CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY THREE
VIKTOR
The wind had changed.
It always did before something bad happened. Before blood was spilled or secrets cracked open like bones under pressure. Most people didn’t notice that kind of thing bt I did.
I’d lived long enough to know the scent of danger. It had a certain stillness to it. A certain taste in the air like burnt metal and silence.
Lily was asleep.
I could hear her breathing softly from the other side of the room. She liked to sleep near the windows, where moonlight poured in like silver paint. She didn’t mind that I never really slept. She said it made her feel safe, knowing someone was awake while she drifted off.
And I stayed awake, not because I had to, but because I didn’t want to miss anything.
I stood near the balcony now, arms crossed, eyes on the trees in the distance.
Someone had entered the woods today. It was a woman and she was alone.
At first, I thought it might be Zoey. She had a habit of wandering, especially when she wa
