— — Raiven — —
"Right, clear off! And don't even think about coming back, you lot!" Jason, the new kid from Varlac—who was actually pretty cool—somehow made it sound hilarious.
"Yeah, and stay out!" someone else shouted.
"Honestly, these vampires either have nothing going on upstairs or they're on something serious. It's like they're completely fearless," I muttered.
"Exactly! And how did they know exactly when to attack? We were completely unprepared," Senya added, crossing her arms.
"No, we need to look at this differently," I said. "First, that letter you received, Senya..."
"Then the Old Channel call—literally the night after the vault incident," she finished.
"Are you suggesting this was all connected?" Sera finally spoke up. It was surprising; she'd been unusually quiet all week. For a girl who never stopped talking, her silence was almost a compliment.
"Yes, but that's not all," I said. "Think about it—no one saw the culprit. Senya didn't see the sender's face when she got the letter. I couldn't see who called me. The call was manipulated—clean, no background noise. I thought only witches could do that." My eyes flicked to Sera.
"What are you looking at? It wasn't me!" she snapped.
"Hey, chill. No one said it was you," I replied.
"Well, your eyes were saying otherwise," she muttered, slightly calmer.
We'd moved to a secluded spot near the creek to avoid eavesdroppers. At Veyla, even the walls had ears. The tap was left running—the only way to guarantee privacy.
"Just answer the damn question!" Senya cut in sharply. "Did you know anything about the call?" For a second, I forgot she used to be my number one bully—until I'd kicked her ass.
"Hell no!" Sera yelled. "I'm just an Adept witch. There's only so much I can do."
"So?" I barked.
"It means it had to be at least an Arcane witch to manipulate an Old Channel call like that."
"Great. So, you've ruled out Adepts, leaving us with three more tiers of suspects."
Jason, quiet until now, frowned. "You're saying it had to be an Arcane witch?"
"No. Since the call wasn't muffled and there were no background noises—"
"None that I remember," I confirmed.
"—even Arcane witches can't pull that off. And since you couldn't see the caller's face, Eldritch witches are out too."
"Which leaves the Sorceress Supreme," Jason declared, like a detective in a bad crime flick.
"There are only two in Velmont City," I said.
"The Grand Witch… and your mother," Senya said, deadly serious.
"Could've been someone from another city," Jason offered.
"Then how'd they know about the prophecy? It hadn't leaked yet," I countered.
"Sorceress Supremes can see forward and backward in time—but not their own futures," Sera explained.
"But an outsider's still possible, right?" Jason pressed, confidence wavering as Senya shot him down.
"We're forgetting the letter's seal," she said, giving him her trademark Don't be stupid look.
"So, we're tied to Velmont," Jason conceded, like he was used to losing arguments.
"Not necessarily. An outsider with local contacts could've done it," I said. "But why target us first? Why not start in their own city?"
"Charity begins at home," Jason quipped, entirely missing the point.
"Let's rule out outsiders for now and focus on what's in front of us," Sera said.
I studied her. It was weird—this involved her kind, yet she wasn't defending them. But she had a point: an insider made more sense.
"Unless there's another Sorceress Supreme, we've hit a dead end. Your mother took the Oath, so she's out."
The Oath bound successors to the Grand Witch—Sera's mom, being the younger sister, had sworn it automatically. It forbade any action that threatened the witches' survival. Breaking it meant turning to ash and getting demoted in the spirit realm. A story for another day.
"It couldn't have been the Grand Witch," Senya said.
"Then who?" Jason demanded.
— Sera —
"There's something I haven't told you guys," I admitted, guilt prickling my throat.
Raiven's eyes sharpened. "What is it?"
"My aunt found out about your… alliance with Senya."
"It's not an alliance," Senya cut in. "Raiven's just an acquaintance."
I nearly snarled. "He might as well be your pet dog. Do I look like I care? Tell that to my aunt!"
"Whoa, easy!" Raiven stepped between us. "Last I checked, I'm standing here for the 'pet dog' and 'acquaintance' parts." He jerked his chin at me. "Continue."
I took a breath. "She said something about 'taming two proud races.' I think this is part of her plan. She meant you two weren't meant to be friends."
Raiven's face darkened. "And you didn't think to tell me?"
The disappointment stung. He was my best friend. "I didn't see the need—until now. Then you had the vault trial…"
"Doesn't matter," Jason interrupted, rubbing his hands like a second-rate detective. "We've got a suspect. Theories?"
Senya's mind was already racing. "The Grand Witch found out about us. She looked into the future, saw the vision, and sent the letter to throw me off. The call was to mess with Raiven. The vampires? Bait—a distraction from her real plan."
"Which is?" I pressed.
The silence hung, heavy as a threat.