*~Caspian POV~*
Is the baby really happening?
What in the world kind of miracle baby is this?
Hazel writhed on the bed, her body soaked in sweat, her face twisted in agony. She twisted, arched, and rolled as if her bones were on fire. We all just stood there, watching in panic, unsure of what to do.
And then Cayden snapped.
"Everyone out. Now!"
His voice was steel. Instantly, the maids and lingering guards fled the room without question.
I turned to him. "What? Why are you clearing the room?"
He ran a hand through his hair, breathing hard, his jaw clenched tight. "We can’t trust anybody right now, Caspian. Think about it—someone snuck into the council room and left that damn message about the baby. Now suddenly, Hazel goes into labor? This isn’t random. This is planned."
His voice broke on the last word. He was spiraling.
"They wanted us to deliver the baby to the outskirts... and now Hazel’s body is doing that on its own. What if this is all connected? What if they did something to her?"
My chest tightened.
"Okay," I said, grabbing his shoulder. "Then we don’t give them what they want. We trick them. We take the fake baby. Use it as bait. Lure them out. And we end it."
Cayden’s eyes met mine. A plan was forming. We both felt it.
I turned to Aurora. "You in?"
She was leaning against the wall, pale and weak, but there was fire in her eyes. "I’m not fully recovered, but I can still cast. I’ll stay with Hazel. I won’t let anything..anything—happen to that child."
I nodded. "You’re the only one allowed in that room. No one else. Not even our wolves. Cast a cloaking spell. Lock it down. Understood?"
"Understood," she said, straightening up despite her trembling hands. "You have my word."
By the time Cayden and I descended the stairs, Leon had already prepared the fake baby..
Good.
We traveled fast through the misty woods until we reached the outskirts just as the message demanded. Cayden and I melted into the shadows, our warriors scattered and hidden around the field. Only Leon remained visible, standing tall and holding the fake child.
He placed the baby where the message instructed.
And we waited.
Minutes turned into thirty. Then sixty. Then more.
Still, no one came.
No wind. No shadows. No witch. No beast. Nothing.
And then—
Boom. A HUGE flash in the sky.
"Fireworks?" Cayden muttered beside me.
I looked up. Gold and purple sparks exploded above the distant hill the direction of the High House.
"Who the hell would be lighting fireworks now?"
"It’s not Hazel," I said immediately. "She’s in labor."
"It’s not Aurora. She wouldn’t leave her side," Cayden added.
"And it sure as hell isn’t the wolves guarding the house," I growled, panic spreading in my gut like wildfire.
Something was wrong...very, very wrong.
And whatever it was... it was happening back at the High House.
Just then, someone stepped into the clearing.
A shadow moved swiftly toward the fake baby on the ground. Leon reacted instantly, shifting into position and lunging to intercept.
But he didn’t even make it halfway.
A sharp blade slashed across his chest.
Leon staggered back with a howl of pain, blood gushing through his fingers as he hit the ground hard.
"Leon!" I shouted, but it was too late... he was down.
And then... the attacker stepped into the moonlight. Cayden and I both froze, our breaths hitching.
Marcus.
"Impossible..." Cayden whispered.
Marcus stood there, casually brushing invisible dust off his shirt, as if he hadn’t just stabbed someone in cold blood.
He looked up at us and smirked.
"Oh," he said with mock disappointment, kicking the fake baby across the dirt. "Look at that. A doll. Tsk, tsk. Did you think you’d fool me that easily?"
Cayden growled beside me, eyes flickering with rage.
"Marcus," he spat. "What the hell do you think you’re doing?"
Marcus chuckled as if we were in some twisted comedy. "Exactly what a grandfather should be doing... reclaiming what’s his."
"You’re not touching that child," I snarled.
"I already told you all," he said, stepping closer. "That baby... Hazel’s baby—is my grandchild. She came from me, and now she’s giving life to a being that could rewrite this entire world. Why would I not want that power under my roof?"
"You were never her father," I snapped. "You were a tyrant. You treated her like trash."
"And yet, you all treat her like some damn egg," Marcus spat, rage bubbling up. "You coddle her, worship her, and now you want to keep her and the baby all to yourselves?"
"Because it’s our child," Cayden roared. "And you will not touch either of them."
Marcus only smiled—a smile that sent a jolt down our spines.
"I’m not here to take her," he said. "Not physically, at least."
A beat passed.
"Because while you were busy babysitting this fake," he added with a wink, "someone else was busy clipping shadows..."
I felt my blood freeze. "The fireworks..." I whispered.
Marcus nodded slowly. "A signal. To let me know the job’s done."
I stepped forward, fury boiling over. "You think Aurora and the wolves will let that happen? Whoever you sent....They’ll be ripped apart."
He grinned. "True. They’d stand a chance... if I sent just anyone. But I didn’t."
He leaned in, voice low and venomous.
"I sent someone even the two of you would fear."
Cayden’s jaw locked. I could see the tension Marcus had risen in him.
My stomach twisted in shock. Did he mean that?
Suddenly, Cayden lunged...but his claws slashed through smoke.
Marcus dissolved into nothing but dark mist and laughter echoing through the trees.
"Shit!" Cayden snarled. "It was a clone!"
I turned toward the treeline, scanning desperately. "He’s running. The real him...he’s still nearby!"
"Find that bastard!" Cayden bellowed. "Now!"
But all I could hear echoing again and again was what he’d said before he vanished.
Someone even the two of you would fear.
And for the first time in a long time... I was close to being afraid..