Chapter 4: The Nullification Order
1514 Words
Echo's POV
The nightmare started with silver light.
Not blood.
Silver.
Cold.
Ancient.
It wrapped around me like chains.
No matter how hard I struggled, I couldn't move.
Kieran stood in the Academy courtyard.
Alone.
His white dress shirt soaked crimson.
His hands outstretched toward me.
Unable to reach me.
Unable to save me.
Between us stood the Council.
Elder Voss.
Marcus.
Vivienne.
All watching in silence.
A strange symbol burned beneath my feet.
The air trembled.
The light grew brighter.
Then
Silence.
Like someone had slammed a door shut.
"No.."
Kieran's voice cracked across the courtyard.
"Echo!"
I reached for him.
Our fingers almost touched.
I woke up screaming.
My entire body jerked upright.
The room was dark.
My chest heaved.
Sweat soaked my shirt.
Rain battered the windows.
Thunder rolled across Blackthorn territory.
For several seconds, I couldn't breathe.
Couldn't think.
Couldn't remember where I was.
Then reality returned.
My bedroom.
The Hawthorne house.
The prophecy.
The Council.
The baby.
I pressed both hands against my stomach.
Instinct.
Protection.
Prayer.
"I'm here," I whispered.
The words trembled.
"I'm still here."
The nightmare refused to leave.
Its claws remained buried beneath my skin.
Because somehow—
it hadn't felt like a dream.
It had felt like a warning.
---
The next morning, the guards were still outside.
Watching.
Waiting.
Monitoring.
The sight immediately ruined my appetite.
I stood at the kitchen window.
Arms folded.
Scowling.
Grandma followed my gaze.
"They haven't left?"
"No."
Her expression darkened.
Neither of us pretended the guards were there for protection anymore.
We both knew better.
I watched one of them speak quietly into a radio.
Then glance toward the house.
Toward me.
A chill ran through my body.
"Grandma."
She looked up.
"What happens if the Council decides someone is too dangerous to ignore?"
Silence.
The dangerous kind.
Finally she sighed.
"They intervene."
My stomach tightened.
"Even if they're innocent?"
Grandma's eyes became sad.
"Especially if they're innocent."
"How?"
Her eyes became sad.
"They'll convince themselves it's for the good of everyone."
I didn't like that answer.
Not one bit.
---
The Academy felt different now.
Colder.
Every hallway conversation stopped when I approached.
Every group fell silent.
Every whisper seemed connected to me.
I hated it.
I hated all of it.
The prophecy.
The attention.
The pity.
The fear.
Most of all—
I hated feeling powerless.
By lunch, I couldn't take another second.
I escaped to the old west wing.
A forgotten section of the Academy used mostly for storage.
Nobody came here.
Which was exactly why I loved it.
The corridor was quiet.
Dusty.
Empty.
Perfect.
At least until I heard voices.
I froze.
Someone was speaking nearby.
Not students.
Adults.
Council members.
Instinctively, I stepped closer.
The voices drifted through a partially opened door.
"...can't wait much longer."
A man.
Older.
Unfamiliar.
Another voice answered.
One I recognized instantly.
Elder Marcus.
"The prophecy is already active."
My pulse stumbled.
The prophecy.
They were talking about me.
I moved closer.
Heart pounding.
"The girl remains under observation."
A pause.
Then another voice.
Cold.
Sharp.
"Observation is no longer sufficient."
Ice spread through my chest.
I knew I should leave.
Immediately.
Instead I stayed.
Because sometimes fear makes people stupid.
And sometimes it makes them desperate.
I was both.
"The Crowes are demanding action."
Silence followed.
Heavy.
Uncomfortable.
Then someone asked the question that changed everything.
"When will the Nullification Ritual be approved?"
The world stopped.
Nullification .
Ritual.
The words echoed inside my skull.
No.
No.
No.
I must have misheard.
I had to.
But then Elder Marcus answered.
And destroyed any remaining hope.
"Within seventy-two hours."
My knees nearly gave out.
The room spun.
The walls seemed farther away.
Seventy-two hours.
Three days.
Three days until they performed the ritual.
Three days.
A sound escaped me.
Tiny.
Barely audible.
But enough.
The voices inside the room stopped.
Instantly.
My blood froze.
Someone moved.
A chair scraped backward.
"Did you hear that?"
I ran.
---
My feet pounded against stone floors.
Fear fueled every step.
Every breath.
Every heartbeat.
The Council was going to do something to me.
Not eventually.
Not someday.
Soon.
In three days.
Three days.
Three—
I collided with someone.
Strong hands grabbed my shoulders.
Steadying me.
"Echo."
My heart nearly exploded.
Kieran.
Relief and terror crashed together.
"Kieran."
One look at my face and his expression changed.
