Three weeks.

That's how long it had been since the battle in the hidden magical city of Vashara. To Sebastian, it felt like a lifetime. The scars of the fight, physical and mental, were still fresh. The bandages could only hide so much.

Not only was Jorgen Vestergaard, the former leader of the Eldai, dead, but Vashara had also fallen. Thorian and his undead army overran the city during Sebastian and his group's escape back to the Eldenarian Palace. Chieftain Naidini may have managed to seal the rift that had formed between House Oseda, but she had lost her home in the process.

And to make matters worse, her Eldenarian artifact—the animagi amulet—had been stolen from her.

Thorian only had one more artifact left to collect until his quest was complete.

Just the thought of him having all seven made his stomach turn.

They had failed in Vashara. Thorian's new army had forced them out of the city and back to the Eldenarian Palace. Their return was anything but glorious. Instead, it was full of shame and regret. Despair and mourning.

They had lost a lot of good magicians during that fight—including Jorgen.

Sebastian scowled and jammed his pockets deeper into the pockets of his black hoodie. His dark silhouette blended with the shadows as he slunk through the halls of the Eldenarian council building. The winding corridors, dimly lit by candles on the walls, welcomed him with open arms.

He should've been asleep. Everyone else was.

And he was exhausted. He felt like he had been running and fighting Shades his whole life, but it had only been about two months since he defected from the Order of the Black Lotus. Sometimes he couldn't believe he broke away from the band of murderous magicians. Their grip was iron tight. No one escaped them.

Not without dying.

He wouldn't let them kill him. He still had work to do.

Which was why he couldn't sleep. There was something he had to do first. Someone he had to see, even if he was dreading it for every fiber of his being.

Wincing, he rubbed his shoulder as he tip-toed a set of stairs that led to the dungeons beneath the council halls. Phantom pains from a poisonous arrow tip still plagued him on occasion. It wasn't the only one either.

But not all of his wounds were visible.

Makaela's face flashed across his mind.

He was so close to getting her back. So close. She had been right there in front of him. He cursed himself for not trying harder to get her to stay with him.

Before she left, she told him she needed to do something. He had no idea what that something was, but he hoped it was important. Not only did he still miss her tremendously, but they needed her on their side of the fight. With his father growing in power by the day, they would need all the help they could get.

She also seemed to be the only one who was able to go toe-to-toe with the man and survive.

Sebastian sighed. He needed to find out where she went. The only problem was that he had no idea where to even look.

But he knew that if anyone had any insight on her whereabouts, it would be him.

Dorian Redfang. The fabled Wolf of the prophecy.

It wasn't his idea to bring the monster back to the Eldenarian Palace. If it had been up to him, he would have left his broken and battered body in the portal shrine where they found him. But Siren and Ajax insisted. They figured he would have information on Makaela and the Order.

So, after Siren and a few palace healers nursed him back to health, they all had been taking turns interrogating him. Tonight was Sebastian's turn. Judging how the others described their meetings with the werewolf, asking him anything was a massive waste of time.

Though, Sebastian figured it was worth a shot. He was willing to try anything to find Makaela and stop his father.

Still, he was excited about having to speak with the wolf.

His lip curled at the thought of him as he descended into the dark, damp holding cells beneath the ground. There were about ten cells in the long, cavernous room. Water fell into shallow puddles throughout the stone floor, creating echoes as he passed by. A strong mildewy scent filled the air. Light from the moon outside stabbed through the metal bars serving as windows in the brick walls.

With his jaw taut, he approached the last cell on the right. The dungeon only had one occupant at the moment.

Sebastian settled in front of his cell. He folded his arms across his chest as he stared at his back, which was marred by scars and barely healed lacerations. Bloody gauze covered parts of his midnight skin. He was sat on the ground facing the wall, his head hanging and his arms wrapped around his knees.

It seemed like he was stuck in that position.

Dorian sniffed the air. Then he growled. "What do you want?" He turned slightly, revealing his burning, crimson irises. Sebastian stiffened under his glare but he didn't let it show on his face. Instead, he scowled back at the wolf.

"I need to find Makaela. She needs my help."

"She doesn't need your help," Dorian spat. "I'm her guardian. Not you."

"You can stop with the savior shit."

"Didn't you hear what the prophecy says? It—"

"I don't care what it says."

Dorian rose from the ground. He winced as he turned around. Pain flashed across his chiseled features. His striking eyes bored into Sebastian's as he approached the iron bars of his cell. With his lip curling, revealing his fangs, he snarled at the magician.

"I'll tell you what I told her friends." His nostrils flared. "I'm not telling you shit."

Sebastian approached him, his arms still folded. "Look, just tell me where she is," he told him. "Don't make this any harder than it has to be. We want the same thing."

Dorian didn't respond.

Sebastian's mouth twitched as his hands curled into fists. He had clenched his hands so tight that his fingernails were digging into his palms. Groaning in frustration, he turned away from the werewolf.

He was getting nowhere.

He needed to find her before it was too late.

