dreams whisper through silence by mae 234

Chapter 234 

Lucas’s brows lifted. “Did you notify the guards?” 

“I can’t,” I said. 

Lucas stared at me. I sighed. “Look, I can’t explain the whole thing.” I held his gaze. “I just need you to trust me on that part.” 

A moment passed, but finally, he nodded once. 

I pulled the fabric out of my pocket and held it out to him. He took it, turning it over the same way I had, studying the stitched symbol on the reverse side. The two angular lines, the thing that might be a wing or a 

feather. 

“Where did you find this?” he asked. 

“Stuck to one of the hay bales near the capture the flag area. I think he dropped it, or it got caught when he was running away.” 

Lucas was quiet for a moment, still looking at the fabric. His brow furrowed slightly. 

“What?” I asked. 

“I think I know what this is.” He turned it toward me and pointed at the angular lines. “See how it’s bisected here? And the framing around it-it’s a laurel.” He paused. “This is a Gamma rank sigil.” 

I leaned in to get a closer look at the symbol. “You’re sure?” 

“Pretty sure.” He looked up at me. “Gamma rank markers are pack-specific. Every pack does them differently.” He turned the fabric again. “This one I’ve seen before. Not often, but I’ve seen it.” 

“Which pack?” 

“Pine Hollow,” he said. 

Pine Hollow, I didn’t know the name well, but I knew it. It was one of the regional packs, situated about an hour east of us. It was a small pack, one that we’d never had any issues with in the past. 

Why would the assassin come from there? The leaders of Pine Hollow had always been friendly with us, and they stood to gain nothing from assassinating Dominic or me. Was he working alone, perhaps? Or hired by an outside agent? 

I scratched my head, thinking for a long moment, then made a decision. “I need to go there. Talk to the leaders.” 

Lucas looked at me. 

“Today,” I added. “Will you come with me?” 

He was quiet for a moment. I waited for him to refuse. The wedding had been a disaster and even Lucas wasn’t the type to keep stirring up trouble with Dominic now that I was his wife. But I needed him, because there was no one else I could truly trust right now, and Abigail wasn’t here, and I needed to get to the bottom of this before that assassin hurt someone. 

1/2 

Before he hurt me. 

+30 Bonus 

“You said dangerous,” Lucas finally said after a long silence. “How dangerous are we talking?” 

I met his eyes. “The kind where I don’t want to find out what happens if I do nothing.” 

Another pause. Longer this time. 

Finally: “My car isn’t parked too far.” 

I smiled. “Thank you, Lucas.” 

“Mhm. Just promise me this won’t end with my head on a pike.” 

“When has that ever stopped you before?” I laughed. 

Lucas chuffed. “Fair enough. C’mon, let’s go before your husband comes to rip my throat out.’ 

He handed the fabric back to me and I tucked it into my pocket again. We walked back through the vendor row, past the capture the flag area, past the floral arrangements with their sunflowers and black-eyed Susans, past the long picnic tables and the kids lined up at the pin the tail on the wolf station and every single thing I had spent the last several days putting together from scratch. 

I didn’t let myself look at any of it for too long. 

If I was wrong about all of this, then I had abandoned my own festival for nothing and handed Vivian a victory on a silver platter. I would have to deal with the fallout from that, and from Dominic. 

But if I was right-and I was right, I was sure of it-then this was far more important than any petty wins or arguments with my husband. 

After all, the last time I had done nothing, I had ended up in the ground. 

Lucas’s car was parked along the east fence line with a handful of others. He unlocked it without saying anything and I got in, pulling the door shut behind me. 

The festival noise faded as we pulled out of the lot and onto the road heading east toward Pine Hollow. 

+30 Bonus