The Enchanted Five

Book 1 Chapter 7

Ari woke with a start. For a moment, she lay still, staring at the canopy above her, heart thudding for reasons she couldn’t name. She’d had the strangest dream or what felt like one. Bram was standing in her room, watching her sleep, and sitting in the chair by the window like a silent shadow. She shook her head No way. Absolutely not. She barely knew the man, and he definitely didn’t seem like the type to wander around at night. Just a dream, she told herself. She pushed the covers back and got ready for the day, pulling on jeans, a sweater, and her warmest boots. The Highlands were colder than she expected, a sharp, ancient kind of cold that seeped into her bones. Her gaze drifted to the wooden box on the bed. She sat beside it, lifting the lid again. Inside were:

A small leather journal. A silver pendant shaped like a crescent. A folded letter with her name in her mother’s handwriting. Ari’s throat tightened. She picked up the letter…Held it…Then set it down again.

“Not yet,” she whispered. She tucked the letter into the bedside drawer, added the journals to her bag, and stood just as a knock sounded. Moira’s warm voice floated through the door. “Breakfast, dear.” Ari grabbed her things and followed her.

The great hall was quieter in the morning, sunlight spilling through tall windows. People chatted softly, sipping tea and eating porridge. Ari scanned the room, unsure where to sit. She spotted an empty seat at the far end of the table, away from the cluster of staff and away from Bram. Perfect. She slipped into the chair, spreading her journals out, already flipping through pages. She didn’t notice Bram watching her from across the hall.

Bram told himself he didn’t care where she sat. She was a guest. She was here for research. She wasn’t here for him. But when she chose the far end of the table alone, focused, already scribbling notes, something in him tightened. Most interns spent breakfast trying to sit beside him, impress him, and flirt. Ari didn’t even look his way. It shouldn’t have mattered, but it did.

Torin slid into the seat beside him, following Bram’s gaze with a smirk. She’s not like the others, Torin said through the mindlink, voice amused. Bram didn’t respond.

She’s actually working, Torin added. You remember what that looks like, right?

Bram shot him a warning look. Torin only grinned wider. Admit it. You’re annoyed she didn’t sit with us.

“I am not,” Bram muttered under his breath. Torin snorted into his tea.

Ari flipped through her mother’s journal, jotting down notes, completely oblivious to the tension she’d caused. She didn’t notice Liora glaring at her from across the table. She didn’t notice Torin’s grin. She didn’t notice Bram’s eyes drifting back to her again and again. She was here to work, to learn, to understand her mother’s research. And for the first time since arriving, she felt a spark of excitement. She had no idea the castle was watching her, too.

Breakfast was winding down when Bram finally stood. He told himself it was professional. Necessary. Expected. But the truth was simpler; he couldn’t stop thinking about the journals she was reading, the pendant she kept touching, the way her mother’s research seemed to hum with the same magic that had stirred the wards. He crossed the hall, ignoring the way Liora stiffened and Torin smirked. Ari looked up, startled, when his shadow fell across her table.

“Miss Thorne,” Bram said, voice even. “If you’re finished, I’d like to discuss your thesis and the materials you brought. My office is free.”

Ari blinked, then nodded quickly. “Yes...of course. I have everything with me.” She gathered her journals, her notebook, and the small wooden box she’d tucked into her bag. Bram noticed the pendant chain peeking out from the edge of her pocket. His stomach tightened. He knew that symbol. He’d seen it centuries ago.

The office was warm, lined with shelves of old books and maps. Ari stepped inside, setting her things on the desk.

“Your mother’s work,” Bram said, gesturing. “You mentioned she studied Warden folklore?”

Ari nodded. “She left me her journals. And this.” She opened the box and lifted the pendant. A crescent of silver, etched with the old runes. Bram’s breath stopped. Eilidh’s sister had worn one just like it. Ari continued, unaware of the storm she’d just unleashed. “My mom said it belonged to our family. That it was passed down through the women. I don’t know much else.”

Bram forced his voice steady. “Your mother’s maiden name?”

“Maeve Fraser.”

The world tilted. Fraser. Ari kept talking, flipping open the journal. “She traced our line back to a woman named Sorcha Fraser. She wrote that Sorcha fled the Highlands during a conflict, but she never explained why.” Bram closed his eyes for a fraction of a second.

Sorcha. Eilidh’s younger sister. The girl he’d sent away for her safety. The girl he’d sworn to protect from the curse. The girl he’d believed lost to time. And Ari... Aribella Thorne was her descendant. His chest tightened painfully.

The prophecy. The wards. The way the castle reacted to her. It all made sense now.

Ari looked up, confused by his silence. “Is something wrong?”

Bram opened his eyes, masking everything.

“No,” he said quietly. “Nothing is wrong.”

But everything had changed. Bram needed distance. The revelation about Sorcha, the pendant, the way the wards reacted around Ari, his thoughts were a snarl he couldn’t untangle with her standing in front of him. He cleared his throat. “Torin will show you the grounds today. There’s history you’ll want for your research.”

Ari nodded, gathering her things. “Of course.”

Torin shot Bram a knowing look but said nothing, gesturing for Ari to follow him out. When the door closed, Bram finally exhaled. Space. He needed space to think, to breathe, to decide what her presence meant. And why it unsettled him so deeply.