Xaden led the horses along the narrow trail toward the lake, Erik riding in silence beside him.
Neither of the spoke for the mean time as they progressed through the lake.
Anna’s screams still echoed in the back of Xaden’s mind.
Every cry.
Every plea.
Every desperate "brother."
It had carved itself into the spaces between his bones.
Yet he rode forward.
Because justice didn’t wait for grief.
He adjusted his reins, trying to steady himself, but the weight in his chest only grew.
When the shimmering lake finally appeared through the trees, Erik slowed his horse and frowned.
"We’re going to her?" Erik said in disbelief.
"Yes," Xaden said simply, dismounting. "I need answers. And Marie is the only one who might give them."
Erik exhaled sharply. "She gives answers nobody wants."
Xaden nudged him lightly in the arm. "Come on. Look at the bright side. If this goes well, Fiona might finally stop glaring holes into your head."
Erik stiffened.
Xaden immediately regretted trying to lighten the mood.
"Fiona is gone from my life for good," Erik said flatly. "There will be no relationship."
Xaden paused, hand resting on the saddle. "Why?"
"It’s best that way," Erik muttered.
Xaden studied him for a moment. Decided not to push. He only nodded once, silently.
They stepped into the lake.
The cold water reached their boots, then their ankles, then their waists. Erik hissed at the temperature, but Xaden kept moving with a tense determination.
"You know," Erik muttered, "every time I come out here, I wonder why Marie couldn’t just live on land like a normal witch."
"She’s not normal," Xaden murmured.
"You don’t say," Erik scoffed. "Last time I visited, she ripped your heart out."
Xaden lifted a brow. "It was a price I paid wasn’t it? The heartless Alpha."
"Barely."
They kept walking until the lake shimmered around their torsos.
Then, through the fog, Marie’s small hut appeared, wooden, crooked, slightly glowing at the edges like a house that didn’t obey physical laws.
They climbed onto the platform and stepped toward the door.
Erik hesitated. "I hate it here."
Xaden didn’t.
Not tonight.
Tonight he was too angry to fear anything.
He knocked twice.
Silence.
Then, The chimney roared to life inside the hut.
A bright, unnatural blue flame.
Both men exchanged a look.
Xaden pushed the door open.
The room was dark, smelling of herbs, old paper, and lake water. Shelves covered every wall, filled with jars holding things Xaden didn’t want to know. A cat’s tail flicked behind the shadow of a table.
He wondered which wolf she had changed to a cat this time.
Then the firelight brightened fully.
Marie sat in a rocking chair beside the hearth, lazily stroking her fat grey cat.
Her long locs spilled down her back like a river of shadows. Her gold eyes were half-lidded, smiling in amusement.
"Took you long enough," she said smoothly. "I’ve been expecting you."
Xaden stepped forward, jaw tight. "Do you know what happened?"
Marie didn’t look up. "Oh, yes. You marched your poor sister straight to the Cave of Chaos."
She tsked her tongue, still playing with her cat. "Tragic, really. But justice is justice, I suppose."
Xaden’s hands curled into fists.
"That’s not what I’m talking about."
Marie lifted her eyes at that, slowly, deliberately.
"Then what is it you want, Alpha?"
Xaden’s voice dropped dangerously low.
"I want the truth behind Lisa’s claims. Regarding Eleanor."
Marie’s cat stopped purring.
Marie’s fingers froze.
Her expression didn’t change at first, but her eyes did. A flicker of something raw. Something old. Something wounded.
She said nothing.
So Xaden pressed, voice full of controlled fire.
"You owed Eleanor. You two were close. Don’t pretend otherwise."
Marie inhaled sharply through her nose, a bitter sound.
"You dare," she whispered, "talk about her like that?"
"Then say something ," Xaden snapped. "You remain silent. You hide the truth . You do nothing, always nothing. Did you even care for her? Or were you too selfish, too consumed by your own secrets to lift a-
Marie’s voice broke on a snarl.
"ELEANOR WAS MY SISTER!"
The silence that followed the shout was thick and violent.
Xaden’s entire body went cold.
Erik froze beside him, mouth falling open.
Marie smiled then, a cruel, twisted smile as she leaned back in her chair.
"Surprised?" she asked sweetly. "Don’t be. You always suspected there was something more about her, didn’t you?"
Xaden couldn’t speak.
Marie continued, voice dripping with venom.
"Eleanor was my elder sister. My blood. My protector. My heart. And she is the reason I am trapped in this wretched place."
Her cat hissed, sensing her rage.
Xaden swallowed. "Then why didn’t you ever tell me?"
Marie’s eyes flickered with pain.
"Because you don’t need to fucking know•."
He stepped forward. "Then explain. What does Princess Chery have to do with my mother? With my sister? With Jasmine?"
At the mention of Chery, Marie’s entire demeanor changed.
Her spine straightened.
Her jaw tensed.
Her eyes went dark.
Xaden knew then, Marie was terrified.
He repeated, voice sharp as a blade:
"What does Princess Chery want? Why did she try to kill Jasmine?"
Marie stared into the fire.
Her hands trembled slightly as she stroked her cat.
Finally, she spoke.
"I suspected this would happen," she whispered. "I suspected she was still watching. Still waiting. Still meddling."
"Why," Xaden repeated, "is she after Jasmine?"
Marie closed her eyes.
She still said nothing.
Xaden became agitated.
"Tell me something for Goddess sake!" He screamed. "I’ve paid so many prices to you! You owe me! If you won’t help your sister then tell me so I can help her! She was my mother."
Marie walked away.
"Why does Cherry want Jasmine?!" He screamed.
"Get out." She said softly.
He was taken aback.
She screamed. "I said get out! Get out!"
And with that she used her magic to blow them out of the hut.
They were dragged out with such force and flung meters outside the grass under the moonlight.
They heard a loud bang that told them never to intervene again.