Stepping out of the meeting room, Nystrix's feet were cold as she gripped her gown tightly, the poor fabric suffering under her restless hands.
Gadmyne was saying something but her mind wasn't there, her mind went back to Gadmyne telling the Noctarii that she was the Prophesied hybrid and Zanre open disdain and scorn.
"Are you even listening to me?" Gadmyne's voice startled Nystrix, who clumsily snapped out of her reverie.
"I...was?"
Gadmyne shook her head and her expression became fierce.
"You weren't even listening to me, do you think this is all child's play? What were you even thinking about?, that rouge?, when the likes of Zanre and Jamyd are waiting and plotting to see you fail, and if you fail, your mother will never forgive me and the guilt of...." realising she had spoken too much, Gadmyne abruptly stopped, but the fierce expression did not fade.
Nystrix felt a sting when Gadmyne mention her mother, her hands involuntarily clenched.
What guilt? What is she hiding? What happened between her and my mother?
"Take it easy, Gadmyne. The girl has to be in a dazed state after what happened in the meeting." Niven said casually, she was standing beside Lynch who had a lazy smirk that said more than lazy.
"Gadmyne, don't scare her." Lynch walked up to Nystrix and placed her hand her shoulder, "Nystrix, don't let her scare you."
"She can't be scared easily, unless she isn't fit for what destiny has in stored for her." Mann deep, baritone voice sounded in a very long time.
All eyes turned to him and Nystrix looked at him with a sense of unease.
"Oh, the ghost has finally found words." Lynch said sarcastically.
Naise stared at her and Lynch stared back, with a hint of irritation in her eyes hinting at a possible conflict.
"Nystrix, I don't like mixed blood but the prophecy has spoken, so I have no choice but to support you but...." Naise had a small smile on her stone face which gave Nystrix a weird feeling. "But if you are not good enough, and fail, I can shift ships anytime." Her voice was calm and beautiful to hear, a stark constract to her personality. Naise words was what was in the mind of both She and Mann.
"She won't fail, Naise." Lynch said with more than a faint distaste.
"You know Lynch, I haven't said a word to you and don't make me." Naise said and turned to leave with Mann staring at Nystrix before breaking into a smile– the same that Nystrix had seen in his picture— then left.
"That son and daughter of a bitch." Lynch cursed as they left.
"Calm down, Lynch, don't let the anger get to you." Niven cooed and Lynch took deep breaths trying to control her anger.
"See you later, Nystrix." Lynch said after she had calmed herself and Niven nodded at her before leaving.
"What's up with, Lynch and those Zombies?" Nystrix instinctively asked Gadmyne after they had left and she got shot with a stern look.
"You still dare ask that?"
"I'm sorry, I was thinking about the meeting and how I'll prove myself to that damned vampire." Nystrix replied showing her dislike for Zanre.
Gadmyne snorted and before she could reply, Illus melodic voice came into hearing,
"You don't need to prove yourself to that damned vampire, just... let the wind pull him where you want"
Gadmyne shot a look at Illus.
Illus just shrugged and walked away.
Nystrix and Gadmyne walked out of the building and into Nystrix's quaters.
"I knew they are not good people to begin with." Nystrix said after Gadmyne, after a lot of pleading, told her how Mann ate Lynch lover and Naise supported him, if not for the rule the creator of the night creatures had given of no disputes amongst themselves, Lynch would have waged a full fledged war at the zombie realm.
"What was their reason?" Nystrix asked curiously.
"He wasn't a member of the Noctarii and they were hungry."
"The fuck?!" Nystrix exclaimed, "I don't believe it."
"Neither do I." Gadmyne responded, narrowed her eyes and leaned into the swing chair in Nystrix garden. "I feel Mann was jealous."
Nystrix was astonished,
Zombies have emotions?
She thought but heard Gadmyne reply "Of course they do." And knew she voiced it out.
"Leave that Nystrix, we are leaving the Witches realm tomorrow, we need to get to the realm of shapeshifters."
Nystrix paused, shapeshifters...
"The realm my father ruled?"
"Yes."
Nystrix clenched her hands a a thought flashed in her head,
"Why didn't they do anything to help my father?, why would they let their king be imprisoned?"
