Page 183 of House Ignis

But the second paper was even worse. Jax's handwriting here was jagged, the ink blotted as if his hand had been shaking:

He didn't kill me. Not yet. He only watched. His silence is worse than fangs. He said I was not safe here, not safe anywhere. He spoke the name Aelmyra as though it was a cage. He promised protection, but I feel like a prisoner. If anyone finds this, know this: they will use me. They will bleed me dry. They will take what I know until there's nothing left.

—J.

The air in the archives suddenly felt too thin.

“They took him,” I whispered, bile rising in my throat. “The Astral Guard said it was a creature attack, but this… Jax thought he was being held prisoner.”

“But if a Veyari found him beyond the borders…” Jules whispered, eyes wide. “Then what actually happened to him?”

I looked at Jules. "What do you actually know about the Veyari? Beyond the basic lectures?"

Jules leaned back, her face pale.

“They’re immortal, Ava. Shapeshifters. They feed on fae magic and blood. And their eyes…” She swallowed. “They’re supposed to be crimson.”

“They can change faces,” I muttered. The thought was terrifying.

“Ava, if they’re inside the borders,” Jules said, her voice trembling, “we’re not just decoding your brother’s journal anymore. We’re trying to figure out what he stumbled into.”

I stared at the ink until the letters blurred. I wanted to run to the Riftball fields, to throw myself into Asher's arms and let the world vanish. But the journal refused to be ignored.

Whatever Jax had stumbled into had gotten him killed. And now I was following the same trail.

“We keep going,” I said, my voice finally finding its edge. “We find out exactly what Jax discovered. I’m not letting him be the end of this story.”

•••

Aether prowled at my side, quiet as a shadow, as we took the back paths toward House Ignis.

he forest at this hour was a held breath, moonlight stretching between the trees.

I needed to see Asher, but for the first time, I was terrified of what he'd see when he looked at me.

My soul felt heavy with the ink of Jax's words, and my skin still crawled from the descriptions of those crimson eyes.

Crack.

My heart lurched.

I stopped, every nerve in my body screaming, and called into the dark, "Hello?"

"Let's go," Aether growled through the bond, his fur bristling against my leg.

Another crack sounded—closer this time. Someone was here, watching me from the veil of trees. My heart was racing, my mind immediately jumping to the worst-case scenario. Probably Zorian, back for revenge after I'd singed his dignity off in the arena.

"Zorian, you have the nerve to come back!" I shouted into the trees. Bastard.

A breeze came through, making the leaves whisper like a thousand tiny voices.

"Little one, let's go. I don't like this," Aether warned in my head.

I nodded and started walking, but the hair on the back of my neck was prickling.

"Should we call the Dark One?" Aether asked.

"No. I can handle myself." Flame licked my fingertips and Aether's power flooded through me.