Page 79 of Chasing Stripes

“Better?” he murmured, his voice too low for anyone but her to hear.

She nodded, leaning subtly into his strength.

Thora prowled the perimeter of the room, her sabertooth shifter instincts making her restless. “Standing around won’t solve anything. We need to locate the ritual site before the eclipse begins. What does your mother’s journal say? Can I see it?”

“Aunt Tilly has it. She wanted to study it for a bit. I read it front to back and still have questions. Can’t we just search the tunnels on our own?”

“If only it were that simple,” Artair countered, the bear shifter’s massive frame dwarfing the chair he occupied. “The tunnels beneath Enchanted Falls extend for miles.”

Kalyna nodded, her fox-shifter eyes gleaming with concern. “And they’ve placed tracking charms throughout town. The second we mobilize, they’ll know.”

Artemis studied the map, something nagging at the edge of her memory. Her mother’s journal had contained so many details, so many half-remembered passages...

“The fountain,” she whispered, recalling a sketch in the margins of one page.

“What fountain?” Bartek asked, his head tilting toward her.

Before she could elaborate, the bakery door flew open with such force that the bell clattered wildly against the glass. Everyone tensed, magic and shifter energy surging defensively before they recognized Tilly rushing inside, clutching the worn leather book to her chest.

“I’ve found it!” Her normally calm voice trembled with excitement as she hurried toward them, loose strands of hair escaping her usually perfect bun. “The missing piece. It was in your mother’s journal all along.”

Artemis stared at the familiar tome her aunt placed reverently on the table, her heart constricting. She’d read those pages dozens of times since discovering the journal, yet Tilly looked as though she’d unearthed buried treasure.

“What did you find?”

Tilly’s flour-dusted fingers trembled as she opened the journal to a marked page, pointing to what appeared to be simple decorative flourishes along the margins. “These aren’t just embellishments. Look at the pattern they form across consecutive pages.”

Artemis leaned closer, Bartek’s solid presence at her shoulder as they both studied the tiny markings. What she’d always dismissed as her mother’s artistic tendencies suddenly revealed themselves as something far more deliberate – a series of interlocking symbols that formed...

“Coordinates,” she breathed, recognition dawning. “They point to the town square.”

“Specifically,” Tilly added, her voice dropping to a near-whisper, “beneath the central fountain.”

Rust shook his head, skepticism evident in his posture. “We’ve scanned the town square repeatedly. There’s nothing unusual there.”

“Except,” Tilly countered, tapping a passage in the journal, “the fountain was renovated exactly one month after your parents died.” Her eyes met Artemis’s, gentle but unflinching. “The original foundation stones were replaced.”

SEVENTY

The implication hit Artemis like a physical blow. Her fingers curled into her palms, nails biting into flesh. “Someone deliberately covered up whatever was hidden there.”

“Or created access to it,” Bartek added, his voice a low rumble that she felt through their connection more than heard.

The golden patterns beneath her clothing pulsed in response to her distress, warmth spreading across her skin. Bartek’s hand found hers, fingers intertwining naturally.

“We need to check the town records,” Rust decided, reaching for his phone. “Find out who authorized?—”

“No need,” interrupted a hollow voice from the doorway. “I can tell you exactly who approved it.”

As one, they turned to find Alaric Nightbourne standing at the threshold. The vampire elder, normally the epitome of supernatural aristocratic grace, looked almost unrecognizable. His impeccable suit hung from his frame as though he’d lost significant weight overnight. Dark hollows shadowed his eyes, and his ordinarily styled hair fell lank across his forehead.

Most disturbing of all – his hands trembled, fingers twitching as though seeking something to grasp.

“Where have you been?” Rust demanded, taking an aggressive step forward before Kalyna placed a restraining hand on his arm.

Artemis studied the vampire, her fae senses detecting something beyond physical exhaustion. His magical aura flickered weakly like a candle guttering in a draft.

“He’s been drained,” she said quietly, drawing everyone’s attention. “Magically depleted.”

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