They drove north through the night.
Three of them now—Kael, Lyra, and Mira. The Audi's headlights cut through the darkness, illuminating a ribbon of highway that wound through forests and mountains. The coast was a distant memory. This was the interior, where the trees grew taller and the sky felt closer.
Mira drove. Kael sat in the passenger seat, studying his grandmother's journals. Lyra was in the back, reading through Helena's notes on the symbols.
"The northern bond," Lyra said. "Helena's notes call it 'The Place of Still Water.' A lake inside a mountain. The old ones believed it was where the first treaty was spoken—not the treaty that ended the Blood Wars, but an older one. An alliance."
"Before the wars," Kael said. "Before we forgot how to trust each other."
Mira glanced at him. "You really believe this? That vampires and wolves were once allies?"
"I've seen proof. The tunnel. The name chamber. The sanctuary." He paused. "I've felt it."
"Felt what?"
"The bond. When Lyra and I bled together to bind Aurelius. It wasn't just magic. It was... recognition. Like our blood remembered something our minds forgot."
Mira was quiet for a long moment. "My grandmother used to say something similar. That the old hatred wasn't natural. That someone made us forget."
"Who?"
"She never said. Just that there were forces that wanted us divided. That benefited from the war."
Kael filed that away. Forces that wanted them divided. Someone who benefited from the Blood Wars. The thought was uncomfortable.
They stopped at a gas station near the Canadian border. Mira filled the tank while Kael and Lyra walked to the edge of the lot, looking north.
"The border crossing will be tricky," Lyra said. "I have documents. You don't."
"I have other ways."
"Wolf form?"
He nodded. "I can cross through the forest. Meet you on the other side."
Lyra's expression flickered. "I don't like splitting up."
"Neither do I. But it's the safest way."
She reached for his hand. "Be careful."
"You too."
They stood together, watching the dark line of the border. Beyond it, the Coast Mountains rose against the stars. Somewhere in those peaks, a sacred place waited.