Page 22

"Of course we do," I said, brushing a strand of silver hair from her face. "And we will protect you. The beast spoke falsely. Our bond is not weak." To demonstrate, I reached for that glowing thread that connected us, the one forged in our claiming ritual. It pulsed strong and vital between us.

Sierra's shoulders sagged with relief. "Thank you," she whispered. "I was afraid... I thought you might think I was losing my mind."

"Never," Callum assured her, pressing a kiss to her temple.

Archer remained troubled, his daggers now back in his hands, twirling faster than usual. "We need to know more," he said finally. "If this thing is real—and I believe it is—then we need to understand what we're facing. The stories my mother told weren't exactly detailed battle plans."

"How do we learn more about something that's supposedly just a legend?" Callum asked.

I considered this. As ruler of the underworld, I had access to knowledge most did not. Ancient texts, forgotten lore, souls who had witnessed the birth of creation itself.

"We start in the underworld library," I decided. "If this Shadow Beast is as old as Archer suggests, there may be records of previous encounters. It holds the most extensive records, even more so than that of the Dark Fae."

"I'll consult with the older fae," Callum offered, not rising to acknowledge the implication his library being shit. "Some of our elders remember the time before the split of the realms. If this creature predates even that..."

Archer nodded. "And I'll..." He hesitated, a shadow crossing his face. "I'll try to reach out to my mother."

That was surprising. Archer rarely spoke of his angelic parent, much less suggested contacting her. The fact that he was willing to do so now spoke volumes about the severity of the situation.

"What should I do?" Sierra asked, sitting up straighter, a determination hardening her features despite the lingering fear in her eyes.

"Stay with us," I said immediately. "Don't sleep alone. If this thing visited you once, it might try again."

"I don't think I could sleep again anyway," she admitted.

"The sun will rise soon," Callum noted, glancing toward the window where the faintest lightening of the sky was visible. "Perhaps we should begin our research now."

I nodded in agreement, but made no move to release Sierra. Her body was finally warming in my embrace, the ice-cold touch of fear receding from her skin. I wasn't willing to let her go just yet.

"Archer," I said quietly, "you mentioned feeling dread from Sierra's memories. What exactly did you see?"

Archer's hands stilled, the daggers coming to rest against his thighs. "It was..." He seemed to be struggling for words, which was unlike him. "It wasn't just what I saw. It was what I felt. The absolute certainty that this thing was... wrong. Fundamentally wrong, in a way that defied explanation."

He looked at Sierra with newfound respect. "The fact that you could face that and still fight, still call out to us. That's remarkable."

Sierra blushed slightly at the praise, though her expression remained troubled. "It felt like it was searching for something inside me," she said. "Like it was... tasting me, somehow."

A growl rumbled from my chest before I could stop it, my demon instincts surging protectively. "It will not touch you again," I vowed.

"What exactly did it say to you?" Callum pressed gently. "You mentioned it said you would be 'theirs'?"

Sierra nodded, a shudder running through her. "It kept saying 'soon.' Over and over. 'Soon you will be ours.' And that the bond was weak and couldn't protect us."

"A direct challenge," I noted, my tail lashing angrily. Few dared to challenge my authority so blatantly. Those who did rarely lived to tell of it.

"But why now?" Archer asked, echoing Callum's earlier question. "Why Sierra, and why at this particular moment?"

We all fell silent, contemplating the question. It was Sierra who finally spoke, her voice small but steady.

"The claiming," she said. "It happened right after the claiming ritual. After we completed the bond."

"Could that be it?" Callum asked, looking between Archer and me. "Could the ritual itself have attracted its attention?"

"Or perhaps it was already watching, and the ritual represented a threat to whatever it plans," I suggested darkly.

Sierra shivered again, and I tightened my arms around her.

"Whatever it's planning, it wants us to be afraid," Archer said firmly. "That much was clear from the memory. It was feeding on Sierra's fear."

"Then we don't give it what it wants," I decided. "We arm ourselves with knowledge, and we prepare."

Callum nodded in agreement. "And we stay together. All of us."

Sierra looked between the three of us, her mates, a small smile finally touching her lips despite the fear still evident in her eyes. "Together," she agreed.

The word hung in the air like a promise, a defiance against the shadows that had invaded her dreams. As the first light of dawn began to seep into the room, I felt a renewed determination. This Shadow Beast, whatever it was, had made a grave mistake in threatening what was mine.

What was ours.

And it would learn, as countless enemies before it had learned, that the price for such a mistake was steep indeed.