Page 54 of Beyond the Treaty

I barely paid attention to their exchange. My grip on the crimson tome tightened as I turned my gaze towards the horizon.

Ebonshade Keep.

Kaelen must be hiding in his castle, somewhere the Council wouldn’t step near.

I exhaled sharply and followed behind Azrael and Darius. The journey back to Azrael’s Keep was silent.

The weight of the Blood-Bound revelation bore down on

my chest, and regardless of how many times I attempted to steady my thoughts, the same truth reverberated in my mind. Kaelen was never destined to survive alone. And now he

was drifting further away.

The air grew hotter as we approached the Keep, the massive

obsidian fortress looming against the night sky. Memories, such as the kiss and the urge to go further with Azrael, flash through my mind. To completely give myself to him. How I wish that it had now happened. Now, I don’t know if we will ever be alone again.

Darius let out a groan. “You know, for once, I wouldn’t mind an actual bed instead of the ground or a patch of grass.”

I ignored him, my gaze flickering up towards the part of the Keep where Azrael and I shared the night.

As I stepped forward, a figure approached, one of Azrael’s captains, a man with greying hair and a scar that traversed his jaw.

“My Lord,” he said to Azrael with a brisk nod. “There has been activity in the barren lands.”

Azrael tensed. “What sort of movement?”

The captain’s expression darkened. “Scouts report a gather- ing near the North West of the lands, near Ebonshade Keep.

They move like the Council’s forces, but there is something different about them.”

My stomach writhed. “The darkness? Could it be?”

Azrael’s eyes darted to me and then to Darius. “We haven’t much time.”

Darius sighed, running a hand down his face. “Of course we don’t.”

Azrael turned sharply and strode into the keep. I followed without hesitation, the crimson tome still clutched tightly to my chest.

Azrael led us to the room where me and him discussed the tome and what would be at stake.

He exhaled slowly, running a hand through his hair before facing me. “You must inform me of everything the messenger said. Every word.”

I nodded, stepping forward. “He said Kaelen is breaking. The Blood-Bound curse was intended to keep him stable and preserve himself.” I swallowed hard. “And if we don’t find him before the crimson moon, we shall lose him forever.”

Azrael’s jaw clenched. “Then we shan’t wait for the Council to make their next move.”

Darius scoffed. “And what, precisely, do you propose? Shall we storm into Ebonshade Keep and politely request that Kaelen should come with us? What if he is already transitioning?”

Azrael shot him a glance. “We’re not going in blind. We’ll find a way in without announcing our presence.”

I placed the crimson tome on the table, my fingers following the runes still shifting across its cover. “The book guided us before; perhaps it can do so again.”

Azrael frowned but acquiesced. “Give it a go.”

I inhaled deeply, pressing my palm against the cover. The instant my skin met the leather, warmth surged through my fingers, racing up my arm. The runes began to glow, shifting into new patterns, with words forming before my eyes.

Darius leaned in closer. “Well? What does it say?”

---