Gemini of the Shifter Realm

Chapter 36 The Code

Zoe Lawson P.O.V

"I need you to do me a favor." My voice was barely a whisper as I turned to Francesca, my eyes heavy with the weight of everything that had happened. We were sitting in the classroom, the chatter of our classmates fading into the background like a distant echo.

"What is it?" she asked, her brows knitting together as she took in my expression, my face pale and drawn.

"I need you to send him a text," I said, my words measured, almost robotic. "Tell him I went for an abortion... and that I lied about the miscarriage because I didn't want him to think of himself as the bad guy who murdered his own child." They held a bitter truth. I didn't want him to carry that burden, to live with the belief that he had killed something that never existed in the first place.

She hesitated. "Are you sure?" she asked, her voice soft but filled with concern. "Let's just stick with the original story." I nodded, my throat tight with unshed tears.

Francesca looked at me for a long moment, her eyes searching mine. I could see the reluctance there, the uncertainty. But she also saw my brokenness, the hollow ache that had settled in my chest and refused to leave. She gave a slow nod, pulling out her phone with a sigh. "Okay, I'll do it. If this is what you really want."

Watching her type out the message, I felt a strange mix of relief and dread. This was another lie, another step deeper into a web I had spun with my own hands. But what choice did I have? I just wanted the pain to stop, for him to stop looking at me like I was a monster.

As Francesca's fingers moved over her phone, I wondered if this would finally bring some kind of peace. Or if it would only dig the knife in deeper, leaving scars that would never truly heal.

Adamone Levi P.O.V

"We may have hope for her, after all," Aria said softly, her voice carrying a rare note of optimism as we stood once more before the imposing gates of the Garden of Eden. The same gates where, not so long ago, I had come seeking a miracle to save Evelyn from her rapid aging sickness.

"It's guarded," I admitted, my gaze fixed on the towering, impenetrable entrance. The air around us was thick with an otherworldly energy that made my skin prickle.

"I don't see anyone," Aria noted, her eyes sweeping over the surroundings, searching for any sign of life.

"He doesn't show Himself to humans," I murmured, my voice heavy with the weight of ancient knowledge and the grim understanding of what lay ahead.

"You're right," she agreed, a flicker of realization crossing her features. But there was a determination there too, a fire that had not dimmed despite the many battles we had faced.

"We're not just humans; our history is intertwined," she declared, her voice tinged with defiance, as if challenging the very heavens themselves.

"What do I owe this pleasure?" A voice echoed around us, resonating with a power that sent a chill down my spine. It was a voice I recognized—both Evelyn and I recognized it. Merlin.

There he stood, cloaked in shadows, his hooded form barely discernible against the darkness. His eyes blazed yellow for a brief moment, as if holding back a fire that could consume the world.

"Pendragon," he acknowledged, his gaze shifting to Devon. For a moment, his expression softened, almost as if recognizing a lost relative.

"You knew Arthur," Devon began, his voice eager, a mix of curiosity and longing in his tone, desperate to unravel the mysteries of his lineage.

"Not now," Aria cut him off sharply, her tone brokering no argument. She was focused, her attention solely on the task at hand, unwilling to be distracted by the past when the present demanded our full attention.