Chapter 52:The Memory Thief
1013 Words
POV: Theo
I slammed my fist against the ancient oak tree, barely feeling the pain that shot through my knuckles. The Oracle's cottage stood just beyond the clearing, smoke rising lazily from its chimney like nothing catastrophic had happened. Like my sister wasn't sitting in a cell, facing execution. Like Xavier hadn't forgotten the woman he'd promised to love forever.
"I know you're in there," I shouted toward the cottage. "Come out and face me, you coward."
The door opened slowly. The Oracle, Cassandra, emerged with her blind eyes somehow still seeing everything. She moved with the confidence of someone who knew exactly where every root and stone lay.
"Shouting won't change what's already done, young Alpha," she said calmly.
"You did this," I growled, stalking toward her. "You took Xavier's memories. The mate bond breaking shouldn't have erased everything. I've studied magical theory my entire life. Bond severance causes pain, causes emptiness, but not complete amnesia. You did something else."
Cassandra tilted her head, her expression unreadable. "You're more perceptive than most. Yes, I intervened. And before you threaten me further, you should know I had no choice."
"There's always a choice." I stopped just feet away from her, my wolf pressing against my skin, demanding action. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't force you to undo what you've done."
"Because if I hadn't removed those memories, Xavier would be dead right now."
Her words hit me like ice water. I froze.
"What are you talking about?"
Cassandra gestured toward her cottage. "Come inside. This conversation requires tea and truth, not rage and accusations."
Every instinct screamed at me to refuse, to grab her and shake the answers out of her. But something in her tone, the weight of ancient knowledge, made me follow.
Inside, her cottage was cluttered with herbs, crystals, and books that looked older than the mountains. She moved to a kettle already steaming on the fire, as if she'd known I would come.
"Sit," she commanded.
I sat, barely, perched on the edge of a wooden chair like a predator ready to spring.
Cassandra poured two cups of tea, her movements precise despite her blindness. She placed one in front of me and held her own, breathing in the steam.
"When Thelma absorbed Morgana's consciousness," Cassandra began, "Morgana had mere seconds before the full merge. In those seconds, she did something clever and vicious. She planted a death imprint in Xavier's mind through the mate bond."
My blood ran cold. "A death imprint."
"A curse," Cassandra confirmed. "Designed to activate under specific conditions. If Xavier remembered his love for Thelma while she was on trial, while she was imprisoned and suffering, the curse would trigger. His heart would simply stop beating. Morgana's final revenge from beyond death."
I gripped the teacup so hard it cracked. Tea spilled across the table.
"Why didn't you tell anyone? Why didn't you warn us?"
"Because knowing would have changed nothing except adding to your burden," Cassandra said. "The memories had to be removed regardless. The death imprint is woven into every memory of love between them. I couldn't extract the curse without taking the memories it was attached to."
"So Xavier can never remember? That's your solution?"
"I didn't say that." Cassandra set down her cup. "The memories still exist. I stored them in a crystal vessel, kept safe and separate from Xavier. Once the trial is over, once Thelma is no longer imprisoned and in danger, the memories can be returned through a specific ritual. The change in emotional context will neutralize the curse."
I wanted to believe her. But trust wasn't something that came easily to me anymore.
"What kind of ritual?"
"One that requires Thelma to be free, alive, and safe. One that requires witnesses and magical protection. And most importantly, one that requires Xavier to choose to remember. He must consent to taking back memories of a woman he doesn't know. That choice, that act of faith, will break the death imprint's hold."
I stood abruptly, pacing the small cottage. "The trial starts at dawn. They're going to find Thelma guilty. Kael is testifying against her. Damien wants her eliminated. Without Xavier's testimony about their bond, about what she sacrificed, she has no defense."
"I know."
"Then help me break her out. We can run, hide until it's safe to restore Xavier's memories."
Cassandra shook her head slowly. "Running will only confirm their accusations. Thelma must face the trial. Her innocence or guilt will be determined by her own words and actions, not by the memories of a mate who can't remember her."
"That's not fair," I snarled. "She destroyed Morgana. She saved everyone. And this is how the world repays her?"
"The world is rarely fair, young Alpha. But sometimes it's just. Have faith in your sister. She's stronger than you think."
A commotion outside made us both turn toward the door. Raised voices, running footsteps, the sounds of a struggle.
I burst out of the cottage just as three guards appeared through the trees. They were dragging someone between them, someone small who fought and kicked despite being outmatched.
Finn. Xavier's little brother was bruised and bleeding, silver cuffs on his small wrists. My heart dropped.
"What happened?" I demanded, running toward them.
The lead guard, a burly man named Garrett, scowled. "Caught this pup trying to break the prisoner out. Had a spelled key and everything. Stole it from Kael's room."
"I wasn't trying to break her out," Finn shouted, still struggling. "I was trying to help her. She's innocent. She saved my life."
"Finn, stop fighting," I said, but pride swelled in my chest. This twelve year old boy had more courage than most grown wolves.
They dragged him past me, heading back toward Silver Moon territory. Finn's eyes met mine, desperate and pleading.
"Theo, tell them. Tell them what Thelma did for us. Please."
"I will," I promised. "I won't let them hurt you."
But as they disappeared into the trees, I wondered if that was a promise I could keep.
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