Gadmyne smirked, "They are in support of Jamyd's plans, Nystrix. The higher ups who wanted power and were against hybrids." She paused and looked at Nystrix curiously, "How do you know your father was imprisoned?"
"I saw it."
"Where?"
"In a dream, but it wasn't a dream, like seeing what happened in the past, something like...i don't know how to put it, but I saw how he protected me and my mother and how Jamyd said to keep him alive,for it was worse than death, I saw the chains, Gadmyne, the enchanted chains used to keep him still."
"It definitely wasn't a dream, Nystrix. You found your first gift."
Nystrix blinked. "Gift?"
"Yes." Gadmyne's lips pressed into a thin line. "Others see the future. You… saw the past. That is different, dangerous, and rare. Retrocognition. A sight that binds you to memory, not prophecy."
"I was right thinking it wasn't a dream?"
"Yes," Gadmyne confirmed, her voice steady. "It was real. A gift, though it will not always feel like one. Do not fear it. Do not let it swallow you." She stepped closer, her presence heavy, unyielding. "What matters is that you are ready. We leave tomorrow. The shapeshifter realm awaits."
~~~~~~~~~~~
Lying on the bed trying to focus on her gift, that night, Nystrix could not find rest. Her mind wandered endlessly, pacing her like a restless wolf. Not to Zanre, not to Jamyd… but to him.
Luthien.
His name burned inside her, unwanted but irresistible. She paced her quarters, clenching her fists, then finally threw open the balcony doors. The night air cut sharp across her face, but it did nothing to cool her chest.
"Where are you?" she whispered, almost pleading.
The silence answered back.
By dawn, her question had a cruel answer.
"He left," Gadmyne said when Nystrix asked.
Nystrix froze. "Left?"
"Back to the Vampire realm. The council called him, or perhaps Zanre forced his hand. Perhaps… he chose to go. Either way, he is gone."
Nystrix's heart sank, then burned. He had left—just like that. Without a word. After all the tension, after watching her struggle before the Noctarii, he had simply gone.
Her nails dug into her palms. "Coward," she spat, though the word trembled. "Run back to your vampires then. I don't need you."
But Gadmyne saw through the fury to the ache beneath it. She said nothing. Only repeated: "The shapeshifters' realm awaits."
~~~~~~~
The journey was long, the forests of the shapeshifters wild and untamed. The air carried the scent of pine and musk, of beasts lurking beyond sight. This was her father's land—his kingdom, and the throne that had been denied him.
The palace rose from the heart of the forest, carved from stone and bone, its halls echoing with dominance. And waiting within was her.
Stepping into the palace and being ushered into the quaters of the queen alongside Gadmyne, she felt a belonging, and the rage that was pent up in her both from Luthien leaving and the shapeshifters actions towards her father was going to be directed at the queen, her father's sister, and aunty she was being directed to meet.
Hasiy.
Nystrix's fury flared the moment their eyes met and her mouth without warning blew fire. "So you are the one who took his throne. My father's throne. While he rotted in chains, you sat here wearing his crown."
Hasiy did not flinch. She stood tall, her golden eyes unwavering. "If I had not taken it, another would have. One who hated your father. One who would have erased every trace of him, and every trace of you."
Her calm voice only made Nystrix's rage sharper. "You expect me to believe you did this for me?"
"I did it for him." Hasiy's voice cracked for the first time. "Slagus was my brother. My pride. And my shame. I was too weak then to oppose Jamyd, too powerless to defy the council. Taking the throne was the only way to guard it—until he returned, or until his child did." Her eyes softened, glistening faintly. "I did not betray him, Nystrix. I have been waiting for you."
Nystrix's heart twisted violently. Part of her wanted to tear into Hasiy, to accuse her, to call her a usurper. But another part… another part longed to believe.
"You… waited?"
"Yes," Hasiy said firmly. "The throne was never mine. It is yours. But power is not inherited by blood—it must be taken, defended, fought for. The shifters will not kneel because of prophecy. You must make them kneel, as Slagus once did."
The words struck deep, heavy as chains. Nystrix clenched her fists, torn between anger and something more fragile.
Family. Belonging. Memory.