SERAPHINA’S POV

Neither Kieran nor I slept after the dream.

By morning, the atmosphere had shifted into something sharper and heavier, as though war itself had crossed our borders and quietly settled into the walls.

I felt the weight of imminent conflict pressing closer, changing not just the atmosphere but everyone inside it.

Movement echoed through every hallway before sunrise had fully broken over the horizon.

Warriors passed in organized streams, carrying weapons and supply cases, while voices from nearby rooms overlapped in hurried discussions. Reports changed hands constantly. Messengers moved between floors without pause.

Even the courtyard below had transformed, with vehicles, equipment crates, and rows of armed warriors filling the open space.

I stood in the strategy room with both hands braced against the edge of the long table, staring down at the map projected beneath me.

The Maldives spread across the surface in glowing fragments of blue and green.

Thousands of islands.

Thousands of places to hide.

Closing my eyes, I let the world around me soften.

I reached inward first.

Mother’s voice echoed quietly through my memory.

‘Don’t reach like a hand. Reach like breath.’

The silver markings along my back warmed.

Beneath the countless distant threads of emotion and life I had learned not to drown beneath, I found the familiar pulse hidden far away.

The mark I had left on Jack pulsed against my awareness like a heartbeat buried beneath water.

Faint, distant, but there. Salt, ocean, islands. Witchcraft.

Darkness.

My eyes opened.

"Still there?" Corin asked quietly.

I looked up to find everyone watching me, tension sparking in their eyes, anticipation sharp in the silent room.

Kieran stood across the table with his arms folded over his chest, his expression unreadable but tense around the edges.

Christian stood beside the windows with his hands behind his back while Ethan leaned against the far wall near Maya.

Alois sat flipping through notes and documents while Brett and Maris stood together nearby.

Maxwell had one shoulder against the wall, his alert expression in contrast with the ease of his posture.

"Yes," I said quietly. "The mark hasn’t shifted."

Tension settled over the room—a heavy, shared relief mixed with rising anxiety—because everyone understood what that meant.

Jack was there.

Margaret was there.

Catherine was there.

Possibly Marcus.

Possibly Lucian.

My chest tightened at the thought, and I pushed it away before it could settle too deeply.

Kieran broke the silence first.

"We move today."

Simple, absolute words.

His gaze shifted toward the map.

"Catherine likes controlling the battlefield. She likes information, preparation, and traps. She expects people to react exactly how she predicts."

Corin crossed his arms.

"Which means she probably doesn’t expect us kicking down her front door."

Alois looked up from his notes with a tired sigh.

"Let’s not reduce invading an underground magical research facility run by a highly dangerous psychopath into ’kicking down her front door.’"

Corin waved his hand dismissively. “Semantics.”

I felt my lips twitch, biting back a smile as Alois shot Corin an exasperated eye roll.

Then Maya’s voice cut through the room.

“No.”

Everyone turned.

Maya stood near the doorway with her arms folded tightly across her chest, glaring directly at Ethan like she was weighing which way was best to murder him.

"No?" Ethan echoed.

"No."

Ethan crossed his arms.

"Maya. You are not going."

Maya crossed her arms too, her eyes shining with defiance. “I am absolutely going.”

Ethan sighed, his exasperation weighing on his shoulders. “You’re pregnant.”

Maya looked offended. “So what? A three-week-old pregnancy is going to negate years of being a warrior?”

“You heard what the healer said yesterday,” Ethan said, “your pregnancy is unstable. You’re being irresponsible if you ignore it.”

Maya blinked.

Then narrowed her eyes.

"Irresponsible?"

Ethan seemed to realize, a second too late, what he had implied.

"Oh, he messed up," Corin murmured beside me.

Very much so.

Maya took one slow step forward.

"I’ve fought rogues, witches, assassins, and corrupted wolves."

Another step.

"I’ve survived being stabbed and shot and poisoned."

Ethan stood his ground.

"I know."

"And now suddenly I’m helpless?"

His voice softened slightly. "No, Maya."

"I’m pregnant, Ethan. I’m not dying."

Ethan pushed himself away from the wall.

"Nobody said you were dying."

"You all keep looking at me like I’m made of glass."

