The Aedraynne Mountains loomed in the distance, jagged peaks cutting into the stormy sky like broken glass. The winds howled, swirling around the plateau where Seventeen stood, arms crossed, staring into the endless horizon. She kept her back to the others, knowing they were watching her, waiting for her to explain more, to offer clarity. But the words tangled in her throat. Her mind was elsewhere.
Noah's last message. His voice still echoed in her mind, dark and cryptic, urging her to return. There had been something in his tone—something that worried her. The usually calm, unshakable leader of the Ophiuchus district had sounded… off. The message had been brief, almost hurried.
She hated how much it haunted her.
Noah and Lilith—her family in every way that mattered—had always been her safe haven. They had taken her in when her world shattered, mending the pieces of her broken heart. They raised her with love, with purpose. They made her feel whole when she thought she could never be more than a shell of who she had been born as.
And Joshua and Cassie—her best friends since childhood, Lilith younger twin siblings. They knew her better than anyone. Her partners in crime, her confidants, the only two people who had ever seen beyond the cold exterior she presented to the world aside from Ten. If Noah's message had shaken her, then the Duke siblings' silence had terrified her. They hadn't spoken to her since she left, it had been more than a year, and now, she knew they were coming to meet her. It was a relief to know they were alive, but what could have happened that even they hadn't reached out?
Seventeen's jaw tightened. She couldn't let these thoughts show. Not to them. Not to the six strangers she had dragged into this mess.
Behind her, she could sense Draco, Claus, Amelia, Light, Sablina, and Hunter shifting uneasily. The weight of betrayal hung in the air like a thick fog, suffocating everything around them. They hadn't spoken since she revealed the truth, and it was obvious that each of them felt shattered, disillusioned. ["Good,"] she thought bitterly, clenching her fists. ["Let them hate me. It's better this way."]
Because the alternative—letting them see how much she actually cared—was a vulnerability she couldn't afford.
A sharp gust of wind blew her long chestnut hair across her face, and she used the distraction to mask the flicker of guilt that passed through her emerald green eyes. Guilt for how she had manipulated them, for how she had needed them to be here. They were meant to be pawns, tools in the prophecy she had known since childhood, but along the way, they had become more than that. She hated how much she had grown to care.
But she could never show it.
"Lovely weather we're having, don't you think?" she said suddenly, turning toward the group with a twisted smirk. Her voice was cold, dripping with sarcasm. "Perfect day for a reunion."
Draco's eyes narrowed at her tone, but he didn't respond immediately. The others exchanged wary glances, unsure of how to react to her icy indifference. They were still reeling from the truth she had dropped on them—how she had orchestrated everything, how their lives revolved around her. The rawness of betrayal was etched into their faces, and seeing it made her stomach twist.
But Seventeen masked it all with a sneer. "Come on, don't look so disappointed. I thought you'd be happy to be part of something so… historic." Her tone was mocking, biting, as if none of this mattered to her. But it was a lie. Every word she spoke tasted bitter on her tongue.
"Cut the crap, Seven," Draco finally said, stepping forward, his voice hard. "You don't get to act like this after everything you've put us through."
She arched an eyebrow, feigning amusement. "I don't get to act like this? Last time I checked, I was the one pulling the strings here. You should be thanking me. Without me, you'd still be wandering around clueless about the prophecy, acting like mommy and daddy's little paws. You're in the winning team now. We are the winning team."
Amelia's fists clenched at her sides, her lips a thin line of frustration. "You used us," she spat. "You manipulated us, lied to us! How could you expect us to just… accept that?"
"Because that's what you're here for," Seventeen replied, her voice low and sharp. "You're all part of the bigger picture, whether you like it or not. It's not my fault you were too naive to see it coming."
The words stung even as she said them. The truth was, she didn't hate them. She hated herself for needing them, for growing attached. And seeing their hurt—seeing how deeply she had cut them—it gnawed at her insides. But she had to stay strong. She couldn't let them see how much this was tearing her apart.
"I knew you weren't a natural blond," Hunter exclaimed so seriously that she struggled to swallow the laughter that bubbled in her chest, but managed. "I had a gut feeling you were hiding something big, maybe about your identity. Definitely. But I didn't think you would betray us, use us, not like this. I didn't want to think that. I thought you were someone else."
"Someone else?" ["Don't gulp."] "Such as?"
Hunter narrowed his pink eyes, analyzing her, "It seemed like you wouldn't know."
["Was it my slip of tongue before?"] She ponded, stress flooding her entire being. "I'm Seventeen. That's my name. No one else."
Draco's gaze bore into her, unflinching. He could see it. She could feel his eyes trying to peel back her layers, see through her facade. He had always had the best senses for that, he was the only was who sniffed her bullshit before, even if he came to fall for it. "I don't buy it," he said quietly, but with a certainty that made her pulse quicken. "You don't hate us."
Seventeen's heart skipped a beat, but she quickly masked it with a scoff. "Oh, please. Save me the melodrama."
"No," he pressed, his voice low, but insistent. "You don't hate us, Seventeen. You care. You just can't admit it."
