Chapter 251: Episode 251.
Wolf Realm:
One hour.
Sixty minutes.
Three thousand, six hundred seconds.
To most people, it was nothing.
To the Wolf Realm, it had become the longest hour any of them in the chamber had ever endured. The clearing surrounding the ancient basin remained frozen in complete silence.
No one had left.
No one wanted to be the person who wasn’t there when Aire returned.
The silver glow that had erupted from the basin an hour earlier had faded almost completely. Only faint ribbons of light still drifted beneath the water, disappearing almost as quickly as they appeared.
The portal had closed.
The ritual had succeeded.
The witches had sworn it.
So...
Where was she?
Not a single person could answer.
Nate still knelt beside the basin exactly where he’d fallen after Alaric reached Aire through the bond.
His hand rested on the smooth stone rim. He hadn’t moved, or spoken a word for an hour now.
He barely breathed, and his eyes never left the still water. Every few seconds his fingers twitched unconsciously, as though expecting another ripple.
He needed another voice, or a sound.
Behind him, Xander paced back and forth. His boots carved restless lines into the damp earth. He took in rapid breaths as he looked into the basin for a minute, waiting.
When nothing happened, he started pacing again. Across the clearing, the witches stood together in uneasy silence.
None of them looked particularly confident anymore.
Earlier, they had been sure, and celebrating.
The basin had erupted, signalling the portal had opened. The ritual that had taken centuries to reconstruct had actually worked.
Aire had answered.
They had all felt it.
Now, an hour later, every single one of them was beginning to question everything. One of the younger witches swallowed nervously.
"It should have happened already." A witch murmured.
King Elijah stood with both hands clasped behind his back. He had remained silent for almost the entire hour.
His expression had hardened with every passing minute.
Finally, he spoke. "I warned you. I warned all three of you." He said quietly. "I warned every one of you." His voice raised slightly, with anger standing around.
His eyes settled on his sons. "I told you not to trust the Light Fae."
Silence answered him.
"They have stolen from wolves before." His jaw tightened. "They have lied before. They lie every single time they get involved in something."
Another pause.
"And today..." He looked back toward the silent basin. "...they’ve done it again."
Xander stopped pacing. He shook his head. "That’s impossible. They don’t have an issue with Aire."
Elijah looked at him. "You think so?"
"The portal worked just as they promised." He replied softly. "Then Aire crossed."
"She did."
"So she should be here."
Another silence.
Xander’s breathing became uneven. "Unless—" His words died. He refused to finish the thought.
Elijah finished it for him. "Unless someone intercepted her."
Several witches looked away.
No one wanted to admit it because if the king was right, then Aire hadn’t escaped. She’d been taken.
Again.
Alaric finally moved slightly.
He lifted one hand from the basin. Everyone turned toward him immediately. He slowly pressed his fingers against the mark over his heart, and closed his eyes.
The bond remained. It was faint. Almost impossibly faint.
But it existed.
Which meant... He exhaled quietly.
"She’s alive." He whispered softly. "She doesn’t feel threatened."
Nate’s head snapped upward. He covered his face with one trembling hand. His knees nearly gave way.
Xander crossed the clearing in three long strides.
"What?"
Alaric opened his eyes. "The bond." His voice remained strangely calm. "Whrre she’s at does not feel threatening."
Hope returned so suddenly it almost hurt.
Nate stood so quickly he nearly stumbled.
"You can tell the emotional stability of her surrounding?"
Alaric nodded once. "Barely." His brow furrowed. "It feels..." He searched for the words. "...blocked."
Xander frowned.
"I’ve never experienced anything like this before." He looked back toward the basin. "I know she’s breathing, and I know she crossed."
His jaw tightened.
"But..." He looked frustrated for the first time. "I can’t find her. All I know is that where ever she’s at, she wouldn’t be harmed."
Nate’s heart broke.
The youngest witch stepped closer to the basin. She touched the surface of the water. It remained perfectly still.
"Come back..." she whispered.
Another elder witch joined her, then another. Soon seven witches surrounded the basin once more.
They began whispering among themselves.
"The ritual was completed."
"There was no interruption."
"The portal remained stable."
"The connection held."
"Then why—"
"The destination changed."
Every conversation stopped.
The oldest witch slowly turned.
"What did you say?"
The younger witch looked terrified she’d spoken aloud.
"I..." She swallowed. "It wasn’t impossible."
Every eye settled on her.
She took a shaky breath.
"If another realm possessed a stronger claim over the one travelling..." She hesitated. "...the destination could theoretically shift."
The clearing became deathly quiet.
King Elijah stepped forward. "Theoretically?"
She nodded weakly. "We’ve never seen it happen."
Nate frowned. "What determines a stronger claim?" He asked curiously.
The witch looked uncomfortable. "Blood."
She continued. "Ancient blood, or older magic. And..." She looked toward Alaric. "...ancestral authority."
Xander’s stomach dropped.
The witch slowly nodded.
"If another bloodline claimed Aire more completely than ours..." Her voice became quieter. "...the portal wouldn’t choose us."
"It would choose them."
The realization hit everyone at once.
The Light Fae.
King Elijah’s face darkened.
"I knew it." His voice thundered across the clearing. "I knew those bastards would find a way."
The witches exchanged alarmed looks.
"My King—"
He raised one hand. "They have waited centuries for this opportunity." His eyes blazed with anger. "The moment that portal opened, they took her."
Alaric remained silent.
Something about that explanation didn’t feel right.
He couldn’t explain why. But if she’d been taken against her will...
Why hadn’t the bond shattered completely? Why could he still feel her? It felt as if something else had happened. He just didn’t know what.
He looked once more toward the silent basin.
His fingers curled into fists.