16 Unknown
17 Unknown
18 Unknown
19 Unknown
20. . .
—Council of Crown, Year 314, The Royal Court
“Ánya and Vládan,” I whisper and immediately turn my gaze to Theron.
“I walked past my parents’ ashes for four hundred years.” His hold on me tightens, and I understand. We’ve both come to learn the unbearable truths of what our parents endured. This is beyond inhumane.
“The barrier wasn’t just a prison for the vólkins,” Theron continues, his voice low and trembling. “It was a tomb for their legacy.” His hazel eyes glisten with unshed tears, and my chest tightens at the sight.
I pull him closer, my arms wrapping around him as I lean in and say, “We will restore the balance. We’ll kill the tsar and every one of his men. We will never let anything like that happen again.”
“My mate,” Theron breathes as he buries his snout into the crook of my neck.
I hold him as tightly as I can, pouring every bit of strength I have into the embrace. “We will remember them all.” My vow rings in the silence like a promise carved in stone.
After a while, we pull away from each other, though everything we’ve shared is heavy in the air. Without a word, we rise and move to return to the vólkins waiting for us. I have no idea how much time has passed since we entered my parents’ home, but it doesn’t matter. It’s time to go back.
Theron and I... we’re closer now. The bond between us feels unbreakable. I know, without a doubt, that I can trust him with my life.
We’ve both learned the depths of what our families endured—the terror they faced—and together, we’ve vowed to make this world a better place. A place where their sacrifices won’t be forgotten. There will bewar.
My mother. My father. All the vólkins and their mates. They will be remembered.
As we step out of the home, everyone’s eyes are already on us. Even before we cross the threshold.
They all look broken.
They heard it all.
The trip back to Ávera is silent. I sit on Theron’s back as he runs, and the others follow close behind. No one speaks. What we’ve learned hangs heavy over all of us, each lost in our own thoughts.
I clutch my mother’s diary tightly, the document of the incident tucked inside it.
Still, there’s some relief in the truth I learned. I don’t know exactly how my mother died, but now I know her story. Her struggles. Her strength. The pieces of the past are beginning to fall into place.
Our mission is clear.
Find the five. Kill the tsar. Destroy his men. Restore balance.
The trials will begin tomorrow, and with them, our chance to push ourselves, to discover our limits, and to reshape the forces that will fight alongside us. Theron has trained them well.
The shelters are built, and we’ve learned of three nearby villages. That’s where we’ll start. But trials first, then the bonding ritual. One step at a time.
By the time we return to Ávera, night has fallen. We’re greeted as though we’ve returned with victory. No one but us knows the truth.
Theron hasn’t spoken a word since we left the house.
At the entrance, where trees part and streams flow, vólkins of all ages gather.
They all look excited and eager, and soon, I will pop that bubble of hope.