Her chest tightened. His words struck too close to the truth, and she hated how he could read her so easily. She rolled her eyes, turning away from him. "Think whatever you want, De Lavissaye. It doesn't change the fact that we're stuck together now, and we have to make this work. Whether you feel betrayed or not is irrelevant."
"Is it?" Draco challenged, stepping closer. "Because it seems like you're trying really hard to push us away. Like maybe you're afraid of what happens if you let us in."
His proximity made her skin prickle with tension, but she refused to back down. She had to stay in control. "You're delusional," she muttered, but the words lacked their usual bite.
Before Draco could press further, movement caught her attention, and her heart leapt into her throat.
Noah Whitlock appeared at the edge of the clearing, his powerful frame unmistakable even from a distance. Behind him were Joshua and Cassie, and Lilith, tall and graceful, her sharp eyes scanning the scene with calm authority. Relief washed over Seventeen, but she quickly masked it with a cold smirk.
"Well, if it isn't the cavalry," she said with forced nonchalance. "Come to save the day?"
Noah's gaze softened when it met hers, but his face remained serious. "We came because we're worried about you, sweetheart."
"Worried?" Seventeen laughed, though the sound was hollow. "I'm fine, Noah. No need to bring the whole family reunion out here."
Lilith stepped forward, her voice gentle but firm. "You've been through a lot, Seven. We all have. We're here to help you, but you need to let us."
"I don't need help," she shot back, her voice sharper than intended. "I don't need anyone."
But her words didn't reach them like they used to. Joshua and Cassie exchanged a glance, and Seventeen could see the concern in their eyes—concern for her. For a moment, her facade almost crumbled. These were the people she cared about more than anything in the world. The people who had always been there for her, who had seen her at her worst and still stood by her.
But if she let that show now, if she let them in, she'd be vulnerable. And there was too much at stake for vulnerability.
"And you asked me to come back. The letter, remember? You worried me sick, father." When Noah frowned as if he didn't understand what she was talking about, her heart skipped a beat and she froze.
"Letter? I didn't sent you any letter, Seven," he took a step closer and she felt dizzy. "Do you have it?"
She swallowed, gripping the paper she had tucked away in her jacket, she handed it to him, "I sent you one and you sent me this."
"Seventeen," he tensed before even reading it, "I never received any letter."
"Then who sent me this?" She pointed to the paper in his hand, her chest heaving, making her struggle to breath.
As Noah's emerald green eyes ran over the paper, she froze, when he looked back to his daughter, the green of his gaze was gone giving place to spiraling darkness. "It was her."
"Her?" Her eyes widened. "Her?"
"Her... who, exactly?" Lilith and her siblings asked.
"Who is her?" Draco and Hunter questioned.
But to Noah and Seventeen, it was just the two of them, everyone else faded away as they grasped to understand what that meant. "I can feel her magic lingering in it, it's unmistakable. Did you... cross paths with her?"
Panic began to crawl up her throat, summoning a shadow scepter, she held onto it, needing to steady herself, "I... I avoided her. I didn't cross paths with her."
"Kid," he clenched the letter in his hands, "what did you say in the letter you sent me?"
Her brain scrambled to remember what she had sent him, as she did, she paled, "Enough that I took this letter as an answer to that one."
"You're lucky she doesn't want you dead," his voice was a whisper. "But if she did this instead of going to you, it means she is planning something. Something to do with the rebellion you and the heirs started."
"Fuck," she closed her eyes, cursing herself. "I should have been more careful. I ended up being found by the two people who couldn't meet me. It was my mistake."
"He also found you?" This time, Noah's eyes were gentle.
She swallowed, looking away, "He knew where I was all along. He didn't interrupt me. But he made sure I knew that he knew. I would rather keep it to myself, father."
"Did you see... anyone else?"
Seventeen knew exactly what he was talking about and she halted, staring at the ground. She didn't say anything, choosing to stay silent, it was too soon for her to talk about it. Her emotions were still conflicted after all that had gone down before she left Downtown. ["There are too many eyes on me. I can't show weakness. Not more than I already did."]
"Seven," Noah said, his voice softer now. "Whatever happened, I'm here. We've always been in this together, it won't change now, okay? Everything that needs to be done, we'll do it together."
Seventeen's heart twisted painfully at his words. She wanted to believe him, wanted to let him in like she always had. But she couldn't. Not yet. Not with the others watching. Not with Draco's gaze boring into her, seeing too much.
"Funny," she said, her tone icy once again. "I seem to remember being the one doing all the heavy lifting. But sure, let's pretend we're all in this together."
Draco's jaw clenched, but before he could speak, Noah took a step forward, his gaze steady on Seventeen. "We're heading back to the city tomorrow. It's time we regroup. Time to train, to prepare for what's coming. I felt you coming back so I came here, I'm glad to have you home again, daughter."
Seventeen swallowed hard, the weight of his words pressing down on her. Home. She hadn't realized how much she needed to hear that word, how much she longed for the safety of Serpentpire. But she wouldn't let them see how much it affected her. Not yet.
"Whatever," she said, shrugging. "Just tell me where I need to be."
But as Seventeen turned away from the group, her heart ached with the weight of her deception. She had to keep pretending she didn't care, had to keep pushing them away. Because if she let herself care—if she let them in—there was no turning back.
And she wasn't sure if she was ready to face that yet.