CHAPTER 237: WAIT A LITTLE...

[ Old World – Autumn’s Fortress -The High Altar...behind the Waterfall’s Veil (the party continues) ]

The enchanted water fell in a ceaseless cascade, silver ribbons tumbling from a height so great it seemed to slice the air in two.

From below, the guests could hear only the roar, the thunderous hymn of the falls. But behind that veil, where no eyes could pierce, the world was still.

And Autumn stood there... standing in front of her throne!

Her silhouette was framed in the faint phosphorescence of moss and crystal veins embedded into the cavern walls. She rested one hand lightly on the marble balustrade, her fingers long, elegant, motionless...as though even her stillness was deliberate, commanding.Like a melancholy leader, on top of the world...yet a prisoner of her own thoughts somehow.

Her brilliant blue eyes lingered on the sea of guests below. The wolves, the witches, the vampires, the ancient beasts, the shadows...all her guests. They shifted, they whispered, they marveled. But her gaze found two among them and lingered.

Velor. Niva.

Amusement flickered across her lips...a smile born of warmth from somewhere deep within,only to flicker and fade as memories flooded back in. The Bloodfangs were Kieran’s accomplice... they led the New World Alliance... and all the happy memories vanished instantly.

But she watched. She noticed...the way Niva slipped so seamlessly into charm, the way Velor cloaked unease with humor. Autumn tilted her head slightly, the waterfall’s mist clinging to her hair like a halo, though there was nothing angelic about her presence.

A shadow moved at her back. Then another. Figures half formed, men and women and things that once were both or neither. Their whispers rose like smoke in a chorus.

The voice like a blade drew across stone, leaned forward. "Shall we begin, my lady? The crowd grows restless."

They almost hissed, low but too eager. "Too many have gathered... too much waiting. They will start demanding a host pretty soon. "

Autumn’s eyes never left the sight of the oceanic expanse, the guests drifting across its glass surface, unaware of the predator...the watcher...the guardian...above them. She shifted slightly, her chin lifting a fraction.

When she finally spoke, her voice was soft...but it carried authoritarian weight.

"No." Autumn raised her hand.

The word echoed through the cavern like the strike of a bell. The shadows stilled.

Autumn let her thumb drag, languidly, against the railing, as though she were stroking the very spine of the world. Her lips curved again, this time into something sharper.

"Not yet."

The first shadow pressed again, hesitant. "Then... you are waiting? For someone particular?"

At that, Autumn turned. Her gown whispered against the stone, every line of her body steeped in quiet poise, the command of someone who did not need to raise her tone to be obeyed.

She let her gaze rake across them all before she answered.

"Yes," she said at last, blue eyes flashing with a faint ember of light. The waterfall’s veil shimmered, echoing her words as though it bowed to her will.

"In fact..." Autumn’s smile deepened, her teeth catching the glow of the crystals."I am."

She leaned towards the crowd once more...and then her body stiffened the moment Kieran crossed the threshold.

Her eyes constricted, sharp as a hawk’s, and for a heartbeat too long she couldn’t breathe.

Anger was there, simmering at the edges. Longing...damn it, she hated herself for even recognizing it...rose in her chest like an old wound reopening. And beneath it all, something darker, something unnameable, crawled in her ribs.

Her lips parted as though to speak... and then froze when her gaze slid past him.

To Lyla.

Her composure cracked. Her heart thudded unnaturally, hammering against her ribs so loudly she was sure the others could hear. A shadow of panic flickered across her poised face before she smoothed it out with trembling precision.

"No... Not here.Autumn! Get a grip!"

Her nails dug lightly into the folds of her gown as if to root herself.

Kieran, oblivious or perhaps deliberately restrained, inclined his head slightly.

"This place is as grand as the rumors suggest." His voice was low, even calculated.

Lyla stood a half step behind him, her eyes taking everything in but never betraying thought. That stillness was almost provoking.

"Grand, yes," she finally said, breaking the heavy silence, "but it kind of feels like a cage instead of a party. Like a golden cage..."

The words slipped, soft but sharp.

Her throat tightened. She cursed herself silently, willing her features to remain collected. One breath more, and she might have let it all unravel.

But then...a chaotic sound split the night sky.

Heavy and loud cawing filled the air.

One. Then another. Then dozens, multiplying in the night until it was a chorus that rattled all bones.

The guests shifted, murmurs rippling through the courtyard. Heads tilted back in unison, eyes narrowing against the dark.

Kieran’s hand drifted towards the dagger at his belt. Lyla’s fingers curled around her sleeve as Niva inched closer towards her. Velor too looked around, quite alert.

