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“They aren't words, Gemini, yes, but not a Gemini wolf. It's a Gemini spell,” Kaif states, his voice filled with a strange dread that tugs at my gut.
“What spell?” Dominic asks, mirroring my confusion. But before he can answer, Kaif starts ripping books from the shelves, grimoire falling to the floor in a flurry of ancient texts. Dominic moves closer to him, curiosity piqued his interest. I can only sit there, watching the eerie chant playing on repeat in my mind.
“The one that created the dagger to kill Hades',” Kaif answers.
“The spell Celeste created?” I ask, trying to work out what is going on when Dominic looks down at Temperance with a grave expression on his face.
“Yes. It seems Temperance might be a part of something bigger, something we are just beginning to comprehend. I can't help but feel we are just at the brink of an abyss, ready to dive into unknown depths.”
“What's that spell got to do with my mate?”
“Indeed, Eziah. Witches have long memories, and their anguish serves them long after death. She drew an entire coven to this room to kill her, and the fact they tried says she is someone important. There is only one way to enter the Shadow realm; if she is of the Octavian bloodline, which she isn't, she does not have witch blood or Octavian magic, but for some reason, they want her gone.”
“So you're saying they left the Shadow realm just to come here to kill my mate? And Temperance just happened to wander into it somehow, like Astral projection.”
“Temperance's twin died in utero. Her spirit could have inadvertently entered the Shadow Realm. Unborn spirits are more susceptible to wandering into such places. But that is also very unlikely and would be a first,” Kaif tells me.
“The Shadow Realm, Eziah, it's not a place one would willingly venture to. It's a prison, a wasteland of lost souls. The only way in there is a blood-relative anchor, which only leaves her twin,” Dominic adds.
“Then how else would Temperance's twin end up there? She died in the womb! And you said she is no relation to you.”
“Now, that's the part I can't explain– how she got into a prison world created for my bloodline. However, once the barrier to the Shadow Realm was broken, the realm didn't disappear. It's still there, but without the barrier, the spirits trapped inside were free to leave. They returned to the place they were most connected to in life, which for us Octavians would be the family manor, so no, Eziah, they didn't return here just to kill your mate. They've been here since your mother broke the curse.”
“That's where the peculiarities of being a Gemini wolf might come into play, Eziah. When Temperance's twin died, her spirit had nowhere to go. The curse attracted the spirit to the Shadow Realm, where she's been trapped, creating an anchor. It may also explain why she has two wolves. In order to save one twin, the other wolf merged with her vessel to strengthen it while casting the other out.”
“So you're saying what exactly she has her twin's wolf? And how do we know which wolf is actually hers, or find out how her twin has access to a prison world created to trap your bloodline?”
“Remember, it's not the Shadow Realm itself that's evil. It's the curse that tainted it. Every curse has a loophole, so that means there is another way in and out of the shadow realm, one I could never figure out, but I knew Temperance was coming and going. It always plagued me how she could come and go.” Dominic seems to think for a second. While I try to wrap my head around all of this.
“So that only means two things, either she's linked to Celeste or…”
“Or she's linked to Hades,'” Kaif finishes for him. My brows furrow.
“But both Hades and Celeste are your bloodline?” I point out.
“Yes, but she isn't Octavian, or I would sense her. We can sense other witches, and she certainly isn't one,” Dominic says.
“She has to be linked to your bloodline in some way, though. How else would you know her from the shadow realm?” Dominic shakes his head, clearly not agreeing.
“Maybe she is cursed by Hades with the same curse your family was? Because Hades is certainly part of your bloodline, through Luna.”
“Correct; Luna and I had a son together, which is how the Octavian bloodline continued,” Kaif answers.
“You think they cursed her bloodline?” I ask Dominic.
“Or maybe she is the curse?” Kaif murmurs, peering down at a grimoire he's found, and Dominic looks at him.
“Pardon?” Dominic says, moving toward Kaif. Kaif passes him the grimoire and looks at me. “What is it?” I ask, and Dominic's brows furrow as he reads whatever is on the pages.
“It's time to call on your mother,” Dominic tells me. That is something I'm quite reluctant to do, yet we need answers, and if anyone knows where Temperance's bloodline comes from or how she is linked to any of this, it's my mother.
ChapterThirty-Five
Rose
Casen shut the door in my face. I stand there for a few seconds staring at the wood paneling. Casen's words replay in my mind. “You choose whose side you're taking, and until you choose the right one, you don't get her back! You know where I am when you want me to handle him for you.” Like a broken record. My heart thuds in my chest wildly.
“Maybe we could… He's back, he can…” Poppy, my wolf starts to say.