His face softened as he took a deep, calming breath. He faced Dorian again and looked him in the eyes. The two of them stared at each other for a few long, uncomfortable moments. They were at a complete standstill; neither one wanted to let go of the animosity they held for each other—even if it meant helping the one person they both cared about.

And Sebastian knew Dorian cared about her.

While he barely knew the guy, he did know something was going on between him and Makaela. He wasn't exactly sure what it was, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to know, but there was something. Deep down, Dorian wanted to make sure Makaela was safe too.

Sebastian would use that to his advantage. The wolf couldn't keep his walls up forever. He would crack eventually.

"Look," he began, softening his tone. "We don't have to get along. After all, you were recruited by my father. We're supposed to be enemies—"

"I wasn't," Dorian interrupted.

"What do you mean you weren't? Didn't he break into Nyghtmir for you and those two Nightlings?"

"For the Nightlings," he clarified. He dropped his stare to the floor. The muscles in his thick neck tightened as he scowled. "Not for me."

Sebastian nodded slowly.

"Well...you're still a Redfang," he said flippantly. "Your clan has been allied with the Order of the Black Lotus for decades. I would know. I was in it."

"I doubt my clan wants anything to do with me after what I did."

"Oh yeah?" He arched an eyebrow at the werewolf. "And what exactly did you do?"

Dorian's mouth twitched. "I betrayed them. I fought your father and saved Makaela. More than once, I might add." He gave the other man a once over before scoffing. "Looks like you can't say the same."

A geyser of anger threatened to burst from within Sebastian. It took all of his willpower to stop himself from rushing into the cell and beating the crap out of Dorian.

"You know what? Forget this." Shaking his head, he turned to leave. As he made his way over to the stairs, he heard Dorian laugh from within his cell. It echoed around him, enraging him even more.

"Coward."

Sebastian saw red. He spun on his heel and rushed over to the werewolf. Through the gap in the iron bars, he reached out and grabbed him by the throat. "I could kill you right now, you know. No one would even care."

Dorian swatted his hand away. He lifted his chin and narrowed his eyes. "It must kill you to know she doesn't want to be with you."

He froze. Pursing his lips together, he tilted his head at the other man.

"What are you talking about?"

"She doesn't want you." He walked back up to the bars with a smirk on his lips. "She wants me."

He snorted. "Yeah, whatever."

It didn't show on the surface, but those words had hit him like a bullet. Were they true? Or were they just meant to rile him up? If it was the latter, then they had done their job. And if it was the former...

He shook his head. That couldn't be. Makaela would never choose Dorian over him.

Right?

Sebastian exhaled. "All I want to do is make sure she's safe. My father and the Order are surely hunting her down as we speak and they'll do anything to find her." He ran a hand through his shaggy, black hair and exhaled. His voice cracked as he spoke. "I...I can't let them find her. Not before they do. I can't lose her again."

The stern look melted from Dorian's face.

"I know you know something," he continued. "Just...just tell me so we both can help her."

Dorian fell silent for a few moments. Sebastian wrung his hands together and fought to urge to chew on his bottom lip—an old habit of his. His father had practically beaten it out of him during their training sessions when he was younger.

A frown pulled at his lips.

Finally, the werewolf nodded.

"Alright."

"Alright?"

"To tell you the truth," he began. "I don't have a clue where she went. All she told me was that she had to go somewhere."

"She didn't say what that place was? No hints or anything?"

He shook his head.

Sebastian cursed and kicked a poor pebble that had been resting harmlessly near his foot.

After finally getting Dorian to talk, it turned out he didn't know a single thing. He had been right; he was wasting his time. As he turned to leave for the second time, the wolf cleared his throat.

"But I do remember something about the portal she opened."

Sebastian lifted his brow.

"I don't remember much," Dorian clarified. "Your father was kind of trying to kill me. But before I passed out from the pain, I remember seeing snow. Lots of snow. Possibly mountains too, but I can't be sure."

Snow...mountains...

That could've been anywhere.

Sebastian racked his brain for a place of significance that matched Dorian's description. Nothing was coming to mind. He could've been describing Hodvekt in the winter or some Ordinaire city in the Alps.

He grit his teeth.

He was still at square one. If he didn't figure out where Makaela was soon, his father would surely finish his quest and complete his plan of world domination. And he only had one more artifact left to collect.

House Vaya's.

Sebastian's eyes widened.

"That's it."

Dorian furrowed his brows. "Huh?"

"I know where she went."

"Well...?"

Sebastian peered at him, debating whether or not he should reveal what he knew. He figured there would be no harm in telling him. After all, he was stuck in a cage.

"She's in Tibet," he answered. "That's where House Vaya is. What she's doing there, I don't know, but I'm going there to find out."

"Bring me with you."

"What? You're out of your mind—"

"I said bring me with you."

He shook his head. "That's out of the question. You're staying here until we figure out what to do with you." Before Dorian could protest anymore, he jogged over to the stairs. As he made his way up the steps, he shot the man a sly smile. "But thank you for the tip. Couldn't have done it without you."

Dorian seethed at him. His ruby red eyes burned through the darkness suffocating the dungeon.

With that, Sebastian made his trek to the council room.

It was time for an emergency meeting.