The artwork above is not mine.

•༻☾☽༺•

"Rhys!" Elain called, stumbling down the stairs. Seren followed after, her mind spinning. What had Elain just said? What was she so upset about? Why couldn't she remember? "Rhys!" Elain turned down a hallway.

Rhys' head popped out of the sitting room doorway. "Elain? What's wrong?"

"I had a vision when I looked at one of Seren's new paintings. The dread lord is Koschei!"

"What?" Rhys grabbed Elain's shoulders and turned her around. "Show me the painting and tell me everything."

Seren groaned as they hurried past her. She heard doors opening upstairs as everyone left their rooms, hearing Elain's frantic words. Feyre left the sitting room and took Seren's arm.

"I'm so tired of stairs," Seren muttered.

"I know your pain," Feyre chuckled. "What is Elain talking about, though?"

"I don't know." Seren rubbed her forehead. "I can't remember." Didn't Elain just say something important to Rhys a few seconds ago? Why couldn't she remember?

"You can't remember?" Feyre's blue gray eyes darkened. "Come on."

When they reached Seren and Azriel's bedroom, everyone was already there. Elain and Rhys were studying Dreadful Unknown while Elain explained her vision.

"If the dread lord is Koschei, then he's just been stalling us," Lucien said. "He's been wasting our time and possibly using us to gain information. Do you think Jurian knows about this?"

"Neither of you knew," Rhys replied. "How could he? You, Azriel, and Cassian need to get to the Mortal Lands right away. Bring Jurian here and try to rescue Vassa. Steal her if you have to, unless that poses a threat to her."

Lucien dipped his head. Azriel moved closer to Seren. That odd feeling was stealing over her. She massaged her temples, frustrated. It felt like her memories were slipping away.

"Seren?" Azriel rubbed her shoulders. "What is it?"

"What...what were we just talking about?" She whispered.

"Amren," Azriel called.

"Feyre, Rhys, I'll need your help with this," Amren said. "Everyone else, out."

"What's going on?" Mor asked, knitting her brows.

"I think there's a spell over Seren that is making her forget certain things," Amren explained. "Don't worry. I know how to remove it."

One by one, everyone filtered out of the room. Seren worked her hands together nervously. A spell on my mind? But how could that have happened, and when? She wondered.

"Sit here." Amren pointed to a chair. Seren obeyed. "Rhys and Feyre will have to enter your mind to find where the spell is located. They should be able to break it fairly easily." Her gaze shifted to them. "Be careful not to touch anything in her mind besides the spell, and be aware of how the spell deteriorates when you break it. You don't want to accidentally shatter her mind."

Seren's eyes widened. "Don't worry," Feyre said, noticing her stare. "You'll be fine."

Azriel knelt by her chair and laced their fingers together. Seren closed her eyes and lowered her mental shields. She felt Rhys and Feyre approach. They were starlight and darkness. They swept into her mind, carefully picking through the tangled webs of her thoughts.

Seren, do you have any idea where the spell might be? Feyre asked. When did you first stop remembering things?

The manor, Seren replied. When Elain, Lucien, and Jurian found me screaming in the hallway. That was the first time I couldn't remember something. Before that, I just felt like there was something I should know, but I couldn't place what.

Here. Rhys' presence hovered above those memories. Seren allowed her own daemati powers to surface. She saw through Feyre's eyes into her own mind. It was a very strange feeling. They were looking at a wall of oily black smoke. That must be it.

Seren fought back her nervousness as Rhys and Feyre focused their power on the wall. Magic tore through the smoking tendrils that formed it. A dull headache throbbed through Seren's temples. Rhys and Feyre pressed their magic down harder. A crack appeared in the wall. More cracks spawned from the first. With one final burst of power, the wall cracked. Memories came flooding into Seren's mind.

She saw the painting of the three ancient Fae, the female and the two males. The dread lord's brother and sister. She heard Vassa's warning, whispered in the confines of their thoughts.

All I can tell you is that you must leave at once! Never come back here. Get out and remember! Tell them to remember. Tell them to be prepared. Don't let yourselves be fooled. Get out of here!

She saw the dread lord confronting her in the hallway once more. Shadows descended upon her, trapping her in her worst fears. She knew now why the hallways had seemed so empty when she woke. The paintings were gone.

Rhys and Feyre withdrew from her mind and Seren restored her shields. She blinked her eyes open. Azriel watched her with unmasked concern. "Did it work?"

"It did," Amren replied.

"I can remember everything," Seren whispered. "I was close to finding out who he was. He cast the spell on me to buy himself more time."

"That painting you saw," Feyre said. "The female was Stryga, the Weaver. The male who looked like her must have been the Bone Carver. They were Koschei's younger siblings."

"I know. He told me." Seren buried her face in her hands. "Vassa warned us to leave. She knew everything, but she couldn't directly tell us or her curse would become permanent. Jurian, Lucien, and Elain never suspected anything because there's something wrong with that house. Something felt off the moment we set foot in that place."

Rhys met Azriel's gaze. "You, Cassian, and Lucien need to go now. Be careful."

