Chapter 148
ATASHA’S POV
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“So…” I couldn’t finish the thought. The words stuck somewhere between disbelief and realization. My mind was spinning, piling one question on top of another until I didn’t know which one to start with.
If someone was feeding strangers into the North, then for what purpose? To gain power? To watch us? To destroy us from within? And why now, after years of silence?
If these so–called heirs were fake, who placed them? Was it the same person who cursed the northern bloodlines? Could they be connected to the witch Sister Veris mentioned?
And then another thought hit me harder than the rest.
The Red Moon.
Cassian’s condition during that time. Was it truly the curse’s effect on his bloodline, or something else? The timing lined up too closely. The Red Moon, the stillbirths, the false heirs. Could all of it be part of one design?
My pulse quickened. Someone had schemed to let Cassian stay within the borders, to not let him leave the gates. Someone wanted him to reveal his secret to the public. And now… this?
I looked at him, wondering if he was thinking the same. His expression hadn’t changed, but the muscle in his jaw flexed. He was listening.
“Did you have those people investigated?” I asked finally, turning to Sister Veris.
“I did,” she said, nodding. “When you arrived with the children you rescued, I thought they were simply victims you had saved. But lately… their names, their stories, they’ve spread all over the North.”
Her words made me tense. “What do you mean?”
“Did you know,” she said slowly. “That all of them turned out to be exceptional in their chosen fields? Aries, Rico, the others, they’re thriving. Some have become skilled soldiers, others trained as healers or apothecaries. Even the smallest ones show unusual progress.”
I blinked, remembering their faces, the children who had once trembled in the dark, the ones who barely spoke when we brought them back. “Are you saying that they-”
Sister Veris lifted a hand to stop me. “No, my Lady. Don’t misunderstand me. I am not accusing them of anything. I only mean that their presence reminded me of something. They share certain traits with these supposed heirs. Their sharp instincts, unusual endurance, talent that borders on unnatural for their age. Each one can impress anyone who thinks they are their heirs. When I looked deeper, I learned that many of the children you saved were meant to be sent west before your intervention.”
My grip on the cup tightened. “Yes, they were.”
“Yes,” she said. “Records show that traders and escorts were scheduled to transport them out before you intercepted the group. That’s when I began to suspect there might be a connection. The false heirs we traced, they also came from the west. The pattern overlaps.”
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Chapter 148
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My mind flashed to my father. I had always believed those children were meant to be used as sacrifices for witches‘ rituals, offerings to strengthen their power. But what if I was wrong?
What if those children weren’t meant to die… but to become something else?
A cold weight settled in my chest. “You think they were being raised for a very specific purpose,” I murmured.
Sister Veris’s lips pressed together. “I don’t know what they were meant to become. But someone is rebuilding something. Perhaps an order, a lineage, or an army. And they’re using bloodlines to do it.”
Cassian leaned forward slightly. “And whoever it is,” he said. “They’re using the west to hide their tracks.”
Sister Veris nodded once. “Exactly.”
I stared at the steam rising from my cup. The curse on the bloodline, the sudden appearance of false heirs, the movement of children toward the west, it all fit together too neatly. Someone was tampering with the North’s future, rewriting it piece by piece.
I looked up again, meeting Cassian’s eyes. “Then whoever is behind this… they’ve been planning it for a long time.” They must have been. This isn’t something that someone could do in a matter of months. This takes generations. Years of planning and executing it, making sure that everything is clean to avoid suspicions.
“But you are here,” Sister Veris’s words interrupted my stupor. I looked at the older woman. “The north still has hope.”
When I said nothing, she continued. “I implore the Lady of the North to heal our bodies,” she said.
“Give me your wrist,” I said. Sadly, I have no experience in healing or even detecting curses. But there isn’t a reason for me not to try.
Sister Veris extended her wrist without hesitation. I took it gently, feeling the faint pulse beneath my fingertips. Then, I closed my eyes and let my ability flow, the familiar hum spreading from my palm into her arm and deeper through her body.
I traced her veins, bones, the rhythm of her heart, searching for anything that didn’t belong. I tried looking for an imbalance, a disruption, a trace of poison or curse. But all I found was strength. Her body was healthy, stable, the same as any werewolf who’d lived decades without illness.
When I finally opened my eyes, I shook my head. “There’s nothing,” I said quietly. “You’re completely fine. I- I couldn’t sense anything problematic within your body.”
Sister Veris nodded slowly, as if she had already known the answer. “I expected that,” she murmured, standing. “Please, follow me, my Lady.”
Cassian and I exchanged a look before following her down the narrow corridor that led deeper into the cabin. The air grew colder the farther we went. At the end of the hallway, Sister Veris pushed open a door.
Inside was a small room with a single bed against the wall. A woman lay there, motionless, her skin pale and thin as paper. Her breathing was shallow, her hair damp against her temples. The room smelled faintly of herbs and something metallic, old medicine and decay. It smelled of death.
15:58 Tue, Oct 21
Chapter 148
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Sister Veris stepped to the side of the bed. “This is my cousin’s daughter,” she said quietly. “She was the last hope of our line. A pure–blooded Briarholt. Strong when she arrived from the capital, stronger than anyone her age. But after she came north, she fell ill. It started with rashes, then fever. Soon after, she couldn’t walk and then she stopped talking. Now, she can barely breathe.”
Her voice didn’t shake, but her fingers trembled as she brushed the woman’s hair aside. “We’ve tried every tonic, every healer. Nothing worked. I had her brought here when she lost consciousness. It’s been three months.”
I swallowed hard, staring at the woman’s frail form. “And she’s the only one left carrying your bloodline.”
Sister Veris nodded. “Yes. The others have all died or failed to conceive. She was our last chance.”
Without another word, I stepped closer and took the woman’s wrist. I closed my eyes again and let my ability to move through her veins. It was like entering a dying flame, flickering, unsteady, almost gone.
Her organs were failing one after another. The sickness had already spread through her lungs and heart, draining what little strength remained. I searched deeper, hoping to sense something unnatural, any sign of an external curse or tampering. But there was nothing. No trace of dark magic, no corruption. Just a body breaking under the weight of its own weakness.
opened my eyes slowly. “I can heal her,” I said, my voice low. “But I don’t sense anything foreign inside her failing body.”
Sister Veris’s eyes filled with something close to desperation. She bowed her head. “Then please,” she said, her voice barely holding together. “I beg you, Your Highness. Heal her. She is all we have left”
I hesitated, my gaze lingering on the woman’s still form. Her breaths were faint, barely there, but as long as she was still breathing, there was a chance. I drew a quiet breath and nodded. “I’ll do what I can.”
I placed my hand on her chest and let my ability flow. The faint light spread beneath my fingers, sinking into her skin. At first, it felt normal, the steady rhythm of life returning, the warmth seeping back into a dying body.
But then… something shifted.
