CHAPTER 130: CHAPTER 130: THE TOKEN

GRAYSON KISSED HER.

Not the careful, controlled kisses they’d shared before in the safety of the estate, but something raw and honest.

His hand came up to cup her face, thumb tracing the line of her jaw with surprising gentleness given the fury still radiating from him. The kiss deepened, and Mailah felt herself melting into him, one hand fisting in his shirt to keep herself steady as the world tilted pleasantly sideways.

When they finally broke apart, she was breathless and dizzy and probably grinning like an idiot.

"So," Lucien called from what he’d apparently decided was a diplomatically strategic distance, "are we done with the romantic interlude? Because as touching as this is, we really should keep moving before someone decides to follow us."

"You’re enjoying this way too much," Mailah muttered, but she let Grayson tug her back into motion, their hands still firmly linked.

"I’m enjoying watching centuries of emotional repression crumble in real time," Lucien corrected cheerfully. "It’s better than theater."

"I will throw you into a tree," Grayson threatened without heat.

"You could try," Lucien replied. "Though I’d just fly away and mock you from above."

Oliver, who had been maintaining a respectful silence, finally cleared his throat. "Not to interrupt the banter, but did anyone else notice that the corrupted familiar had a binding rune? Someone deliberately sent that thing after us," he repeated.

The levity drained from the moment like water through a sieve. Grayson’s expression shifted back to dangerous calculation, and even Lucien’s perpetual amusement dimmed slightly.

"I noticed," Grayson said quietly. "Which means someone knew we’d be at the Market tonight. Someone who wanted to either kill us or send a very pointed message."

"Wonderful," Mailah said flatly. "So we’re being hunted."

"Welcome to the supernatural world," Lucien said. "It’s all death threats and passive-aggressive magical attacks from here on out."

"You say that like it’s normal," Oliver protested, Shadow shifting nervously in his arms.

"It is normal," Grayson replied. "Or at least, it’s been normal for centuries."

He glanced at Mailah, and the weight of that look made her chest tight.

"So what do we do?" she asked. "Hide? Run? Pretend none of this happened and hope whoever sent that thing loses interest?"

"None of the above," Grayson said firmly. "We prepare."

"And how do we do that?" Oliver asked nervously.

Before anyone could answer, Shadow suddenly hissed—a low, threatening sound that made everyone freeze. The cat’s fur stood on end, its eyes fixed on something in the darkness ahead.

"Oh, that’s not good," Oliver whispered.

Lucien’s wings manifested in a flash of white light, and Grayson moved so fast he was nearly a blur, positioning himself between Mailah and whatever Shadow had sensed.

For a long moment, nothing happened. The forest was silent except for their breathing and the distant sounds of the Hollow Market behind them. Then, slowly, a figure emerged from the shadows between the trees.

At first, Mailah thought it was another demon—something about the way it moved suggested supernatural grace. But as it stepped into a patch of moonlight, she realized with a jolt that it was human. Or at least, mostly human.

The woman was elderly, bent with age but moving with surprising steadiness. Her silver hair was pulled back in a severe bun, and she wore what looked like hand-embroidered robes that shimmered faintly. Her eyes, when they fixed on their group, were sharp and knowing.

"Well," the woman said, her voice carrying despite its frailty, "this is an interesting collection you’ve assembled, Grayson Ashford."

Grayson didn’t relax his defensive stance, but some of the immediate danger seemed to ease from his posture. "Elara. I didn’t expect to see you here."

"I’m sure you didn’t," Elara replied, moving closer with careful steps. "But then, you’ve been making quite the spectacle of yourself lately. Hard to avoid hearing about it."

"You know her?" Mailah whispered to Grayson.

"She’s a seer," he replied quietly. "One of the oldest and most powerful in the mortal magical community. If she’s here, it’s because she saw something important enough to risk leaving her sanctuary."

Elara’s sharp eyes fixed on Mailah. "The human who’s caught a demon’s heart. I’ve seen you in my visions, girl."

"That’s... ominous," Mailah said.

"Truth usually is," Elara replied. She turned her attention to Oliver, and her expression softened slightly. "And young Thorne. I knew your grandmother. She was wise to warn you about what was coming, though I doubt even she foresaw quite how tangled you’d become in all of this."

Oliver looked like he wanted to sink into the ground. "You knew my grandmother?"

"I trained her," Elara said. "Seventy years ago, when she was barely more than a child with too much power and not enough sense. She learned, eventually. Became one of the finest hedge witches of her generation."

Shadow meowed—a sound that somehow conveyed recognition and respect—and jumped from Oliver’s arms to wind around Elara’s ankles.

The old woman smiled, bending slowly to scratch behind the familiar’s ears.

"Hello, old friend," she murmured. "Still causing trouble, I see."

