CHAPTER 178: I KNEW SOMETHING WAS WRONG

Draegon

The clouds hadn’t thinned.

If anything, they clung tighter to the sky as I soared above the ancient trees, the wind screaming against my ears, and the smell of rain still thick in the air. The storm hadn’t let up—but I didn’t care. It would take more than a little thunder to stop me now.

Draken flew alongside me, the deep black of his wings cutting sharp through the fog as he held Vesper securely in his arms. The boy’s eyes were wide, but he was quiet, focused. Good. He knew what was at stake.

Below us stretched the cursed expanse of the Muriel Forest, vast and coiling like a black sea of tangled branches and secrets. Even from above, the forest looked...wrong. Its trees were taller than they should be, the canopies too dense to let light through. The deeper we flew, the more twisted the roots and trunks appeared, like something ancient had shaped them—and not with kindness.

Around our necks, the veiled stones hung, their magic pulsing lightly against our skin. It was faint, subtle, but powerful. Each one cloaked our presence in a bubble of silence and invisibility. The very air shimmered around us, and to any watching eyes or sensing spells below, we were little more than drifting shadows in the storm.

Draken glanced toward me.

I lifted two fingers and pointed east. "Take the far ridge," I said over the wind, my voice just loud enough for him to hear. "If you see anything—anything—signal me. A flare. Blue."

He gave a firm nod. "Understood."

In the next breath, his wings tilted, and with a gust of wind, he veered off to the far side of the forest, slipping into the fog like a phantom.

I dipped lower on my own path, sweeping across the canopy, scanning every unnatural break in the trees. My wings beat with practiced strength, carrying me in wide, measured loops as my eyes flicked from clearing to cliff to cave.

The forest stretched endlessly in all directions, and yet I kept going. I couldn’t shake the feeling that she was here. That Aelin was somewhere beneath this cursed wood, maybe even calling my name.

My grip tightened around the hilt of the sword strapped to my back.

Then, I saw it.

Nestled between two rising peaks, half-hidden behind a ring of ancient oaks and clouds—a structure.

Wooden, sprawling, and entirely too out of place.

A mansion.

***

Rael

The air felt heavier, something entered the perimeter

I sensed something was wrong, a tremor in the flow of energy, but I dismissed it. Too much paranoia made for bad judgment. Still, my steps echoed with a rhythm I didn’t like as I moved through the corridor of stone and dim torches, toward the grand lounge of the cult’s current stronghold.

I walked through the archway into the lounge, and a strange scent greeted me.

Like the scent of a strong demon.

My eyes landed on Reagen.

He sat at the center of the lounge like it was his throne, legs crossed, the dim orange glow of the sconces playing shadows across his face. In his hands was the leather-bound book the cultists had compiled—fragments of forbidden rites, twisted hymns, and detailed diagrams about summoning the Abyss. His fingers moved with care, tracing the glyphs like an old friend.

"When are you returning to Havenmoore?" I asked, voice low but cutting through the silence.

He didn’t look up.

"I’m not. Not anymore. I’m going to stay here." His voice was disturbingly calm. "When the biggest Abyss gate opens... I’ll be here. Watching. While the demon kingdom burns."

The part he hadn’t realized himself was that his madness wouldn’t end there. The abyss had consumed his mind in a different way

My brows furrowed. "Isn’t it cruel to sacrifice your little sister for that cause?"

That made him stop. He gently closed the book.

Then he looked up at me, and the smile that touched his lips was pure venom.

"Shut up. Aelin’s not my sister. She’s a tool. That’s all she ever was."

My jaw tensed.

He leaned forward, elbows on his knees, as if confiding a fond memory.

"She used to be so timid, you know. I could beat her till her bones cried, and she wouldn’t say a word. She didn’t even dare to look me in the eye. And Father? He was too busy to care or maybe he secretly hated her too for murdering his wife. Anyways I hid the evidence with healing magic. Easy."

I took a step forward, hand twitching near my side.

Reagen laughed. A cold, bitter sound that had no place in any world.

"I used to think she’d never amount to anything. Just a waste of space. But look at her now... standing at the altar of ruin. The perfect sacrifice."

He tossed the book aside like it was no more than trash, eyes glinting as they met mine.

"Isn’t fate funny, Rael?"

I nodded, "Life truly is weird," I said, "You never know how the tables will turn."

He snapped his fingers at me, "Exactly!" His smile was so wide, it looked like he had conquered the world, "Exactly," He nodded to himself, "It took so many years to get to this day." He inhaled as he closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath as if to savor the moment

But

Then he froze

His eyes shot open and looked at the other corridor

"Whose there!?" He shouted.

Took him long enough to notice. But well I can’t blame him. The enemy is using the highest class of magic

The sound of footsteps started to become noticeable as the person walked towards us.

We heard his voice before we saw him, "I knew something was wrong with you, the first time we met at the Duke’s mansion." The magic on his faded as he turned off the magic stone’s power

King Draegon stepped in front of us, his purple eyes filled with fury

"So you’ve been torturing my wife since she was a kid?" He was barely holding himself together. As if a moment’s absence would throw him into a fit of insane uncontrolled rage