Page 5 of The Midnight Death Match

She certainly kept everything from me. That my father is the fae hunter, that we come from a unique line of werewolves, that she’s some kind of keeper of secrets.

I’ve pushed all of this from my mind for the last few months. It’s easier to keep a secret hidden from my best friend when it’s out of my thoughts altogether.

It isn’t fair of my mother to expect me to hold this alone. And it definitely wasn’t right of her to keep everything from me—so many things that make all the difference in my life. I don’t understand why she would’ve done this to me.

“Speak to me!”

The last line of the first section glows:You are her.

I barely resist the urge to throw the shield. “What isthatsupposed to mean?”

The third line lights up:The bearer protects those entrusted to her.Then the second:It protects the bearer of the secrets.

Does that mean I’m supposed to protect my loved ones, and the sword will protect me?

The very last line glows:Everyone depends on it.

My mind races to understand the hidden messages. Then something clicks into place, and I think I understand. At least, I hope I do.

I hold up the sword, again looking at the etchings on the back. “It isn’t that I need to keep the contents of the chest secret, it’s that I have tofindthe real secrets and use them to protect others.”

The entire message glimmers.

Hopefully that’s a yes. I’m taking it as such, and I’m finally going to tell Harek and my father about this. It can’t be a coincidence that I’ve found this and now there appears to be a movement to eradicate Einar and me.

The shield rests heavy in my hands. It isn’t like my hunter sword, but somehow it’s a perfect match. I carry it down to the map room where Harek and Einar sit in silence. Sapphire is perched outside the window, one eye visible through the high window slit, watching as if she’s eager to hear our plans.

Both my father and Harek glance between me and the shield.

I lay the shield on the table between them. “I found this in a chest amongst my mother’s things. I’m not only a hunter and a werewolf, but the Secret Keeper, too.”

It’s laughable that I spent my entire life thinking I was nothing more than a boring human.

Harek doesn’t blink. “You… but…” He shakes his head. “This shouldn’t surprise me.”

My father looks deep in thought, then he leans in, studying the wolf carving. His hand hovers over it, brows furrowing. “Looks fae-forged. Reinforced, not ornamental.”

I turn it over and wait for them to read the message.

Both of their expressions are blank.

My heart sinks. “Read it!”

Einar leans closer. “The scratch?”

I trace the lines with one finger, my pulse kicking up. “No, the poem.”

Silence.

Harek meets my gaze. “There’s nothing there.”

Einar slowly straightens. His gaze moves past me, unfocused.

It all makes sense. I’m the only one who can even see it.

Meaning I shouldn’t read it to anyone. At least not until I know more.

Chapter