Chapter 3 Whispers Under the Floorboards

KAEL POV

As soon as Raven stepped into Blackthorn Estate, things changed. The house seemed to notice her. It was like the magic in its walls had been holding back, waiting for her to come back. When the door closed, the silence got heavy, like the house knew something I did not.

She stopped in the entryway, looking up at the ceiling. She brushed her fingers along the hallway arch, like she was remembering something that had not happened yet. The torchlight moved across her face, and she looked older, smarter, a little dangerous.

This place feels wrong, she said quietly.

She was right. Blackthorn had not felt like home lately. The night noises had gotten worse. Shadows were not staying put. Some wolves claimed they heard laughter in their dreams. Some never woke up.

Where is the child? she asked.

I pointed and started walking. She did not need me to say more. She followed, her steps light but sure. Her bag bounced against her hip, and even though she did not say anything, her presence was loud. My warriors warned me that bringing her back would cost me. But letting my pack die in silence would cost me even more.

"She's upstairs," I said. "Doing okay. Barely. No one can stop it."

"She's not just sick," Raven muttered. "She's cursed."

That word tasted bad. Cursed. Something we did not want to admit. Something no pack wanted to deal with.

We got to the room. The door was already open. The smell hit her right away: too sweet herbs, copper, mildew. Raven tensed up. She knew it was not just rot. Something had been left to get worse in that room.

I did not put those herbs there, I said.

I know, she replied without looking at me.

She went past the doorway and knelt by the bed. The girl, Alia, was still. Her skin was pale, her lips cracked. Her pulse was weak. Raven leaned in close, her eyes soft.

Her hand hovered over the child's chest. She did not touch her. Instead, she reached into her bag and took out cloth pouches, roots I didn't know, and jars filled with dark, shiny dust. She started sorting through them quickly.

Water, she said.

I moved.

When I got back, the room smelled different. Older. Heavier. The air felt thick. She was grinding herbs in her hand, muttering in a language I did not know. It sounded like leaves rustling and thunder far away.

What language is that? I asked.

She did not look at me. It's mine. Be quiet.

The mixture started to glow, like twilight embers. She dipped her fingers in it and brushed it across the girl's forehead, chest, and wrists. A pulse shook the room, and the torches dimmed.

Alia breathed out. Deep and slow. Her body was still. The shaking stopped.

Raven slumped back, out of breath, sweat on her neck.

She will live, she whispered. But this house won't let me save everyone.

I frowned. What do you mean?

She did not answer right away. She looked up at the ceiling. Something's buried here. Something old. It's waking up."

I looked at her. Are you talking about under the estate?

"No," she said softly. "I'm talking about under you. Under your legacy. Your pride. Your lies."

She stood up, grabbed her stuff, and walked past me without another word.

SELENE POV

I watched them from the shadows of the west corridor, listening. Kael had brought her back. The one he pushed away. The one with blood that no wolf should trust.

I gritted my teeth as she walked past him, like she belonged here. She did not. She was a threat, not just to the pack, but to Kael himself. I had spent years helping him keep this place together. She had spent years hiding.

Raven Callahan should never have come back.

I turned and went into the west wing. I had my own things to do and my own secrets to keep.

RAVEN POV

I could not sleep that night. The room they gave me was too quiet. The silence felt like something waiting for me to close my eyes.

I drew a small symbol on the windowsill with salt and dried rowan bark. A basic guard. Not strong enough to stop what was in this house, but maybe enough to slow it down. I put my bag near the door and lay down with my eyes open, listening.

That's when I heard it: a knock.

Three of them. Not at the door. At the floor.

I sat up.

I listened again.

Silence.

Then another knock. Louder this time.

I jumped out of bed before I even got scared. I went to the wall and put my ear to the wooden panels. The boards felt like they were breathing.

Then a whisper: "She bleeds the blood of queens."

I froze.

I had not heard that in years. My mother used to whisper it when she tucked me in. Her voice felt like a lullaby. No one else knew those words.

And she had disappeared before I could ask her what they meant.

I stood up slowly, thinking fast. My heart was pounding. Whatever was under this room wasn't just a ghost.

It was a memory.

It was blood.

KAEL POV

I could not sleep. I stood on the balcony outside my study, watching the moon over the pines. The wolves hadn't howled in days, which meant something was wrong. Something weird.

I touched the iron rail. It was cold. Colder than usual.

Behind me, I heard something faint: Raven's voice. Not words, just her presence. Her magic had already marked the house. I did not know if I should be happy or afraid.

When I turned back, the fireplace had gone out. The room was dark.

RAVEN POV

Before dawn, I left my room. The estate was quiet. Most people were still asleep. I walked down the halls, remembering Kael's old study from when I used to be welcome here.

The door was locked. Of course.

But the wall to the right had always been weird.

I felt along the bookshelf until I found the loose stone, just like the voice had said.

Behind it was a scroll, old and cracked, tied with red twine that smelled like fire.

I opened it with shaking hands.

At the bottom, in faded ink, was a name I had not seen since I was a kid: my mother's.

And the warning that followed made my throat tight:

If she uses the blood, she will be hunted.

A soft sound behind me.

Not a knock.

A breath.

I turned, but no one was there.

Only a whisper floating in the dark:

"She already has."