Finally, at around two in the morning, Cross came back. Jonathan had fallen asleep, and Sabrina was curled up on the couch in the waiting room. “Everything okay?” she asked as he walked toward her.
“Yes. We’re doing a debrief in the morning, but for now, the Alpha told everyone to go home and rest.”
“Oh.” She swung her legs off the couch and sat up. “I suppose I could go back to my loft. It would be nice to start wearing my own clothes again. What’s the matter?” she asked when his brows drew together in a frown.
“I’ll take you home, but do you mind if we stop by somewhere first?”
“Not at all.” She got up and slipped an arm through his. “Where’d you have in mind?”
“I need to go see Gunnar.”
“Let’s go then.”
In seconds, they reappeared in the darkened cabin. “Gunnar?” he called.
“I’m here.” A lamp in the corner turned on, revealing Gunnar, sitting on the leather recliner. “Dad called and told me everything that happened. I figured you might drop by.” He gestured to the couch, where a pot of tea and cups were already waiting. “Have a seat.”
Cross led her to the couch, and they sat down. “Did you know?” Cross asked. “About what the ceremony was for?”
He shook his head. “Not really. Everything just kind of … all melded together. Like hitting the fast-forward button while watching a movie.”
Cross leaned forward, resting his elbows on his thighs. “Everything happened as you saw it, including the people who were there. But that ceremony wasn’t their end game. It was just to break the bond the ring had on Sabrina.”
“I realize that now.” His face drew into a grave expression.
Cross tensed. “What now?”
“I … Cross, I had another vision before you arrived.”
“Of the future?”
“No, this was the past again.” Gunnar’s eyes glassed over. “Far in the past. I don’t know why, it just feels so far back. There’s a man in a white robe, surrounded by others in red robes. They were in some kind of ancient temple, though everything looked brand new. He’s on top of a tall platform, and there’s a white marble altar in front of him.”
“Then what happened?”
“Outside the temple, it’s thundering. No.” He raked his hands through his hair. “People running. Lycans running, their paws pounding on the ground. Then the man in the white robe raises his hand over the altar. There’s a ring, a dagger, and a necklace. He cuts his palm and drizzles his blood over the artifacts, then puts on the ring. The men around him are chanting, and then he says something. I think he says, ‘I will rise again.’ Then … that’s it.”
The silence that hung in the air was deafening. Sabrina reached over and took Cross’s hand in hers.
“I think I know,” Cross began. “I know what they want the artifacts for.”
Gunnar turned to him, his face pale, and whiskey-brown eyes filled with fear. “They’re bringing him back.”
“Death and life,” Cross said. “Magus Aurelius’s enemies—the humans and Lycans—must have been on the verge of storming his temple. He used the ring to kill himself.”
“So that they could revive him,” Sabrina finished. A shudder ran down her spine, and she suddenly felt tainted, carrying the ring around. “That’s why its power was so literal. Death and life. Kill something, then bring them back to life.”
Cross’s jaw hardened. “Krogan said something about Magus Aurelius’s manuscripts. That’s how they found out about the artifacts and his final intentions. That could be what he was talking about.”
“In that case, we’ve only slowed them down.” Gunnar ran his fingers through his hair in frustration and buried his face in his hands. “Now they’ve got the ring back and they can bring him back.”
“Wait.” Cross shot to his feet and scratched his jaw. “When Sabrina used the ring, she was able to revive the plants and the mare right away. Why couldn’t they have done it as soon as they got the ring? Or why haven’t they done it by now? It’s been hours since they escaped.”
“I had my dead plants, and Georgie was right there,” she reminded him. “If this Magus guy has been dead for thousands of years, there’s nothing really left to revive.”
Cross’s brows snapped together before they lifted, his eyes widening. “Unless they had something else very powerful to increase the artifacts’ powers.”
“Double Alpha blood,” Gunnar concluded. “We thought they were just using it to enhance the artifacts. I mean, obviously, that was just a side effect. It could be that was all they thought the blood could do.”
“They didn’t finish translating everything until recently,” Cross said. “It makes sense Magus Aurelius only wrote down his plans at the end, when he was about to be defeated.”
“We won’t know for sure unless we read the manuscript ourselves,” Gunnar pointed out.
“But it could be a working theory.” Cross walked over to his brother. “I need to go and tell Dad and the Alpha.”
Gunnar stood up. “Safe travels.”
Sabrina, too, strode over to him. “We’ll see you soon,” she said before enveloping him in a hug. “And thank you. I figured out what it meant. The words you said to me before we left the last time, but tell me something.”
“What is it?”
She looked him straight in the eyes. “Why the riddles? Why couldn’t you just tell me the truth of what will happen?”
A dark cloud seemed to pass over him. “I’ve meddled with the future before,” he said in a quiet voice. “And the consequences have been … devastating. When I asked my grandmother, what was I supposed to do when I see these horrible things and can’t stop them, she told me, ‘Gunnar, the best way to use your gift is to advise people, not try to change who they are or change their minds. You must guide them, but ultimately, the only way
