Page 107 of Night Fae
"What do you mean?" Caelen demanded.
Leon squared his shoulders, a look of resignation crossing his face. "I know where he'll go next because I'm connected to him. I've been connected to him for years."
A shocked silence fell over the room. Knox was the first to recover, taking a threatening step toward Leon.
"Explain," he growled. "Now."
"It's a long story," Leon said, "but the short version is that Yuri has been sending me visions since I was a child. Visions of Veridia, of all of you." He swallowed hard. "I thought I was imagining them. I thought I was creating these stories in my head."
"Stories?" Daniel stared at Leon.
Leon turned to him, genuine regret in his eyes. "I'm N.N., Daniel. I wrote 'Monsters of Veridia.'"
Daniel staggered back as if struck. "You... what? How is that possible?"
"I didn't know what was happening," Leon insisted. "I just had these vivid dreams, these visions of another world. I wrote them down, turned them into stories. I never imagined they were real."
"But they were," Knox said coldly. "And by writing them, by spreading them to readers on Earth, you helped weaken the barriers between worlds."
Adrian stepped between them, one hand on Knox's chest. "Let him explain."
Leon took a deep breath. "The visions started when I was a child. Fragments at first… glimpses of strange creatures and fantastical landscapes. As I got older, they became more detailed. I saw people... events... entire lives unfolding." His gaze flickered to Knox, then Caelen. "Your lives."
"Yuri sent you these visions," Lyrian stated, keeping a wary distance.
"I didn't know that then. I thought I had an overactive imagination. Writing them down was... therapeutic. Publishing them was never the plan, but a friend found my manuscript and insisted... I didn't really think the story would catch on the way it did when I put it online…" Leon trailed off, seeing the accusation in their faces.
Daniel shook his head, betrayal etched across his features. "Why N.N? Those are not your initials. Or are they? What else have you been lying about?"
"They're not my initials." Leon met Daniel's gaze. "It was an internet name. I chose it for my pets. Nutmeg and Nugget."
Malik stared at Leon.
How couldthatbe the answer to the mystery they'd been trying to solve all this time?
Before anyone could say any more, a palace guard burst into the chamber, face pale beneath his helm. "Your Majesty! Reports from the borders. Territories are vanishing across Veridia!"
"We already know that," Caelen said. "What else do you have to report?"
"Your majesty, it's worse than it used to be."
Knox cursed under his breath. "The barrier collapse is accelerating."
Another messenger arrived, breathing hard from running. "My lords—half the Night Court territory has disappeared into nothingness. Refugees are flooding south."
Zev tensed beside Malik, his violet eyes darkening. "My father and grandmother won't sit idle while their lands vanish."
"They'll be looking for someone to blame," Knox agreed grimly.
Leon closed his eyes, his expression distant. After a moment, they snapped open. "I can sense him. Yuri. He's... he's been working his way inward, destabilizing outer points first."
He moved to the map spread across the table. His finger traced a spiral pattern inward across Veridia. "The Barrier Temple is at the center. If he destabilizes that nexus, all worlds will begin to merge."
"When?" Caelen asked.
Leon's face paled. "Soon. I can feel his anticipation. But he's not there yet, he's..." Leon held his head as if suddenly hit with stabbing pain.
Adrian moved to his side. "Is everything okay?"
