Chapter 100. Invitation
Leo stood in the interrogation room, his jaw tight, the air thick with tension. "Anything more?" he demanded, his voice low. Salvek slumped in his chair, his face bruised and bloodied, his breathing shallow. "That’s... everything," he gasped. "Nothing else."
Leo’s frustration surged, but he kept it leashed. Vivien’s kidnapping wasn’t just the Wolves’ revenge—it was a thread in a larger, cult-doing. He turned to the soldiers. "Lock him down. If he remembers anything, extract it." Striding out, his mind raced, the pieces of the puzzle tantalizingly close but incomplete.
On the manor’s rooftop, Nimbus, in panther form, prowled around the bloodied remains of the unnatural bird. A blood-soaked letter lay in the gore. Nimbus’s purple eyes narrowed, a low growl rumbling as he sniffed the paper, sensing its dark intent.
Gripping it carefully in his jaws, he leapt to the courtyard below, reverting to his cat form as he padded toward the Duke’s office.
Leo entered the office, where Alric stood by the desk, his face taut with expectation. "What did Salvek reveal?" Alric asked, his voice sharp.
Leo’s tone was steady, urgent. "The Wolves are under new orders, serving a cult figure—a man in a white robe, stronger than anyone they’ve encountered. They spoke of a ’ruler prophecy.’ It’s tied to me."
Alric’s expression darkened, his voice grim. "The cult’s influence runs deeper than I feared. And Cassian’s involvement?"
"A puppet, most likely," Leo said. "Marzella was their conduit, and her death reeks of the cult’s methods. We need to—"
A soft scratch at the door cut him off. Leo opened it, revealing Nimbus, the blood-stained letter in his jaws. The cat dropped it at Leo’s feet, his purple eyes gleaming with a warning. Leo knelt, examining the letter. "Nimbus, where did this come from?"