Bella’s POV
We didn’t speak much on the way home. The lantern lights faded behind us, replaced by the hush of falling snow and the quiet thrum of adrenaline.
My wrist still pulsed from where Kalen had touched me, like the cold had rooted itself beneath the skin. I kept rubbing it, trying to forget how close I’d come to unraveling.
Back at the house, Liam was already waiting at home, pacing by the window. He had left earlier to check if the house was safe before we got home.
“He was there,” I said.
He didn’t need to ask who.
“He got too close,” Harper muttered, locking the door behind us. “Too fast.”
June dropped her coat, cheeks flushed. “We’re running out of time, aren’t we?”
Harper didn’t answer right away. Instead, she crossed to the fireplace and knelt down, pulling away the base of the stone hearth. I heard the click before I saw the opening—a hidden compartment built into the wall, older than the house itself.
She drew out something long and wrapped in thick, cracked leather.