Immediately.
"What happened?"
I couldn't speak.
Not at first.
The words refused to come out.
Kieran's grip tightened.
"Echo."
"They're going to perform the ritual."
Silence.
His face went completely still.
Dangerously still.
"What?"
I swallowed hard.
"I heard them."
His eyes narrowed.
"Heard who?"
"The Council."
The color drained from his face.
For one terrible second—
he looked like he already knew.
My stomach dropped.
"Kieran."
His jaw clenched.
Hard.
Too hard.
"What exactly did you hear?"
The question terrified me.
Because it wasn't disbelief.
It wasn't confusion.
It was confirmation.
"They said there's a Nullification Ritual."
The corridor became silent.
Neither of us moved.
Neither of us breathed.
Finally—
Kieran closed his eyes.
And that was answer enough.
"You knew."
The words barely existed.
Pain flashed across his face.
Raw.
Immediate.
"Echo—"
"You knew."
His silence shattered something inside me.
Not because he had hidden it.
Because he had been carrying it alone.
For days.
Trying to protect me.
Failing.
Suffering.
"Kieran."
His eyes opened.
And I saw it.
Rage.
Pure rage.
Not directed at me.
Directed at them.
"The ritual wasn't supposed to be approved."
My pulse hammered.
"What?"
"I thought I stopped it."
The words stunned me.
"You what?"
He laughed.
A terrible sound.
"I threatened half the Council."
For the first time all day—
I almost smiled.
Almost.
That sounded exactly like Kieran.
Then reality returned.
"They're still doing it."
His expression darkened.
"Apparently."
Thunder growled outside.
The sound echoed through the hallway.
Kieran looked toward the nearest window.
Thinking.
Calculating.
Planning.
The future Alpha emerging beneath the heartbreak.
"What are you thinking?"
His answer came immediately.
"I'm done asking permission."
My pulse jumped.
"Kieran."
He turned toward me.
Golden eyes blazing.
"If they think some ancient ritual will decide our future."
His voice hardened.
"They're wrong."
The statement should have scared me.
Instead—
it comforted me.
Because for the first time since the prophecy started—
Kieran looked like himself again.
---
That night, Kieran climbed through my bedroom window.
Just like he used to.
Before treaties.
Before prophecies.
Before rituals.
For one second, seeing him there almost made everything feel normal.
Almost.
Then I remembered why he'd come.
And the illusion shattered.
Kieran landed quietly inside my room.
Drenched from the rain.
Furious.
Beautiful.
Dangerous.
My heart betrayed me instantly.
As always.
"You shouldn't be here."
He snorted.
"The Council can file a complaint."
I laughed despite myself.
The sound surprised both of us.
Because neither of us had laughed much lately.
Then his expression softened.
Immediately.
His gaze drifted toward my stomach.
Protective.
Worried.
Terrified.
All at once.
"How are you feeling?"
The question nearly broke me.
Because everyone else saw a prophecy.
A threat.
A problem.
Kieran saw me.
Just me.
"Tired."
He nodded.
"I know."
For a while neither of us spoke.
Rain tapped softly against the glass.
The room felt smaller.
Safer.
Like the world couldn't reach us here.
I wished that were true.
Eventually Kieran sat beside me.
Close enough that our shoulders touched.
The contact eased something inside my chest.
Not enough.
But something.
"I won't let them put you through that ritual."
The promise hung between us.
Heavy.
Dangerous.
Beautiful.
I wanted to believe it.
God, I wanted to.
But fear still lived inside me.
"What if you can't stop them?"
His answer came instantly.
"I'll find another way."
"And if there isn't another way?"
Kieran looked at me.
Really looked.
Then spoke the words that would change everything.
"Then I'll choose you."
My breath caught.
"Kieran."
"I mean it."
The intensity in his voice scared me.
Not because I doubted him.
Because I didn't.
At all.
"The Pack needs you."
His laugh sounded bitter.
"The Pack wants to erase the woman I love."
I had no response to that.
Neither did he.
Silence settled between us.
Then slowly—
carefully—
his hand covered mine.
Warm.
Steady.
Real.
And for the first time since the assembly—
I felt something other than fear.
Hope.
Small.
Fragile.
Dangerous.
Hope.
Maybe that was why fate decided to punish us.
Because at that exact moment—
a black SUV rolled silently to a stop outside the Hawthorne house.
Neither of us saw it.
Neither of us heard it.
We didn't see the Council insignia on the doors.
We didn't see the armed guards stepping into the rain.
We didn't see the sealed envelope carried in Elder Voss's hand.
The seal read:
NULLIFICATION RITUAL AUTHORIZATION
Because while Kieran and I sat together dreaming about survival—
the Council had already made its decision.
And the ritual that would change everything...
Was already on it's way.
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