Chapter 60

Asher's Point Of View

Having to leave her once again was killing me on the inside. I didn't want to be even a second away from her. Not now, of all times, when I just got her back.

For the sake of everyone within those doors, this better be worth my time.

I heard Ryker growl within the corner walls of my mind, but Azalea strangely kept quiet.

I sauntered into the court, expecting to walk into one of the Conclave meetings. But instead, I found only Daemon seated in the Courtroom, going through a pile of files.

My eyes narrowed on Daemon at the head of the table, and his obsidian eyes lifted to me. They seemed troubled and worried. This was serious.

I walked closer to one of the empty seats at the table.

“You wanted me here,” I said, settling on the seat, my voice breaking through the silence.

Daemon cleared his throat, his eyes swiftly sweeping through papers in his hands as he dropped them back into the file.

“And I'm glad you came. I know you'd prefer to be next to your mate instead but there's something important I need to tell you,”

“Okay, what's going on?”

His gaze went back to the papers on the table and he gently passed them over.

As I went through the papers, all I could see were reports and high numbers of missing humans from around the coast.

My eyes came back to Daemon's. “Still missing humans! You said you'd take care of this.”

“I did,” My uncle said. “And we did find and rescue some humans. But not all of them could be saved, and now these abductions have only gotten worse.”

“Of course it has. Whoever is behind this monstrosity is creating an army of abnormalities. And they are after the Conclave for whatever reason I'm still damn not sure of, and now these innocent humans are paying for it.”

“That’s why I called you Asher.” I huffed as the words left Daemon's lips, standing up from my seat, and pacing around. “This is way bigger than you imagine,”

I stopped at the pillar in the center of the court. “Tell me something that isn't obvious at this point.”

“Listen!” His voice thickened, and I turned around to see lines of worry edged in on his face. “This is bigger than you think, Asher. He's not only after the Conclave. He's also after you.” He sent his fingers through his hair, sighing almost in frustration and resolve. “Precisely you,”

A wave of silence stalked through the air for a minute before he continued. “A month ago, there was an escape from Abalon.”

The sudden news stilled every muscle in me. “Abalon?” I repeated, hoping to have heard wrong.

Abalon was the highest level of prison that existed in the fiery pit of Abyss in our realm. Only first-order demons who were considered ferals and had committed a grave crime were ever held there. Hence, there was no fucking way someone, even a first-order demon, could have escaped from there.

“Escape from Abalon? How is that even possible?” I asked, returning to the table where he was seated.

“It shouldn't be.” He answered sternly before a chuckle left his lips, but it wasn't one of amusement but of sparking fury. “But then again, when it comes to Zayden, nothing's ever impossible.”

“Who was it?”

Daemon's obsidian eyes pulled up to mine. “Zayden.” He whispered the name with much venom laced in his voice. “A royal prisoner and a first-order demon. He was once a member of the Kroma Conclave.”

Fuck. I arched my brows in realization. “He's the master, isn't he? He's responsible for the human abductions.”

Daemon nodded once. “That's right,”

I shut my eyes. This kept getting more complicated by the second. A first-order demon turning humans into abnormalities of demons and shifters. This was insane.

“What was his crime?” I asked with my eyes still closed, but when I didn't hear a response from Daemon, my eyes pulled up to him, and I was not prepared for the emotion that swirled in the endless darkness of his orbs.

Something deep inside of me tugged at the silence, and Azalea was almost at the surface.

“Uncle?” I called, standing upright as every piece of me was eager as well as dreaded what he was about to say. “What did he do?”

“He murdered a royal blood,” he said with a face void of all emotions but eyes bearing the weight of his words. “Lucia,”

A cold shiver ghosted through me as everything around me froze for seconds.

“Mum?” I took several steps backward as a series of emotions combusted inside of me. “You can't… It couldn't be... No! It can't be Mum. She died the night I was born. Childbirth, remember?”

“I remember what we told you,” He replied after an eternity of silence. His demeanor was calm, but the storm of emotions in his dark pit was swirling without control. “That was the easiest way to explain her death to you.” He inhaled roughly, running his fingers through his hair again. “Yes, she died that night of your birth, but from a different cause.”

“What the fuck are you saying, uncle?” I growled, brushing back the layers of my hair that had fallen to my face as I struggled to make sense of what he was saying. But there was no making sense of the fact that all this time I had believed I was the reason Mum died that night, and Dad blamed me for it.

“Luca and I never wanted you to find out about this.”

"Oh, for goddess's sake, that's enough,” I said, burning with so much rage.

