CHAPTER 274: WE MEET AGAIN

[The Ravens’ Coven... inner territories]

The chamber was mostly silent...except for the low hum that pulsed from the crystal ball.

Blue flares flickered inside, rippling like a storm contained in glass.

Selene’s face was bathed in that light.

Her breath came uneven, catching, gasping, her lips parting and pressing shut again as if she couldn’t decide whether to scream or whisper.Her brows knit together, trying to concentrate... understand... whatever was unravelling before her.

Her hands clenched tight at her waist, fingers digging into her hips as she gritted through her teeth.

Her eyes... wide, unblinking... soaked in the glow. The reflection of the blue fire danced in her irises, swallowing everything else.

Her mouth finally opened with a sharp intake. A rasp...then came a whisper...audible only to herself.

"...impossible..."

The clicking of heels at the back broke the chamber’s uncanny silence.

Slow.

Measured.

The steps echoed like the tick of a clock counting down.

Selene didn’t turn. She knew who it was.

She stood locked in front of the crystal, its light clawing at her skin as the the shoreline rippled, the bodies inside tossed and fought...and her eyes were met with more blue... sparkling

Then Ravena’s smooth, cold hands ,wrapped over her shoulders.

"Well, well...you felt the power burst at the shoreline too...didn’t you..."

The voice was a melody of poison and play.

Ravena’s tone slithered down Selene’s spine as she leaned in...her lips almost grazed her ear. "What a spectacle..."

Selene’s chest rose and fell in ragged jerks.

Ravena’s chin tipped lazily towards the crystal ball. She tilted her head, mock-curious... then a sharp, exaggerated gasp broke her lips.

"Oh, my, my, my..." she crooned, a smirk already twisting. "...it was Autumn all along."

Her laugh came next. A scoff in disguise. "Why isn’t that a surprise?"

Selene flinched but didn’t move away. Her lips trembled. Her eyes refused to leave the crystal ball.

"...so much power..." she whispered, voice breaking. "...this over flowing energy..." Her breath hitched again. "...all this time...how...how is this possible???"

Her hand reached up, trembling, almost pressing against the glass.

"This power in its unleashed form...it’s just like my powers..." Her throat tightened, strangling her words. "...but a million times... superior. What the fuck is this...?"

Her chest heaved, her breath ragged. "What’s going on Ravena...?!"

Ravena didn’t bother hiding her disinterest. She flicked her nails against her thigh, casting a glance around the shadow-choked chamber as though bored of the entire situation.

Finally, she sighed.

"Well, anyways..." She drawled the words, rolling them in her mouth like they were stale. "I came to inform you of the summon."

Selene blinked, jerking out of her trance. Her head snapped towards Ravena.

"...summon?"

Ravena turned her head...sharp.Her grin cut like a blade.

She leaned closer, her voice sugar-slick.

"You must immediately take yourself inside the Circle."

Her smirk deepened. Her voice dropped to a mocking whisper.

"The Most High wants to pay you a personal visit."

The words dropped like stones in water.

It’s weight rippled.

Selene’s breath fled. She gasped, staggering back from both Ravena and the crystal ball. Her heel caught the edge of the dais, nearly tripping her.

Her eyes widened, mouth opening but no words came out. Her lips only trembled.

The chamber went silent again, except for her shallow, panicked breaths as Ravena nonchalantly left.

Her fingers twitched at her sides.

Her lips trembled as she whispered to herself, voice literally shaking.

"...the Most High... wants to see me...?"

The words tasted foreign.

She took a step backward, her body stiff as stone. Another step. Then another. Until the crystal’s glow was swallowed by the shadows of the narrow passage that led deeper inside the coven’s forbidden heart.

Her unsure footsteps rang. Click. Click. Click.

Each sound bounced off the cold walls as if mocking her.

The deeper she went, the heavier the air became. Dampness clung to her skin. A faint, iron tang scraped at her nose.

The corridor widened into a cavernous chamber.

Her breath hitched.

The Circle.

The place every initiate whispered about but never dared to describe aloud.

It was darker than night itself. The walls dripped with veins of something slick, pulsing faintly as though alive. Strange sigils crawled across the stone floor, glowing in a dim red that flickered like embers struggling to breathe.

At the far edges of the chamber, shapes hunched and shifted, indistinct, like shadows given flesh. Their eyes...or what she thought were eyes...glimmered faintly before vanishing again.

Selene froze at the threshold. Her heart hammered against her ribs.

"...damn the Ravens...what is this place...this darkness...nothing like anything I have seen before..." she whispered under her breath, her voice nearly lost in the chamber’s endless echo.

Her foot lifted. Hesitated. Came down inside the Circle.

A shiver crawled over her entire body. The ground beneath her pulsed...like a heartbeat.

"Fuck..." she hissed, hugging her arms around herself as her steps carried her deeper.

Her voice was swallowed instantly this time, no echo, no return. Just silence.

She moved slowly, each breath shallower than the last, each step a fight against the weight pressing down on her body from all sides.

Finally, she reached the very center of the Circle.

She turned, slowly, looking around with wide, hunted eyes.

"...I am here, Most High..." her voice cracked. "I...I was summoned..."

Her hands shook as she lifted them to her chest, as though to shield her own heart. Her throat tightened.

"...Why was I summoned, Most High...?"

Then...a sudden crack was heard overhead.

A shaft of harsh white light fell on her like spot light...like judgment. It cut through the suffocating black, pinning her in the middle of the Circle as though she were prey caught in a snare.

Selene flinched, throwing a hand up to shield her eyes.

Her breath shattered.

Then a voice finally spoke.

Smooth. Feminine. Deep, curling with something sinister.

It rolled across the chamber, wrapping around her spine, sinking into her bones.

"...so we meet again, Selene..."

Her eyes widened. Her mouth parted in silent shock.