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He scrubs a hand down his face and frowns, eyes falling to the book in my hands. “It’s Idril.”

My default is to tell him he’s wrong. I’m already opening my mouth to do exactly that when I catch his expression and suck in a breath, stopping myself.

Fuck, what am I doing? Haven’t I ignored his instincts enough? If I’d listened to him just once when he came to me about Idril, shit wouldn’t be nearly as bad as it is now.

My Alpha grunts, acknowledging my self-recrimination. The judgment in that single sound makes me wince.

But what really hurts is the shock in Vae’s eyes when he realizes I’m not going to contradict or browbeat him.

For both our sakes, I ignore the exchange and follow his gaze back to the still open book in my hands. Riven leans in closer as well, and mutters, “Well, shit.”

Cautiously, I run the pads of my fingers across the girl’s delicate form. The dried paint is soft and powdery against my skin. My lips part, and as if the universe itself reaches into my chest and pulls it out, her name forms on my tongue and falls from my lips in a voice that sounds nothing like my own.

“Idril.”

The air beneath the willow stills. The world around us freezes. The fronds that have been swaying since we arrived abruptly stop. The chirping birds go silent. Even the faint noises from the forest cease to exist.

“What the—” Riven curses, and we all tense. It takes longer than I care to admit before I notice the book—still open in my hands—moving.

“Shit!”

Vae and Riven spin to face me, their eyes snapping to the book I’ve thrust away on instinct. The faint trembling quickly turns to shaking, and I have to tighten my grip so I don’t accidentally drop it.

“Is it humming?” Vae asks, leaning in closer. Riven and I exchange confused looks, and right as I’m about to tell him I don’t hear anything, the noise reaches my ears.

Well damn… he’s right.

Bright light explodes from the pages, shooting straight into the sky like a fucking spotlight. It takes everything in me to keep my hold on the tome and shield my eyes from the light, but somehow, I manage it.

It reminds me instantly of Daniella, the Omega who lit up randomly after being injected with Idril’s blood. Riven shouts a string of curses, and Vae does what I wish I could do and takes a huge step back, throwing his arms up to shield his eyes.

As fast as it appeared, the light begins to dim. Only a few seconds pass before I can look at it once more. Right as it begins to contract by folding in on itself.

I blink repeatedly to clear the afterimages from my vision. The humming intensifies, and I pull the book closer and lean in, watching in awe as the light—now folded into a slim beam shaped like a pen—starts moving across the final, blank page.

“It’s writing something,” Riven breathes, grinning like it is the best thing that’s ever happened to him. Knowing him, it actually is.

Vae’s smile is a little more hesitant, but as we watch the light-pen move in precise, sweeping scrawl, it’s hard not to give in to astonishment.

That feeling only intensifies as radiant golden letters appear, forming words that whisper into existence along the parchment with a soft hissing sound, as if they’re being burnt into the very fibers of the paper itself.

The light flares brightly before unraveling. It floats into the air and disappears amongst the fronds, leaving a message etched in fire and a faint ringing hum in its wake.

Vae exhales like he’s waking from a dream. He reaches across the space between us, pausing with his hand hovering right over the still glowing words of the book.

Riven reaches out and smacks his hand. “What are you, five? Sure, Vae, go ahead and touch the flaming prophecy that just appeared in the back of a glowing book buried underground and saturated with magic. Hey, I’ve got an idea! While you’re at it, why don’t you lick it? Really get the full sensory experience.”

Vae glares at him indignantly. “I wasn’t going to touch it; I’m not Silas.”

Riven raises a single brow, and Vae’s eyes drop to his shoes. He stuffs his hands in his pants pockets and mutters, “I just wanted to see if it was hot.”

Riven rolls his eyes and steps closer. “Alright, what’s it say?”

Rather than adjusting my hold again, I press it into his chest. “Here, my arms are starting to ache, and I can’t read it. I'm still half blind from that light.”

Riven takes it from me with the same reverence someone would give a priceless artifact. He mutters to himself, eyes flitting back and forth as he reads and rereads the passage. I try to be patient, but my patience ran out hours ago.

“Well?” I ask, and Vae’s brows shoot to his hairline at my tone. Riven glances up, brows furrowed.