Page 205 of A Warrior's Fate

Ironic how the entire bloodline and said reputation now rested solely on his shoulders.

“So why wouldn’t anyone say something when he became alpha?” Isla inquired.

Jonah tipped his head, considering. “Sometimes, questions hold the best answers.”

Isla gritted her teeth as she quickly put the pieces together.

They didn’t want Kai to know—Ezekiel and whoever else was privy to the information. But why hide it?

And better yet, why had the killer been so adamant about making them see?

What was there to see?

No more questions. No more questions.

Isla crossed the room to Jonah and dropped the diadem’s jewel on the table with a clunk so loud, so heavy, that it made them all start. At her back, as if they’d already dealt enough with what Jonah was working through and maybe fearing her, just the slightest bit, everyone returned to their own doings.

“So that’s it.”

The last piece.

He didn’t ask how she’d gotten it. Rhydian and Ameera must’ve filled him in on everything.

Isla nodded towards his spread. “What have you found?”

Jonah rose from his seat and sifted a tome from the highest of his multiple stacks. The leather was worn, and the cover skin raised in places. Whatever was written was too faded for her to decipher. He opened it up to a page riddled with dark writing and symbols. Symbols she recognized—but also not at all.

“What threw me off at first was the messages.” Now he pulled at one of the papers she’d sketched on. “There isn’t just one thing to pull from here, but three.” He traced his finger over the symbols she’d scribbled down from the alleyway, focusing on one whorl. “This isn’t any type of language, but a rune—or, at least, an attempt at one.”

Isla’s stomach bottomed out. “A rune? Like from a witch?”

“Yes, but it’s incorrect enough to tell me that whoever sketched it had no idea what they were doing.”

Easily explained. “I copied it. What if I’m the one who messed it up?”

“It’s more than a mistake from duplication. It’s just wrong, but close enough to this—” He pointed to a symbol in the tome, several of them, and then motioned to certain glyphs copied onto the paper. “It’s for protection—all of them are, in some way—but I doubt whoever left them for you is magically inclined and meant to use them.”

“How do you know?”

“Because if they cast this rune with it depicted incorrectly, either they or the surrounding area would’ve been turned inside out.” Isla went wide-eyed, trying to picture what that would look like. “Ill-practiced spell work is no joke from what I’ve read. Witch magic has limits, costs, and if it’s not respected…it’s not pleasant.”

It sounded like it. Curiosity beckoned her. Maybe she’d do a bit more digging herself into those of the other continent.

But for now—

“So, they…copied it themselves?” she asked.

“Or tried to draw them from memory because they knew them or had seen them somewhere.”

Isla quieted, taking in the information before gesturing back to the message. “What’s the rest, then?”

Jonah pointed to the symbols also in the book she’d gotten from Lukas, on the markers. “This is a language, but it’s old. Very old. Nearly pre-dating written record, which is odd.” He paused, and Isla raised her brows, urging him to continue. “This is a journal that belonged to Alpha Aneurin.”

A journal?

Though that was shock enough, the name didn’t ring any bells. “And that is?”

“The final Alpha of Phobos. The one in power and killed alongside his people during the decimation.” Jonah heaved a breath, placing a hand on his hip as he looked at his haul. “That took me all damn night to figure out.”

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