Chapter 387: The Swamp

The swamp was worse than Victoria had imagined.

The portal deposited her on what might have been solid ground once but was now mostly mud and stagnant water. The moment her boots touched down, she sank three inches into muck that smelled like rot and death and things that should have stayed buried.

Victoria pulled her feet free with a wet sucking sound and looked around.

The swamp stretched in every direction, twisted trees growing out of dark water, vines hanging like curtains, fog so thick she could barely see twenty feet ahead. The air was heavy and humid, pressing against her skin like a wet blanket.

And it was loud.

Not silent like the quarry. The swamp was alive with sound. Insects buzzing. Frogs croaking. Birds calling. And underneath it all, something else. Something that might have been breathing or might have been the swamp itself expanding and contracting.

Victoria activated her tracking compass.

The silver wire glowed. The hair twisted. Pointed deeper into the swamp.

Northwest.

Victoria started walking, careful to test each step before putting her full weight down. The last thing she needed was to sink into quicksand or step on something venomous.

The fog grew thicker as she moved deeper into the swamp. Within minutes, Victoria could barely see the trees around her. Could only follow the compass needle and hope it was leading her to Thalia and not to her death.

Something splashed in the water to her left.

Victoria spun, magic flaring defensively in her hands.

Nothing.

Just ripples spreading across the dark water. Whatever had made the splash was already gone.

She forced herself to keep moving.

The compass pulled her toward what looked like higher ground, a small island of solid earth rising out of the swamp. Trees grew thick here, their roots creating natural walls and barriers.

And in the center...

A structure.

Not a building exactly. More like a shelter woven from living vines and branches. The kind of thing swamp witches made when they wanted to stay hidden from civilization.

The compass pointed directly at it.

Victoria approached carefully, every sense on high alert.

The shelter was small, maybe ten feet across. The entrance was a gap in the woven vines barely wide enough for a person to squeeze through.

She called up light and sent it floating inside.

The interior was cramped but functional. A sleeping mat made of moss and leaves. A small fire pit with cold ashes. Jars containing what looked like collected swamp water and preserved plants.

And on the far wall, carved into the living wood...

Morvaine family sigils.

Victoria’s breath caught, She’d recognize it anywhere.

She moved closer and examined the carvings. They were recent, the wood still fresh, sap still oozing from the cuts. The symbols were protection wards and concealment spells. The kind Thalia would use to hide her presence.

But the shelter was empty.

No Thalia. No evidence of recent occupation except the carvings.

Victoria searched every inch of the small space. Found a few possessions....a cloak that smelled faintly of dark magic, a journal written in the same code as the one in the quarry, a small carved bone that radiated corrupt energy.

All things Thalia would use. All things that carried her magical signature.

But no Thalia herself.

"Damn it!" Victoria slammed her fist against the woven wall.

Another decoy.

Another false trail.

Another location Thalia had occupied long enough to leave her signature and then abandoned.

She pulled out the spelled mirror and activated it.

Elena’s face appeared, looking more worried than before.

"Anything?" Elena asked.

"Another empty location," Victoria said, unable to keep the frustration from her voice. "She was here. Left her signature all over a shelter. But she’s gone."

Elena was quiet for a moment. "How many locations have you checked?"

"Two," Victoria said. "The quarry and now the swamp. Both empty. Both set up to waste my time."

"How much time have you spent searching?" Elena asked gently.

Victoria looked at the darkening sky visible through gaps in the vine shelter. "Ten hours. Maybe eleven."

Eleven hours since Lilith died.

One hundred fifty-seven hours remaining.

"You need to rest," Elena said.

"I can’t rest," Victoria said immediately. "I need to keep searching. Need to find Thalia before..."

"Before you collapse from exhaustion and can’t help Lilith at all," Elena interrupted. "Victoria, I know you’re desperate. But portal travel is draining. Searching unfamiliar territories is dangerous. You need to eat something. Sleep for a few hours. You won’t be any use to Lilith if you kill yourself getting to Thalia."

Victoria wanted to argue. Wanted to say she was fine. That she could keep going.

But her hands were shaking. Her vision was blurring at the edges. Her magic felt thin and stretched from creating multiple portals.

Elena was right.

"Two hours," Victoria said. "I’ll rest for two hours. Then I keep searching."

"Four hours minimum," Elena countered. "You need actual sleep, not just closing your eyes and worrying."

"Three hours," Victoria compromised. "And I’ll eat something."

"How are things there? With the Alphas?" Victoria asked

Elena’s expression became complicated. "Broken. Nicholas hasn’t moved from Lilith’s bedside. Sebastian is..." She stopped. "Not handling it well. And Lucian destroyed half the training grounds before I could get him to stop."

"They preserved the body?" Victoria asked.

"Yes," Elena confirmed. "Dr. Aldric set up stasis spells. The body isn’t decaying. But Victoria....they’re falling apart. They need hope. They need to know you’re making progress."

"I’m not making progress," Victoria said bitterly. "I’m chasing shadows and wasting time."

"You’ll find her," Elena said with more confidence than Victoria felt. "Thalia can’t hide forever. Eventually you’ll track her to wherever she’s actually hiding."

"And if I don’t?" Victoria asked quietly. "If I waste all seven days searching and never find her?"

Elena’s expression was grave. "Then we try something else. But Victoria....don’t give up yet. You’ve only searched two locations. You still have options."