Azriel nodded. He squeezed Seren's hand and kissed her. I'll be all right, she said across the Bond. I'm just a little shaken up right now.

He lifted a hand to her cheek. I'm sorry we didn't learn about this sooner.

It's all right. Be careful, please.

I will. Azriel stood and breezed out of the room.

Rhys offered Seren a hand and helped her up. "We'd better get going too. None of you knew the Dread Trove's location when you went to the Mortal Lands, thankfully, but that doesn't mean it's still safe."

"Maybe Seren should stay here, seeing as..." Feyre began.

"No," Seren interrupted. "I want to go. I'm fine." Feyre pursed her lips, but nodded. Seren grabbed Metanoia and Elysian. "I don't plan to use them," she said, noticing Feyre's pointed look. "But I'll bring them just in case."

She followed Rhys out of the room. Mor, Elain, and Nesta were waiting just outside the door. Rhys jerked his head and Mor fell in step with them. "What happened?" She asked.

"Seren was close to discovering Koschei while they were in the Mortal Lands. He's the one who put the spell on her mind. Feyre and I managed to break it."

"What happens now?"

"Azriel, Cassian, and Lucien will retrieve Jurian. Vassa too, if possible. We're going to check on the Dread Trove as planned."

They reached the front doors and continued outside. When they past the gates of the river house, Rhys took Seren and Mor by their arms. They winnowed away from Velaris.

•༻☾☽༺•

"I feel Iike such an idiot," Lucien snapped as they approached the lake where the dread lord's, or Koschei's, manor stood. "How did we never figure this out?"

Neither Cassian nor Azriel replied. "Act like everything is normal," Azriel said when they were near the edge of the lake. "We're here to help Lucien instead of Elain."

Lucien and Cassian nodded. Lucien touched their shoulders and winnowed them across the lake and onto the manor grounds. "That's odd," Lucien said. "There's no guards."

Shadows curled around Azriel's ear, whispering to him. Be cautious. Three lurk within.

Enemies or allies? He asked.

One enemy. Two allies.

Lucien reached the door and lifted a fist. He pounded on the door. It creaked open, but no one waited behind it. Lucien led the way inside. The manor was dark, with only a few wall sconces lit. Paintings hung on the corridor walls.

"They used to be covered," Lucien whispered.

Azriel examined a few paintings. Nearly all of them portrayed the same three figures. Koschei, Stryga, and the Bone Carver. He saw a different painting that depicted the Dread Trove artifacts. There was the crown, the mask, and the harp. The fourth artifact was unfamiliar to him. It was an amulet.

Azriel paused and looked at it closer. "Az, come on!" Cassian hissed.

"Seren painted this," Azriel realized. "In Uncommon Beauty and Dreadful Unknown." He lowered his mental shields slightly. Rhys!

What is it? Rhys' voice was faint, as though he were a long ways away.

Azriel passed an image of the painting over to him. Seren painted that amulet twice. Do you think it could be the fourth piece of the Dread Trove?

Maybe. I'll talk to Drakon and Miryam about it and see if they know anything. Rhys' presence faded. Azriel restored his shields and chased after Lucien and Cassian.

Another doorway swung open just ahead. Firelight flickered within the dark room. "Jurian," Lucien called. "Are you here?"

They reached the room. Lucien lit a ball of fire in his palm and held it up. His flame cast a brighter light than the dim fire on the hearth. A male lounged in a chair near the fireplace, but it wasn't Jurian.

"Hello, Little Brother," Osiris drawled, resting his head in his hand.

Instantly, the three of them had their weapons drawn. "Osiris," Azriel growled. "What are you doing here?"

"Looking after the manor while Koschei attends to some business."

"Where is Jurian?" Lucien demanded.

"Who?" Osiris laughed.

Azriel lunged, pinning Osiris into his chair, with a knee braced on his chest. Truth-Teller scraped against Osiris' throat. "Where are Jurian and Vassa? What is Koschei doing?"

Osiris laughed and a thin line of red trickled down his neck. "I wouldn't be a very good general if I gave up my leader's plans, now, would I?"

"I'll kill you." Azriel's voice was a cold whisper.

"So do it." Osiris leaned forward and more blood slid down Truth-Teller's blade. "You'll learn nothing from me either way."

"Search the manor," Azriel ordered. "Jurian has to be here somewhere."

Osiris chuckled as Lucien and Cassian ran from the room. "I've got a question for you, Brother."

"Shut up."

"What is more important to you right now? Finding a human who has caused so many problems in the past, or going after your mate, who is assuredly walking into a bloodbath?"

The color drained from Azriel's face. "What are you talking about?"

Osiris merely smiled. "It wasn't just a memory blocking spell that Koschei placed on her. It was a memory stealing spell. As soon as Rhysand and Feyre touched that wall, he was able to steal whatever information he wanted from their minds, and they never even knew."

Azriel's blood ran cold. "What knowledge did he steal?" Osiris laughed and Azriel shook him roughly. "What did he learn?"

"You already know," Osiris answered.