39. Phase III: Prophecy Unraveled

Cassian

The island is as unsettling as the rumours foretell—icy winds sweep through, a stark contrast to the unusually calm waters that surround it. There’s a haunting quality to this place, an ethereal beauty that leaves one feeling both awed and unwelcome.

As Malachi and I disembark from the jet, I can’t help but glance back toward the direction from which we came. My thoughts are on Reyna, our mate, whose eyes held a sea of concerns as we left.

“Are you ready?” Malachi asks, his eyes surveying the island, bathed in a silver glow from the overcast sky.

“Does it matter? We’ve come too far to turn back now,” I reply, but internally, I admit—I’m uneasy.

As much as I wanted to assure Reyna that everything would be fine, all three of us hated having to do this. We do not fucking trust this man, and yet here we are.

We begin to walk, and as if summoned, a path of ice forms ahead, leading us deeper into the island. We’re soon enveloped by frost-encrusted trees and a silence so profound it