Sage's POV
The Council is lying.
Nova's words cut through the silence in her study. She looks furious more emotion than I've ever seen from the ancient witch.
What? I gasp. Through the bond, I feel my three Alphas' shock matching mine.
The Stabilization Ritual they described? Nova paces, her hands crackling with green magic. It doesn't exist. I've searched every ancient text, every forbidden archive. There's no ritual that requires severing bonds.
Hope flares in my chest. So we're safe? The bonds won't kill us?
I didn't say that. Nova stops pacing. The Council told one truth wrapped in lies. Yes, the Trial of Three creates unstable power. Yes, without stabilization, it could destroy you. But the solution isn't severing bonds it's strengthening them.
How? Kael demands.
Nova waves her hand and ancient text appears, glowing in the air. This is the true complete prophecy. The version even I didn't know existed until I broke into the Council's forbidden vault last night.
You broke into Damon starts.
Not important right now. Nova points at the glowing text. Read.
I read aloud, my voice shaking: When three territories war and destruction looms, an Omega shall rise. She may bond with one Alpha in the traditional way, bringing unity through singular power. Or she may attempt the Trial of Three bonding with three Alphas simultaneously through ancient ritual. This bond, if successful, will create power beyond measure.
I pause, then continue: But the power must be tamed through the Convergence a second ritual performed at the place where three territories meet. Only by anchoring the bonds to sacred ground can the four souls survive as one.
The Convergence Point, Ryder breathes. That's where we are. Where all three territories meet.
Exactly. Nova's smile is grim. The Council knew this. They've always known. But they lied because they don't want you to succeed. A bonded set of four with stabilized power would be stronger than the Council itself. You'd threaten their authority.
Rage floods through me not just mine, but all three Alphas' through the bond.
So they tried to force us to destroy ourselves, Kael says coldly.
Yes. They gave you twenty-seven days knowing you'd panic, maybe make rash choices, possibly even sever bonds in desperation. Nova's eyes gleam. But now you know the truth. You don't need to choose. You need to perform the Convergence Ritual.
What does it require? I ask.
Nova's expression turns serious. That's the problem. The ritual instructions were deliberately destroyed. I found references to it in the prophecy, but no details on how to actually perform it.
My hope crashes. So we're still going to die?
Not if we figure it out in twenty-seven days. Nova pulls out stacks of ancient books. I'll research every text I can find. You four need to practice synchronizing your bond learn to move as one, think as one, be one. The ritual will require perfect unity.
Through our bond, I feel the determination rising in all three Alphas.
We'll do whatever it takes, Damon says.
Good. Because the Council will try to stop you once they realize you know the truth. Nova's face is grave. They'll send enforcers. Possibly attack directly. You need to be ready.
We spend the next week in intensive training. Nova teaches us to synchronize to share power smoothly through the bonds instead of fighting for control.
I learn to channel strength from all three Alphas simultaneously, amplifying it with my Omega magic and sending it back stronger. We practice until we can fight as one unit, anticipate each other's moves, think in perfect harmony.
It's exhausting. Overwhelming. Beautiful.
And through it all, the bonds grow deeper. Stronger.
I'm not just connected to them anymore. I'm part of them. They're part of me.
On day six, Nova bursts into the training room, eyes wild.
I found something, she gasps, holding an ancient scroll. A fragment. Not much, but it's a start.
We gather around as she unrolls the yellowed parchment.
The Convergence Ritual requires four elements, Nova reads. First, blood from all four bonded souls mixed and offered to sacred ground. Second, a confession each participant must speak their deepest truth aloud. Third, a sacrifice something precious willingly given to seal the bond.
What kind of sacrifice? Ryder asks warily.
It doesn't say. Nova keeps reading. And fourth... oh no.
What? I demand. What does it say?
Nova's hands shake. The fourth requirement is consent from the Council of Elders. The ritual can only be performed with their blessing.
Silence.
That's impossible, Kael says flatly. They'll never consent. They want us to fail.
Maybe we don't need their consent, Damon suggests. Maybe we perform the ritual anyway
No. Nova cuts him off. Ancient magic is bound by rules. If you attempt the Convergence without Council blessing, the magic will reject you. It could kill you instantly.
I sink into a chair, devastated. So we're trapped. We know the solution but can't use it because the people who want us dead control access to the ritual.
Through the bond, I feel my Alphas' matching despair.
There has to be another way, Ryder says desperately.
I'll keep searching, Nova promises. But time is running out. You have twenty-one days left.
That night, I can't sleep. I slip out of bed and wander to the fortress ramparts, staring at the stars.
Can't sleep either?
I turn. Kael stands in the shadows, moonlight making his ice blue eyes glow.
The bonds are too loud, I admit. I can feel all of you worrying. It's like having three voices arguing in my head.
Four voices, Kael corrects, moving closer. We feel you too, Sage. Your fear. Your determination. Your love.
My breath catches. I haven't said
You don't need to say it. We feel it through the bond. He touches my face gently. Just like you feel how much we love you. All three of us.
Tears burn my eyes. What if we can't find a way? What if we die because the Council won't help us?
Then we die together, Kael says simply. And I'd rather have twenty-one days with you and them than a lifetime alone.
I'm about to respond when alarm bells shatter the night.
Kael goes rigid. That's the perimeter warning. Someone's here.
Through the bond, I feel Damon and Ryder jolting awake, racing toward us.
A figure appears on the rampart old, bent with age, wearing Council robes.
But this isn't one of the three who threatened us before.
This is someone different.
Sage Winters, the figure says in a creaking voice. I am Elder Silas, the Fourth Council member. The one they tried to erase from history.
Fourth? Kael steps protectively in front of me. The Council has only three members.
Now, yes. But there were once four of us. Silas pulls back his hood, revealing a scarred face and kind eyes. And I was exiled fifty years ago for the same crime you're committing now.
My heart pounds. What crime?
Believing that Omegas deserve choice. That the Trial of Three could succeed. His smile is sad. I helped your mother prepare for the ritual, child. I know all the secrets the others buried. And I'm here to help you finish what she started.
He reaches into his robes and pulls out an ancient book, its cover marked with symbols I don't recognize.
This, he says, contains the complete Convergence Ritual. Every detail. Every requirement. Including how to perform it without Council consent.
Hope explodes through me through all four of us via the bond.
You'll help us? I breathe.
I'll do better than help. Silas's eyes gleam. I'll perform the ritual myself. I still have enough authority to invoke the ancient laws, even if the current Council disagrees.
Why? Damon asks suspiciously. Why risk yourself for us?
Silas looks at me with such sadness it makes my chest ache.
Because your mother was my daughter, Sage. I'm your grandfather. And I won't let the Council murder my granddaughter the way they murdered my child.
The world tilts.
My grandfather.
I have family. Real family.
Before I can process this, Silas opens the ancient book.
We begin immediately, he says. Because the Council knows I'm here. They're coming to stop us. And if we don't complete the Convergence before they arrive, they'll kill us all.