Raising Beast Cubs to Find a Husband novel Chapter 162

Chapter 162: The Heart of the Tide

The dungeons of the Crepusci Estate were exactly as pleasant as one would expect: cold, damp, and smelling of regret.

Lord Malachi was currently hanging upside down from the ceiling, wrapped in Rurik’s lightning-infused chains.

"I will tell you nothing!" Malachi spat, his face red from the blood rushing to his head. "The Boss will purge this world! He will—"

ZAP.

Rurik tapped the chain with his finger. A small jolt of electricity made Malachi twitch.

"Boring," Rurik yawned. "He says the same thing every time. Can I hit him? Just a little? A love tap?"

"No hitting," Cassian sighed, adjusting his glasses. He was standing next to a table filled with very scary-looking alchemical vials. "We need his brain intact. Though judging by his tactical decisions, there isn’t much to damage."

Lucien stood in the shadows, silent. He was sharpening his sword. The shink, shink, shink sound was doing more to terrify Malachi than Rurik’s lightning.

"Malachi," Lucien said softly. "You opened the Vault. You tried to feed my nephew to the Nightmares. I am not interested in your ideology. I want to know why."

Lucien stepped into the light. His violet eyes were cold.

"The Boss doesn’t care about the Obsidian Jungle. It has no strategic value for a Void Sorcerer. Why did he send you here? What was he looking for?"

Malachi laughed wheezily. "You think he wanted your jungle? You arrogant cat. He wanted the Map."

"What map?" Rajah growled, stepping forward.

"The Star-Chart of the Deep," Malachi grinned, his teeth stained black. "It was in your library, Lucien. Hidden in the First Duke’s journals. While you were playing hero in the hallway, the Shadows found it. They beamed the data to him before they dissolved."

Malachi swung back and forth.

"He has it. He knows where she hid it."

"Where who hid what?" Lucien demanded.

Malachi’s grin widened.

"Where Ophelia hid the Heart of the Tide."

The room went dead silent. Even Rurik stopped playing with the electricity.

"That’s a myth," Caspian’s voice cut through the dungeon as he stepped out of the shadows. He looked pale. "Ophelia vanished with the Heart a thousand years ago. It is lost."

"Nothing is lost to the Void," Malachi whispered. "And now... we know exactly which trench she died in."

Upstairs in the dining hall, things were chaotic for a completely different reason.

"Where is Auntie Prim?" Vali asked, looking around the table with a mouth full of bacon.

"I’m right here, Vali," Primrose’s voice said from the empty chair next to him.

Vali screamed and dropped his fork. "GHOST!"

"I’m not a ghost!" Primrose sighed.

Suddenly, she flickered into existence. But she looked... faded. Like a photograph left in the sun too long. Her new Violet Tail was twitching erratically, leaking smoke.

"It’s the new tail," Primrose explained, trying to pick up a piece of toast. Her hand phased right through the bread. "Oh, come on! I’m hungry!"

"Intangibility," Jasper noted, poking Primrose’s arm with a spoon. The spoon went through her bicep. "Fascinating. Your molecular density is shifting between the physical plane and the shadow plane. You are essentially glitching."

"I don’t want to glitch!" Primrose whined. "I want toast!"

Silas sat next to her. He looked very serious. He reached out and concentrated. His own shadow stretched out, grabbed the toast, and held it up to Primrose’s mouth.

"Eat," Silas commanded.

Primrose took a bite of the shadow-held toast. "Thank you, sweetie. At least someone is helpful."

The Servant Problem

Just then, Vesper walked in with a fresh pot of tea. Behind him were three silent, grey-robed servants.

When they saw Silas, the servants stopped. They bowed so low their noses touched the floor.

"All hail the Young Master," they droned in unison. "Commander of the Nightmares."

Silas shrank into his chair. "Make them stop."

"They respect power," Vesper explained, pouring tea (and ignoring the fact that Primrose was semi-transparent). "You commanded the Vault Shadows, Master Silas. In their eyes, you are now the Alpha Predator of the Estate. Even more than Duke Lucien."

Silas frowned. He picked up a grape.

The servants gasped. "He has chosen the fruit of the vine! Glory to the grape!"

"Ugh," Silas groaned, burying his face in his hands.

The double doors banged open.

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