“It's the truth, Asher. No one blamed you for Lucia's death, not even Luca. He was ridden with so much guilt and blames himself for not being there to protect Lucia when he should have.”

I shut my eyes, fighting off Azalea as he battled for control.

“Zayden was once a ranking member of the Kroma Conclave. A first-order demon who had been betrothed to Lucia, but everything ended when she met Luca and discovered they were mates. Zayden didn't take the rejection as well as we thought. And on the night of your birth, unfortunately, Luca wasn't home, Zayden attacked the pack with his deranged minions with one goal: to kill Luca and the child growing within her. It was his sick way of getting revenge on your father knowing it would tear him apart if something were to happen, Lucia, his mate.”

I clenched my teeth from growling from the Azalea struggle. He was fighting for control and his rage sparked into a vengeful fire, infesting my mind and emotions.

“Lucia fought with every life in her, sending her to induce labor. Unfortunately, by the time Luca and I arrived, it was far too late. We were able to capture Zayden, but it was too late for Lucia, and your name was the last thing on her lips before she died.”

“Luca didn't want you to find out, because there was no point, but with Zayden back, everything changes. He's a loose cannon, we must find him Asher,”

“And this time kill him instead of having him locked up in Abalon for what he did,” I growled, feeling Azalea at the surface, sharing control with me.

“I can understand your demon's rage. He was there that night. But Zayden is not your regular.”

“Why then did you send for me?”

“Because more than wanting the Conclave gone, you are his main target. All these abductions are to build an army to stand against you. And I love you, but you don't stand a chance against Zayden. He's a first-order demon, Asher, and you can barely even keep your demon in control. The only way to stop him and help those humans is for you to stop fighting who you are and accept your rightful place within the Conclave. Let me train you and stop Zayden.”

I ran my hands through the thick strands of my hair, mulling over his words so quickly with a storm of emotions whirling within me and I knew I was left with no other choice to make. Those innocent humans needed to be saved, and Zayden needed to be stopped.

*****

Cirilla's Point Of View

It's been a whirlwind of action since I arrived at the pack. To say my life was in complete disarray wasn't far from the truth. There was so much I had to do and that included finding a way to get Nina back. I was so scared I had lost her for good, but there was a chance I could get her back on the full moon.

Everywhere I went, there were always people staring, or whispering. But the few I've come across seem nice. And that included a group of Theo's friends he had earlier introduced me to. And having Kayla, Dorian, Julia, and Niko around was indeed a blessing. They made it easier to adjust.

I navigated my way from my room down the hallways, pulling my phone out to give Lyra a call. She had left New Orleans late in the afternoon, returning to Oregon. But she wasn't picking up.

I let out a shaky breath at the thought of Asher and I started to message him. I've been feeling quite uneasy since we spoke earlier today and it grew worse over the last few hours since Dad and Mum returned from the meeting with the Council.

I felt a shiver run down my spine at the weird manner it sounded in my head, referring to both the Alpha and Luna as Dad and Mum. It sent a strange feeling to my bones. I didn't know how to react to all of these. Calling them by their titles instead sounded less weird and more appropriate. I've heard enough stories from Kayla and Theo to know they were nice people and I didn't want to hurt their feelings. Though they were my parents, frankly it felt like we all were no more than strangers.

It was already dusk and the last I heard from Mum was the possible location of Ria from the spell the witches at the Council had performed on Kali. Now that explains my anxiousness. The Council must have found her by now but it was taking so long to get any new update.

Gosh, I hated this feeling.

“Who are you texting?” The sharp voice sent an instant rattle in me. I jerked, bumping into the golden-haired figure behind me.

I lost grasp on my phone but Niko managed to catch it before it hit the floor.

“Hmmm. Asher, lucky bastard,” He peered at the screen before handing the phone back to me. “Is he in trouble?”

“No,” I sighed, shoving my phone into the back pocket of my jeans. But something else was wrong. “He's still with Daemon,” I tried to shake my mind off everything he had told me today. “Any news yet?” I asked him, and he knew exactly what I was asking about. And maybe he had heard something since it happened that Niko's grandfather was a member of the Council.

I wouldn't have believed everything Lyra had told me if only it didn't make sense. Niko wasn't as human as I thought he was. He was a fucking Phoenix. I didn't even know what that was until I googled it. He was far different from the rest of us.

“I haven't heard anything from my grandpa yet, but I'm sure there's nothing to worry about,” We successfully reached the bottom of the stairs when I stopped walking, turning to meet Niko’s deep yellowish-orange gaze, and hugging him.

I felt his arms around him, leaning into my embrace. “What's this for?”