"No one is doing that."

Maya’s gaze shifted to the small audience they’d gathered.

Everyone looked away—Maris bit her lip, Brett fiddled with his sleeve, and Corin stared so hard at a crack in the wall he barely blinked.

But I kept my gaze on my best friend, clearing my throat softly. "Maya."

Her eyes snapped toward me, anger and disbelief flickering there. “Not you too.”

I walked toward her slowly. "I know you aren’t weak."

Her expression softened only slightly, uncertainty flickering amid her anger as she registered my intent.

"But right now, this isn’t only about you anymore. We can’t risk anything happening to the precious pup you’re carrying.”

Her jaw tightened. She looked away from me entirely.

I reached for her hand.

"Besides, we need someone we trust here," I said quietly. "Daniel’s here. OTS is here. The people who aren’t fighting are here."

Ethan moved beside her and took her other hand. “And I’m not leaving you. We’ll stay together and hold the rear.”

Maya swallowed, pride and defiance lowering as vulnerability and hesitation emerged.

For several moments, she didn’t say anything.

Then she muttered under her breath, "You assholes all better come back in one piece.”

This time, I did smile.

Because beneath the frustration, anger, and stubbornness tightening her features, I recognized the true emotion rising: fear.

Not for herself.

Fear for us.

Fear of staying behind and waiting.

Because sometimes waiting on the sidelines was harder than stepping into the fight itself.

***

I found Daniel sitting outside my room not long afterward.

He sat with his back against the wall, his knees pulled toward his chest, staring down at the floor in silence.

My heart squeezed at the sight of him.

"Hi, baby.”

His head lifted, and the moment he saw me, he stood.

I crossed the distance between us and pulled him into my arms before I even thought about it.

He hugged me back instantly, tighter than he had in a long while.

For a long moment, neither of us spoke. I simply held him, listening to the steady beat of his heart.

"You have to come back," he said quietly.

My throat tightened.

I pulled back enough to look at him.

"I will."

His eyes dropped.

“You have to promise,” his voice was barely audible. “I can’t...I can’t lose you.”

Pain spread quietly through my chest as I thought of all the times I’d had to let him go and trust that he would be safe, and that he was coming back to me.

“I promise,” I said, intertwining our fingers. “You will never lose me.”

His fingers tightened around mine.

"I had a dream."

Cold dread settled immediately inside me.

"What kind of dream?"

Daniel frowned. "I don’t know; couldn’t see much."

My pulse started beating harder.

"It was dark. But I saw stars."

I stared at him, my mind immediately turning over possibilities.

Daniel shook his head. "I don’t know what it means."

Neither did I.

But like mine, Daniel’s dreams didn’t mean nothing.

I crouched in front of him and pressed my forehead gently against his.

I reached into my pocket, and when I opened my palm between us, his compass glinted in the late afternoon light.

"I’ll come back," I whispered.

His eyes fixed on the tiny device, hope and fear flickering together, and he nodded, his throat bobbing with emotion.

Kieran appeared beside us moments later. “If anyone is interested, I plan on coming back, too.”

Daniel looked at his father and immediately threw himself at him.

Kieran caught him effortlessly and held him against his chest.

Daniel buried his face into Kieran’s shoulder.

"You better," he mumbled.

Kieran kissed the top of his head. "We’ll be back before you miss us."

No hesitation. No doubt.

Just unwavering certainty.

Daniel nodded slowly.

Then let go.

Hours later, we stood outside near the aircraft waiting beyond Nightfang’s grounds.

Rows of warriors stood assembled nearby, handpicked from Nightfang, Frostbane, Seabreeze, OTS, and every allied territory willing to walk into hell with us.

I looked back one last time.

Daniel stood beside Maya and Ethan while Christian remained behind them, watching silently.

Protecting home.

Kieran’s hand found mine, and I squeezed it.

Then I turned toward the horizon.

Toward Margaret.

Toward Catherine.

Toward the darkness hidden beneath beautiful waters.

The silver mark inside me pulsed—as if it already knew where we were going. As if it had been waiting for me to follow.

"Let’s bring them home," I whispered.

We weren’t waiting for Catherine anymore.

We were coming for her.