Page 19 of Shadows of the Lost Relic (Vanguard of the Ancients #1)
Chapter 19
Lyra
T he Vanguard’s council chamber felt oppressive as we entered, the air heavy with the weight of unspoken fears. I had never been in this room before, but I could sense its history, the countless battles and missions that had been planned here over the years. Tonight, however, was different. The atmosphere wasn’t just tense—it was suffocating, as if everyone in the room knew we were standing on the edge of a precipice, and one wrong move could send us all tumbling into the abyss, never to be seen again.
The council members sat around a long, polished table, their faces lined with worry. They had faced unimaginable dangers before, I was sure, but the losses we faced made them look older, more worn down. And the fact our team was the only one with more than one member present? That worried me. I had a sinking feeling it was a bad sign, an indicator of how few of us were left after the attack. That, or they were blaming us.
Director Morwen, the leader of the Vanguard, was the first to speak. She was an older woman, sharp-featured with piercing blue eyes. I had heard stories about her, about how she had led the Vanguard through some of its darkest days, how she had stood against forces that would have broken lesser leaders. Even she seemed diminished by the events of the past few days.
“We’ve reviewed the reports from the attack,” she began, her voice calm but laced with underlying tension. “The Shadowborn’s tactics were more coordinated than we anticipated. It’s clear they were targeting specific artifacts, and they came disturbingly close to succeeding.” Her words hung in the air, and a heavy silence followed.
I could feel Theo’s presence beside me, solid and reassuring, but it did little to ease the knot of dread that had settled in my stomach. The reality of what we were facing pressed down on me like a weight I couldn’t lift. We had known the Shadowborn were dangerous, but this attack had shown us just how far they were willing to go—and how close they had come to destroying us.
I hesitated, unsure if it was my place to speak, but the question burned in my mind. “What do we know about the prophecy?” I asked, breaking the silence. My voice sounded steadier than I felt, but I pressed on. “There has to be more to it than we’ve been told.”
The council members exchanged glances, and I wondered if I had overstepped.
Then Director Morwen nodded slowly, acknowledging my concern. “You’re right. There is more,” she said, her voice grave. “The prophecy doesn’t just concern the Fates and Hephaestus. It’s about the balance of power in the mythical world—a balance that has been maintained for centuries but is now on the verge of collapsing.”
Morwen gestured to one of the other council members, a man named Aric, who stood to speak. His expression was grim as he addressed the room. “The prophecy speaks of a time when the ancient powers will converge and the balance will be tested. If the prophecy is fulfilled, it could lead to chaos—unimaginable destruction as the forces of creation and destruction clash.”
A chill ran down my spine as I processed his words. We weren’t just fighting to protect the artifacts—we were fighting to protect the entire world. The balance that had held for so long was crumbling, and if the Shadowborn tipped the scales, the consequences would be catastrophic.
Theo’s voice cut through the heavy silence that had fallen over the room. “And the Shadowborn?” he asked, his tone low and steady. “What role do they play in all of this?”
Aric’s expression darkened as he answered. “The Shadowborn believe the artifacts hold the key to unlocking that chaos. They see the prophecy as an opportunity to reshape the world in their image—a world where they hold ultimate power. If they gather enough artifacts, they could tip the scales in their favor, and the consequences would be catastrophic.”
Anger and fear warred inside me as I listened to his words. The Shadowborn weren’t just trying to disrupt the balance, they were trying to destroy it. They wanted to seize control of the world, to twist it until it was unrecognizable, and would serve only their own dark desires.
I clenched my fists under the table, trying to steady myself. We had faced dangerous enemies before, but this felt different. This felt insurmountable. “What do we do now?” I asked, my voice barely more than a whisper.
The lives of everyone I cared about—Theo, Kane, Caspian, and Evan, even the rest of the Vanguard—depended on our ability to stop the prophecy from coming true. But how could we fight a fate that had been foretold for centuries? How could we stand against forces that were far beyond anything we had ever faced before?
Director Morwen’s gaze was steady as she answered. “We continue to fight. We can’t let the Shadowborn gain control of the artifacts. The fate of the world depends on it.”
Her words were meant to inspire confidence, but all I felt was the crushing pressure of responsibility. The weight of the prophecy, the danger that it represented, was suffocating. Could we really do this? Could we really stop a prophecy that had been set in motion long before we were even born?
Theo interrupted my thoughts before they could spiral out of control. “There is a part of the prophecy that we have yet to discuss: the ritual. We think it could be the key to Caspian regaining control of himself and being able to wield the hammer he made without risking everyone around him.”
A collective murmur flowed around the room, and not all of it sounded good. People were upset about the damage Caspian had done to the base. But without him, there was no way we would have won, and there would be a lot more people dead or injured.
“We need his help. And we need him at his best to avoid what happened.” I needed to speak up for him. He couldn’t be here to do it for himself.
“Caspian is a valued member of my team. There’s no question this prophecy is as dire as we all think. We need every advantage we can get.” Theo spoke with a conviction I wished I could convey.
Morwen looked between both of his, her blue eyes shrewd as she examined us. “Are you proposing only doing the ritual for him, or for all of you? And what of the risks? From the report you gave, this ritual has the risk of doing as much damage as it does good.”
I let Theo take the lead on this one. We hadn’t discussed doing the ritual for all of us. Morwen’s question had me wondering if we should have. Would the Shadowborn have come so close to beating us if we had already performed the ritual?
“We are proposing only performing it for Caspian. There is a lot of risk involved. But if we do nothing, we risk losing him for good to the power that is trying to consume him.
