Chapter 584: Seeds and Shadows

The air in the room was thick, a heavy quiet that clung to the walls. Outside, the faint murmur of the pack seemed distant, almost nonexistent. Brynhild, Ronan, and Jarek stood in a loose triangle, each of them trying to digest the knowledge that had just been revealed.

Brynhild’s gaze settled on Jarek, calm and analytical, though her hands were folded tightly in front of her. "Do you... know how to cultivate it?" she asked quietly.

Jarek shook his head slowly, a faint shadow crossing his face. "No," he admitted. "I don’t know how to cultivate it. Only people who’ve studied it properly can grow it. The plant... it doesn’t simply obey the hand that plants it. It has its own will, in a way. You have to understand its habits, its weaknesses, its... hunger. Only then can you make it grow."

"I’m curious, can it be grown anywhere else?" Ronan asked. "We were told it only grows in the West." 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Jarek gave him a strange look. "Of course it can. That’s what people don’t understand. Victoria just monopolized it, made it appear as though the plant only obeyed her gardens. But there’s another garden, the one those at the black market actually use. It’s at the border between the West and the North, a bit too far from the black market too."

Ronan frowned at that. How was it that they did not know something like that? Or perhaps Tobias did?

"But it’s dangerous," Jarek added.

"Dangerous how?" Brynhild prompted.

"Dangerous because no one who goes there... comes back alive." Jarek’s voice lowered, almost a whisper, though the weight behind his words made it impossible to ignore. "The garden has one owner. He’s anonymous. He only appears once in a while, sells the corpse plant, but no one knows who he really is. And he’s skilled... almost too skilled. He mixes the plant, cultivates it. If you could find him... you might learn more than you ever could from Victoria’s garden."

Brynhild’s lips pressed into a thin line. "And what is this person’s name?"

Jarek shrugged lightly. "Ghost. Everyone who operates in the black market has an alias, and that’s his. No one knows his name. And no one has been able to identify who he really is."

"He hasn’t been seen for about a month now," Jarek added. "I don’t even know if the garden still stands—or if it was destroyed along with the market. Planting the corpse plant is illegal, after all."

Ronan exhaled, a low, uneasy sound. "Have you... ever dealt with this Ghost yourself?"

Jarek shook his head firmly. "No. Never. I’ve only heard stories. And I don’t intend to go chasing them. The plant isn’t worth dying for."

"But," Jarek added, "there are—or rather there were—rumors that whoever was cultivating the plant was one of Victoria’s warriors."

---

Meanwhile, back in the dungeons, Orion and Kairen were still having a conversation.

Orion’s voice broke the silence first. "What conditions do you need?"

Kairen’s eyes flickered up, cautious but steady. "First... seeds." His voice was quiet, but precise. "And then... dead bodies."

Orion frowned sharply, blinking at him. "Did I hear you correctly?"

Kairen nodded, unflinching. "Yes. Dead bodies. The plant grows on dead bodies."

Orion leaned back, letting out a long breath. "I... see." His brow furrowed as he thought, trying to reconcile the name with the practice. "You said before that the corpse plant isn’t just called that because of what it does or signifies... it’s because of how it’s grown?"

Kairen’s lips pressed into a thin line, and he gave the faintest of nods. "On dead bodies. Specifically, of our kind. That’s why the plant is so potent, why it reacts the way it does. You can’t just plant it in the soil and expect it to obey. It needs... sustenance. Something alive, then something dead. Balance between life and decay."

Orion’s gaze darkened as he absorbed the implications. "Do you know where to get the seeds?"

Kairen tilted his head slightly. "Do you... have dead bodies available to spare?"

Orion’s mouth pressed into a tight line. He shook his head slowly. "No."

Kairen stared at him for a long moment, unblinking. His expression unreadable, yet there was a quiet calculation behind the calm. Then, finally, he spoke. "How about we make a deal?"

Orion’s eyes narrowed slightly. "A deal?"

Kairen’s hands flexed at his knees. "Yes. There’s another way I can get the plants. But..." He hesitated, swallowing before continuing. "You have to promise me something. Treat me as a prisoner... yes, I understand my place. But remove the cuffs. Let me move freely in the dungeon. I promise not to escape."

Orion stared at him with a frown on his face. He had not been expecting that at all.

"You want me to remove the cuffs so you can move freely in the dungeons?" Orion asked him.

Kairen nodded. "Yes. So I can sleep peacefully. I told you before that I didn’t want to go back to the West. I know my place, and like I said, I prefer this place. I’ll give you the information you need if you remove the cuffs."

"How do I trust you?" Orion asked.

"Honestly," Kairen said. "I’m not sure how you trust my words. I was working for your enemy, after all. But I can promise not to hurt anyone in your pack or bring hurt to anyone. I swear I’ll protect your members and everyone in the pack too."

"That’s a rather huge promise." Orion said.

"I know, but I have nothing to lose. My family doesn’t want me, and according to what they say, the best way to get over someone is to get under another." Kairen said.

Orion chuckled at that. "I’m not sure that saying should be used in this context."

Kairen shrugged, lips in a faint smile.

"Alright, I’ll remove the cuffs, if you tell me the information you have." Orion then signaled the guard, who opened the cell and walked in, unlocking the cuffs around Kairen.

Once the guards left, Orion gave Kairen a look. Part of him was waiting for Kairen to attack him, but instead, Kairen just bowed.

"Thank you," he said quietly.

"No need to bow to me. We had a deal. Now tell me what you know." Orion said.

"There’s another garden," Kairen said. "One that’s at the border between the West and the North, and also close to the black market."

Orion stared at Kairen. "How do you know about it?"

"Because I planted it." Kairen gave a self-deprecating laugh. "I needed a place that wouldn’t attract attention but where I could cultivate freely without people knowing I was cultivating the plant."

Just then, Orion’s ears picked up sounds and his nose caught two familiar scents.