“For being here,” I pulled away, “Thank you,”

“You don't have to—”

“I do have to. Lyra told me everything,”

He chuckled in tiny amusement. “Your friend sure has a big mouth,”

I couldn't help but laugh. “It was you, wasn't it?” I didn't need to say further, I could tell from the look in his eyes, that he knew exactly what I was saying. “You were there that night in the woods in Shelburne. You were the one who saved me, and erased my memory,”

“I had to do that. I didn't want to complicate things, back then I thought you were human,”

“I was. At that time, at least,”

“But you drew me, so you remembered,”

“Eventually. What were you doing there?”

“I wasn't sure myself. I felt our connection, Cirilla. You called out to me and all I could think about was finding you,”

His words fell on me with shock. “I don't understand a thing you're saying,”

“It's… It's complicated. We phoenixes are quite different. You and I share a flame. It's a connection to one another. I'm sure somehow you feel it too. We are usually always paired with someone of magical blood, that's why I was very surprised when I thought you were human,”

“Niko, do you rea—” The words got stuck in my throat as I felt the slight trembling in my bones and the unusual air carried a strange feeling. Niko felt it too.

Immediately, we rushed out of the mansion into the night darkness, joining the crowd outside. And not too far from where Niko and I stood, I sighted Mum and a witch friend of hers they called Benjamin.

The disturbing sounds of black owls hooting filled the sky for long seconds, before they began to fall one after the other. Dead.

I could feel the slow beat of my heart, and the dark magic that had breathed to life.

Something bad had happened.

My eyes lifted from the dead owls over to Mum again but her eyes were fixed on the sudden darkness that had covered the sky. And as she turned around to meet my gaze, I was greeted with a mirror reflection of my own emotions.

I was right. Something bad had happened.

Ria. It had to be Ria.

One of the women from earlier, a witch they call Rhona, rushed into the mansion, and Davina followed suit immediately. Without hesitating, I dashed behind them.

They headed straight to the Alpha office on the top floor.

“Dead owls. Dark sky. It's a bloody bad sign, Mitch. They failed,” An angry growl rippled through the air from the Alpha King, sending a ghost of shivers down my spine.

They failed? The Council failed. That meant… Oh my god! Mason got to Ria!

“Rhona, what happened?” The man, Mitch spoke, and my eyes darted to Rhona for an answer.

“The girl is dead,”

I gasped, drawing back against the golden-painted walls as Rhona's voice echoed over and over in my head.

“This cannot be,” Mum began pacing, running a hand through her full hair. “They found the child, what the hell happened?”

“He found her as well,” Silence flooded the room for a minute as Rhona explained.

“And the witches? The Council's army?” Someone else in the room asked.

“All dead. Everyone's dead,”

“He got what he wanted. Mason has his powers back,” My hand covered my lips.

“It wasn't supposed to be like this,” I heard an echo of someone else's voice in the walls of my mind.

“No, it wasn't, if we had worked together,”

“That's not all,” Rhona's voice sounded again and my gaze flicked over to her. She sent a brief sympathetic glance my way, and everyone's puzzled gaze shifted to me for a second.

*What?” Dad moved closer from the window, his voice thick with emotions. “What now?”

“The Council is pissed,”

“And?”

“She's been officially summoned to stand trial before the Council, Cameron,” Rhona stated.

“What bloody Trial? What the hell is going on in their heads!”

Rhona sighed, clearly frustrated. “They are not thinking straight,”

“Sure they aren't! They don't actually think she could have anything to do with what happened,*

“They seem to think so. They believe she's with Idalak,” As Rhona's words filled the room, the implication hung loudly in the air.

My heart began to beat fast. “There's no way I could have told Mason about Ria or her location. I want him dead,”

“You don't have to say a word, they are looking for who to blame for their stupid failures,” Carter said.

“And it's not going to be my daughter. She's not going anywhere,” Mum hissed in rage as she came to stand beside me and instantly I felt a tug in my chest as her eyes connected with mine.

“I second that. We know exactly how things will play out the instant she stands before them,”

“Whether she goes or not, it won't still be enough. They are trying to find the slightest reason to get rid of her because they are scared of what they can't control,” Dad moved to the desk at the corner of the wall, taking a seat. He buried his face in his hands and for a fraction of a second, silence hung in the air.

“They failed. Idalak has his powers now. What do we do?” Benjamin was the first to break the silence.

“The Council is beyond reasoning now. He has his powers, and nothing is stopping him anymore. We must figure out a way to stop him before he ends us all,” Mum replied, another round of silence filled the air.

She was right. There was nothing stopping Mason anymore. He had his powers, and we had nothing, not even the Phoenix blade. Things weren't supposed to end like this.