me what's right."

She moved toward the door, her magic still sparking dangerously around her. "Well, I'm done waiting. I'm done asking permission. And I'm done listening to people who think they know what's best for me better than I do."

"Where are you going?" Sheriff Torres asked.

"To make my own choice," Lyra said without looking back. "And to deal with the consequences myself."

She was out the door before anyone could stop her, leaving behind a room full of shocked faces and the lingering scent of ozone.

Behind her, she could hear Cade start to follow, but Ruth's voice stopped him.

"Let her go," the elder said quietly. "She needs time to process, and you need time to figure out whether you're going to keep fighting this bond or accept what it means."

Lyra didn't wait to hear his response. She was already walking away, her magic snapped and sparked across her like visible armor and her mind made up about at least one thing.

She was done being protected from her own life.