Morwen looked around at the other council members before nodding. “I hope I don’t have to tell you to take every precaution you can. We’re in dire circumstances. I hope this goes the way you want it to.”
I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. This was going to work. It had to work. Caspian was going to be fine; he was going to gain control of himself again and help us take down the Shadowborn. And if the ritual went well, it would be easier to convince the triplets to go through it as well.
As the meeting came to a close, I left the chamber with Theo by my side, the weight of everything we had learned pressing down on us like a physical force. The corridors of the Vanguard felt colder, more foreboding, as if the very walls were aware of the impending doom.
“We’ll get through this,” Theo said quietly as we walked down the corridor. His voice was calm, but I could see the worry in his eyes, the same fear that had taken root in my heart. “We’ve faced impossible odds before, and we’ve always come out on top.”
I wanted to believe him, but the fear refused to let go. The prophecy, the Shadowborn, the bond between Kane, Evan and me—it was all too much. How could I make decisions that would save us all when I could barely make sense of my own emotions? How could I keep fighting when I wasn’t even sure if I was doing the right thing?
As we reached the infirmary where Caspian was still recovering, I knew I couldn’t let that fear control me. We had to keep fighting, no matter the cost. Because if we didn’t, the world would be lost. And that was a price I wasn’t willing to pay.
“We’ll fight,” I said, my voice stronger than before. I needed to believe that we could do this, that we could stop the prophecy and protect the people we cared about. Because if I let the doubt take over, if I let myself believe we couldn’t win, then we had already lost.
Theo nodded and stepped into the infirmary, looking back at me, but I shook my head at him. “I need to talk to Kane. We haven’t spoken about what happened between us. I need to speak to Evan, too. Maybe I should talk to him first?” I hoped Theo would understand. I cared about him as well, but what had happened between me and Kane, it had changed things, and I needed to work out what was happening there before I could act on my feelings for any of the others.
Theo gave me a long look before he nodded. “I will watch Caspian for you. Talk to Kane first. Evan’s doing some work he can’t be pulled away from right now.”
Grateful for his understanding, I made my way through the headquarters to where the residential quarters were. Thankfully, this area had suffered the least damage. The Shadowborn must have been leaving it to ransack after they had won.
Caspian usually slept down in his workshop.
I stopped outside the triplets’ door, looking at it as I steeled my nerves. He wasn’t mad at me; I knew he wasn’t. I had done what was needed to save his life. So why was I so nervous about talking to him? It made no sense, but it didn’t stop me from feeling the way I was.
Taking a deep breath, I knocked on the door.
There was the soft sound of cursing from the other side before Kane opened the door. His eyes widened in surprise at seeing me. “Lyra. It’s good to see you. I was sitting with Caspian before, but the nurses chased me out, telling me I needed to rest. I’d rather do that here, you know?” He ran a hand through his hair, a clear sign he was nervous. I tried not to feel guilty that his nervousness made my own nerves ease in my chest.
“I was hoping to talk to you… about everything that happened.” What was I supposed to say? I want to talk to you about how I saved your life? I want to talk to you about using your power? I want to talk to you about what comes next?
Luckily, I was saved from my spiral as he nodded and opened the door wide enough for me to step inside. Photos decorated the living room walls. Most of the pictures were of the triplets, but I could see Caspian in some, as well as a couple, who must have been their parents. It made me smile to see the way Kane was surrounded by his family all the time.
He interrupted my curiosity by motioning to the couch. Things suddenly felt awkward, and I didn’t know why. This was Kane. He had been flirting with me since before I arrived at the Vanguard. Maybe that was the issue. Things with Kane had never seemed serious. He was always there with a joke.
I sat on the couch, smoothing my hands on my jeans, watching him as he stood there, before he suddenly sat down beside me.
“I don’t keep food or drinks in here, or I would offer you something.” He sounded like he was beating himself up for being a poor host, and I shook my head at him. I wasn’t hungry. In fact, the thought of eating made me feel nauseated.
“It’s okay, really. I just want to make sure you’re not mad at me about what I did. Although I don’t really understand what I did.” That was the problem with everything that was happening. I was in over my head. I didn’t understand the prophecy, I didn’t understand the politics of the Vanguard, and I didn’t understand what had happened with Kane.
“I guess we never really gave you the crash course into fate strings, did we? Do you mind if I do?” It was interesting to see him so serious about a subject, and I nodded, wanting him to continue. “Everyone has two types of fate strings. One is a life string. That whole myth of cutting the string to end a life. The other type of strings are our relationships, our bonds. People have lots of those. The second type is what Evan and I usually manipulate. The fate between you and the direction you want to go. Evan can sever them, and I can change them, redirect them. But what you did, what Evan did before you… You bound our life strings together. Interwove them. I’ve never heard of it happening. I need to do some research, but I think our lives will be the same length. That they will lead to the same place. Kind of like soul mates, I guess.”
I wasn’t sure his explanation made it any better. I had bound our lives together. What if I had thrown his completely off course? What if he died decades before he was meant to? “I am so sorry, Kane. I didn’t know what I was doing. My only thought was saving you, and I reached out wi?—”
His lips pressed on to mine, cutting my words short. It was a hell of a kiss. His hands slid into my hair, tilting my head back as he leaned over me, crowding me. His tongue stole past my lips in a move that I envied.
The prophecy, the fight, the Vanguard, the Shadowborn—it had all faded away. For a few blissful seconds, there was nothing but me, Kane, and the kiss.
When he pulled back, his smirk had returned, warming my heart with its familiarity. “Never apologize, little tooth fairy. I couldn’t ask for anything better.”
A knot that had been getting tighter and tighter in my chest loosened, and I felt like I could breathe again. It was about time something went my way.