"We could have stayed behind and searched for whoever you saw," Leonardo murmured as he dismounted, securing his horse in a well-shaded spot before turning to Donovan who did the same. His tone was calm, but there was a hint of curiosity in his words. "Who was it?"
Donovan paused mid-step, recalling the face he had seen in the main capital. His grip tightened briefly at his sides before he finally spoke. "A child," he said, his voice carrying an edge of uncertainty. "She... looked like a child. But something about her unsettled me." He exhaled sharply, as if trying to shake off the lingering unease. "I can’t explain why, but I’d rather not cross paths with her again."
Leonardo blinked, momentarily taken aback. He studied Don’s face, noting the way tension still lingered in his usually composed features. Donovan had barely regained his sight, and yet, something was already haunting him. He wanted to believe it was nothing, but if it concerned his brother, he wasn’t going to take the situation lightly.
Leonardo wanted to press further when Donovan abruptly changed the subject. "By the way, the woman you wanted me to meet, where is she?" He came to a halt at the library’s entrance, his hands resting on his hips as he took in the towering structure. "Do we find her inside?"
Before Leonardo could respond, movements in the courtyard caught his eye. A carriage had just rolled to a stop in front of the library, and from within, a familiar figure emerged. The dark-haired woman he was waiting for climbed down in a flurry of agitation, her expression sharp as she turned on the Coachman.
"You’re charging more than what we agreed upon," she accused, holding out her coin purse with a displeased scowl on her face.
The young Coachman simply crossed his arms, unmoved by her words. "Prices change when you demand haste."
Cora scoffed. "Haste? I asked you to drive, not to fly. I swear you capital riders have the talent of squeezing every last coin from the rest of us."
The young man remained impassive, extending his hand expectantly. With an exasperated sigh, she fished out one more coin from her purse and slapped it into his hands. "Highway robbery," she muttered under her breath as the carriage finally pulled away.
Still fuming, she turned toward the entrance. Her gaze locked onto Leonardo first, surprise flashing in her eyes as though she hadn’t expected him to be here already. But when her eyes shifted to the man standing next to him, the irritation drained from her face, replaced by something else.
Her heartbeat stuttered as she took a slow, measured step forward. So it was true. The damn priest had actually brought the cursed Alpha with him.
Even though the presence of both Morgrim brothers unsettled her, Cora couldn’t deny the allure they physically possessed.
"Greetings," she said, lowering her head slightly in a show of courtesy before turning her attention to Leonardo. She had no desire to be drawn into a conversation that might force her to reveal more than she intended. "You certainly kept to your words, didn’t you?"
"She’s the one?" Donovan asked, his voice devoid of emotion.
Leonardo inclined his head in confirmation, then gestured toward the entrance. "After you," he said, his gaze settling on Cora with detached scrutiny. "I made sure the archivist secured a private place for us. You won’t have to worry about prying eyes... or ears."
"You said you’d use your curse on me," Cora reminded him, her tone edged with apprehension. "I’m not particularly fond of this—" she then stopped abruptly, sensing another pair of piercing, otherworldly eyes on her. She bit back the rest of her words. Speaking about Leonardo in front of his brother would be unwise. He might not be the Alpha of the North, but he was still an Alpha, and that alone carried weight.
"If you have solid information," Donovan said, his tone calm yet unyielding, "then share it with us. Many lives are currently hanging in the balance, and what you know could mean the difference between survival and devastation. As long as you cooperate, no one will use their curse on you. Not him, not me."
He sounded genuine, hence, Cora nodded without hesitation. "You’re the one who ordered your people to aid mine, despite our differences. The least I can do is to tell you what I’ve heard. I can’t promise it will be useful, but I’ll let you decide that for yourself."
With that, Cora followed them into the towering library. She was taken to a secluded chamber that was tucked away behind ancient tomes, a secret passage within the shelves, she would say.
Upon entering, the room was dimly lit by a single lantern, and it cast flickering shadows across the wooden-paneled walls. A heavy oak table was placed in the center of the room, surrounded by high-backed chairs, and the environment was spotless.
Thick, velvet drapes cover the lone windows, and it muffled the outside world, thus, ensuring their conversation remained unheard. The air was thick with the scent of candle wax, and Cora couldn’t help but doubt her own safety at this point. Refusing to take off her coat, she lowered herself onto a chair, hoping to get through this without yielding to pressure.
Donovan and Leonardo exchanged a brief glance before turning their attention to the woman before them.
"How about you start by telling us what your Alpha knew about my father." Donovan began smoothly, "Did he make mention of anyone related to him? By that I mean any living relatives?"
"Well...no," Cora hesitated, her fingers curling slightly against the armrest. "But... there was one time— I was bringing Lord Thadius his evening meal when I overheard him speaking to someone. I couldn’t see who it was since the person was standing right in the darkness of the room. He mentioned something about not knowing that the late Alpha Zephyr had a twin. The only Alpha I know with that name is your father."
"Our father had a twin?" Leonardo and Donovan uttered in unison.
Meanwhile, Esme had changed her outfit into her training gear and made her way to the training ground. After giving her actions much thought, she had decided to take the blood petal for a trial.
The cool air carried the rhythmic crack of a whip as it sliced through the silence in fluid, deadly arcs. Each movement Esme made was precise, like a dance of discipline and power. She wasn’t ready to lack in anything, and that includes her unfinished training with Revana. However, today, she chose to train alone due to her own newest experiment.
The blood petal was meant to be activated with blood, a requirement that posed significant risks in the chaos of battle. But Esme had begun to question its true nature. If the petals could absorb blood, could they also draw power from other liquids? Whoever used the blood petal before her definitely had to improvise someway before getting blood on it, right?
She was no blacksmith, nor a scholar of enchanted weaponry, but curiosity had driven her to test a theory of her own.
She was going to use water.