Page 4 of The Midnight Death Match

The map flickers as my blade shifts at my side. The sigils are quiet now, but I remember how they glowed, how the metal thrummed when I was near the clearing.

They want my father and me gone. Not just dead. Undone.

Einar speaks at last, voice low. “We need to find the ritualists behind this. And we need to find them before they finish what they’ve started.”

The walls seem to close in, the air is tight and thin. I step away from them, gasping. “I need some space.”

Harek’s eyes widen. “Eira?—”

I run.

Desperate footsteps sound, but then they stop as quickly as they started. My father tells Harek to let me be. My friend argues, but can’t truly stand up against the fae hunter.

I slip through the corridors, slowing as I put more distance between them and me. My fingers trail grooves in the wall—old etchings, almost worn away by time. They were probably meant for protection. Did they ever work? Might they still?

Sapphire’s shadow crosses a window then disappears. Vash isn’t in sight.

My room still smells faintly of my mother—lavender, summer storms, and steel. A candle on the far shelf flickers as I enter. I close the door before lighting another. The tiny flames glow, their light bouncing against the carved walls and making shadows dance across the ceiling like memories I can’t quite reach.

The chest waits for me in the corner of a closet, tucked behind old fabric.

My mother’s Secret Keeper’s chest. It was in this very spot I last heard her voice. At least, I think it was her voice. Itfeltlike her speaking to me in my mind.

I should try reading the etchings again. That was when I heard… what I heard. Taking a deep breath, I kneel then pull up the latch. When the lid lifts, a pulse of warmth greets me, soft as breath.

After carefully removing the teal petals, I pick up the wolf sword. Turn it around. The etchings nearly knock me back.

The Secret Keeper’s Shield.

It protects the bearer of the secrets.

The bearer protects those entrusted to her.

If you can read these words,

You are her.

You have been entrusted with much.

Your blood carries the necessary magic.

Follow it, protect those in your care.

Be brave, be strong.

You have no other choice.

Everyone depends on it.

I read them aloud. Wait.

Nothing.

Disappointment washes through me. I must’ve only been able to activate the voice the first time I spoke the words.

But I remember. My mother’s voice told me to tell no one.

Not Harek? Or my father? She trusted Harek and his family with her other secrets. Surely, I can tell him. Unless she didn’t tell anyone at all.