"Shadow knows you?" Oliver asked, bewildered.

"Shadow is older than I am, dear boy," Elara replied. "He’s been passed down through your family line for six generations. He chooses who to serve, and apparently, he’s chosen you. Though why a familiar of his caliber would attach himself to someone who can’t even get mourning incense right is beyond me."

"Everyone keeps bringing up the incense," Oliver muttered.

Lucien, who had been watching this entire exchange with obvious fascination, finally spoke up. "Forgive me, but if you’re here to deliver cryptic warnings and commentary on our life choices, could you possibly speed it up? We’re all very exposed out here, and I’d rather not fight off another corrupted familiar tonight."

Elara’s eyes narrowed at him. "A fallen angel with manners. How refreshing. And yes, I do have a purpose beyond mockery."

She turned back to Grayson, her expression growing grave. "The attack tonight wasn’t random. It was a test, as your angel friend suggested. But more than that, it was a message."

"From whom?" Grayson asked.

"From those who fear what you’re building," Elara replied. "The Collective is the obvious suspect, but they’re not working alone. There are older powers at play here, entities that have been waiting for centuries for the balance to shift in their favor."

"What kind of entities?" Mailah asked, though she wasn’t sure she wanted to know the answer.

Elara’s gaze was pitying. "The kind that see humans as cattle and demons as tools. The kind that profit from the current system and will do anything to preserve it." She paused, her expression softening slightly. "But there’s hope. That’s why I’m here—to tell you that you’re not as alone as you think."

"Help how?" Grayson asked warily.

"Information. Resources. Protection when needed." Elara smiled slightly. "Your engagement, your protection of that girl, your willingness to stand against the Collective... it’s given people hope."

"Hope is dangerous," Grayson said quietly.

"Hope is necessary," Elara countered. "Without it, nothing ever changes. And things need to change, Ashford. The system we have now is unsustainable. It’s only a matter of time before it collapses entirely, and when it does, we need to make sure something better rises from the ashes."

She reached into her robes and pulled out a small wooden token. "Take this. It will help you contact our network when you need us. And you will need us, sooner than you think."

Grayson took the token carefully, studying it with obvious suspicion. "Why should I trust you? We’ve never been allies before."

"Because someone asked me to watch over you," Elara said simply.

Grayson went very still, his expression carefully blank in that way that suggested he was fighting strong emotion.

"Someone who?," he asked quietly.

Mailah watched emotions flicker across Grayson’s face—surprise, grief, something that might have been hope—before he locked them away behind his usual control. But his hand found hers, gripping tight, and she squeezed back in silent support.

Elara only smiled again—an expression that revealed nothing and everything.

"Those you least expect to help you," she said softly, "might be the ones who do. Remember that, demon."

Elara’s gaze shifted to Mailah. "You carry something rare, child."

Mailah swallowed. "That’s... comforting, I think?"

"It wasn’t meant to be." Elara turned to Oliver next. "And you, boy—stop letting fear speak louder than instinct. Trust your familiar. Shadow knows more than you think."

Oliver blinked. "That’s... somehow even less comforting."

"Good." Elara’s smile widened just slightly. "Comfort makes people slow. Survival requires discomfort."

Then she looked at them all—at the strange, mismatched group standing in that ancient forest—and for a moment, her expression softened. "Whatever you’re building here... don’t lose it to fear or pride. You’ll need both each other and those you’ve yet to meet."

And with a shimmer of light and air, she was gone—vanished so swiftly the space where she’d stood felt abruptly colder, like the forest itself had taken a breath and forgotten to exhale.

Lucien let out a low whistle. "Well. Cryptic, dramatic, slightly condescending—definitely my kind of woman."

Oliver stared at the empty space. "Did she just—disappear? Like that?"

"Powerful seers can," Grayson said, his voice unreadable as he turned the wooden token over in his palm. "She’s been alive a long time. Magic reshapes those who let it stay too long."

Mailah exhaled slowly. "So now we have a mysterious seer watching over us, a network of unknown allies, and a cat with questionable morals."

"Essentially," Grayson murmured.

Lucien smirked.

As they walked back toward the car, the silence felt heavier somehow—full of things unspoken. The encounter with Elara had left behind an ache that wasn’t entirely unpleasant.

When they reached the car, Mailah glanced up at Grayson, catching the faint crease between his brows. "You believe her," she said softly.

He hesitated, then nodded once. "I want to."

Mailah smiled faintly. "Then maybe that’s enough."

They rode home in silence, the hum of the road filling the gaps between thoughts. Oliver dozed off with Shadow purring contentedly in his lap, while Grayson stared out the window, lost in memories he wouldn’t share.

Mailah kept her eyes on the road, but her mind wandered back to Elara’s words—those you least expect to help you might be the ones who do.