From the heavens, a shadow spread like ink across parchment. A figure descending, shrouded in feathers and obvious malice. The wild ravens circled, their wings blotting out the moonlight.

Lyla’s breath hitched."What... what is that?"

The air itself seemed to grow colder, as if bracing for whatever darkness came with the silhouette.

And then...silence, before the storm of wings crashed overhead.

Gasps and murmurs swirled through the air.

The sky grew darker as the last raven cut across the moonlight, its shadow scattering over the gathering... when finally the face came into view...

" Selene..." Velor gasped.

Selene’s high heels touched the ground with calculated grace. Every movement of hers was deliberately sexy...hips swaying, chin lifted, a smile playing at her lips that was truly dangerous. She landed directly in front of Kieran, forcing everyone else in the circle to shift instinctively back.

Without hesitation, she shoved Lyla aside with a careless flick of her hand, as though brushing dust off silk. Lyla stumbled but caught herself, glaring, though her glare faltered under Selene’s prowling presence.

Selene’s finger, long and tipped with a polished black nail, pressed lightly against Kieran’s chest. She tilted her head, her raven hair spilling forward as her crimson lips parted into a teasing smile.

"Missed me, handsome?" she purred, her voice rich and dripping with mock affection. Her body leaned closer, pressing her scent into the air around him. "I missed you so much."

Niva’s brows furrowed. She shifted uncomfortably in her place, though she said nothing yet, her eyes darting from Kieran’s stoic face to Selene’s brazen advance.

Selene didn’t stop there. She moved closer still, her body almost grazing Kieran’s, her breath warm against his cheek. Her fingers slid upward from his chest, tracing the line of his collarbone with slow, lazy circles.

"I heard you are mateless at the moment," she whispered, her tone too sultry and definitely sly. Her lips hovered dangerously close to his ear lobe, her face brushing against his jawline as she added, "And I heard, you and your wife...don’t even touch each other."

She giggled at those words. Too funny apparently.

Lyla flinched as Selene’s piercing gaze suddenly turned on her. The witch’s crimson dark eyes narrowed, sharp as daggers, slicing into her as though she were nothing but an unwelcome intrusion. Lyla instinctively stepped back, pressing her lips together to stop the quiver in her breath.

Selene’s smile widened, satisfied with the discomfort she caused. Slowly, deliberately, she let her fingers glide down from Kieran’s collarbone back to his chest, then rested them just over his heart. Her head tilted as she let out a low, breathy laugh.

"Why don’t the two of us get back, Kieran?" she asked, her voice honeyed, though laced with dark amusement. Her lips nearly grazed his skin as she whispered, "You know... like the good old days."

The circle was silent, save for the restless shifting of boots and the faint cawing of ravens overhead.

Kieran’s silence only seemed to embolden Selene.

Her eyes gleamed with mischief as her fingers trailed higher up his chest, drawing idle circles over the fabric of his shirt. She tilted her head, letting her hair cascade down one shoulder, her lips curving into a deliberately slow smile.

"Not even a word?" she teased, her voice dripping honey. "Ah, I remember... you were always the dominant,silent type. I get it. The kind who lets his eyes do the talking.I can make do with that." Her gaze dipped low between his pants, then climbed up again settling right over his lips, deliberately bold, deliberately suggestive.

Niva’s jaw clenched. She didn’t move, but her nails dug into her palms beneath her sleeves...the only betrayal of her agitation.Velor held her back.

Lyla, on the other hand, shrank a step back, her wide eyes darting between the two, unsure whether to intervene or simply vanish.

Selene leaned even closer, her lips ghosting near Kieran’s neck. "Tell me, do you ever wake up at night... remembering how my body felt under yours? Do you..."

Kieran’s head snapped towards her, his usually composed face hardening like iron. His breathing rose, lips parted but he didn’t get the chance to speak.

From nowhere, a bluish aura crackled in the air like a whip of light.

It struck Selene across the face with a resounding crack...so loud it echoed through the open space.

The force lifted her off her feet and sent her tumbling back several paces before she crashed onto the transparent floor... it even rippled, mimicking the motion of a real ocean.

A sharp gasp rippled through the onlookers.

Selene’s hand flew to her cheek, eyes blazing, more with shock than pain.

The gathering stood frozen...Kieran rigid, Lyla trembling, Niva’s eyes narrowing, searching for the source of that glowing, vengeful strike.

But only the faint shimmer of blue lingered in the air, like the echo of an unseen...