CHAPTER 90The darkness pressed in like a living thing—thick, suffocating, endless.Dorian jerked awake with a strangled gasp, his wrists burning where the bindings held him. Chains of shadow slithered up his arms like snakes, embedding into his skin. His heartbeat thundered, wild and panicked. There was no light. No air. Just—A voice.Low. Familiar. Wrong.“You’re awake. Good.”Dorian’s breath caught. “You.”The shadows shifted around him like smoke, coalescing into a vague silhouette. A mask gleamed faintly in the dark, and behind it, the voice of Erethar echoed, slick and ancient.“I thought it’d be more... entertaining this way,” Erethar purred. “You, all alone. Again.”“I’m not alone,” Dorian hissed. “They’ll come for me.”“Will they?” Erethar stepped closer. “Your little mate, perhaps. The broken healer. But why would they rush? They’ve all left you before.”“No—”“You were always the afterthought, weren’t you?” The darkness behind Erethar rippled. “The monster child. Half this
CHAPTER 89“I say we go now,” Kai said firmly, stepping closer to the still-glowing rift.Lucian caught his arm. “No. We need supplies, proper enchantments—”“We don’t have time, Lucian!” Kai snapped. “You saw the echo. That was a warning.”“And if we rush in blind and all die, what use will that be to Dorian?” Lucian countered, voice rising. “You’re being emotional.”“Oh, I’m sorry,” Kai shot back. “Am I supposed to be calm after my boyfriend was kidnapped by a possessed lunatic?”Kairis sighed. “Here we go.”Elias stood silently between them, chest tight. Something was wrong. Something was pulling—“I’m not waiting around for you to brew a magical backpack,” Kai growled. “Every second we waste, he could be—”Suddenly, Elias gasped.His hands flew to his chest. A sharp, burning pain lanced through him like molten fire. His knees buckled.“Elias?” Lucian moved to catch him, but Elias stumbled back, eyes wide, breath caught in his throat.“Dorian—” he whispered, voice strangled.Then h
CHAPTER 88“I can’t just sit here!” Kai snapped, his boots striking the polished floor as he paced for the sixth time in under a minute.Lucian sat cross-legged at the center of the hallway, eyes shut tight, fingers trembling as they hovered over the map of the region laid out before him. “Then don’t sit. But shut the hell up. I’m trying to concentrate.”“He’s not dead,” Elias said quietly, arms wrapped around himself as he stared out the window. “I’d feel it. He’s still alive.”“And in pain,” Kai said, voice cracking. “You saw him fall. He’s in pain and we don’t know where—”“I’m working on it!” Lucian snapped, eyes flaring open with a bright golden light. “He’s warded. Wherever they took him, it’s blocked by something ancient.”“That’s not just any magic,” Kairis murmured from the garden door.Everyone turned.She had her boots on, her coat half-buttoned, her gloves in one hand and a dagger in the other.Kai frowned. “What are you talking about?”Kairis didn’t answer immediately. Sh
CHAPTER 87Pain dragged him back to consciousness.The cold floor beneath him bit into his skin, his head lolled forward. Everything ached—his limbs, his neck, the place in his shoulder where they'd jabbed him with something burning.But what hit him hardest wasn’t the pain.It was the voice.“Well, well. Sleeping beauty awakens.”Dorian’s breath caught.That voice… no. It couldn’t be—His head snapped up, and his heart froze.Tristan.Dressed in black, eyes gleaming with something dark and twisted, he stood a few feet away with a cruel smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.“You,” Dorian rasped. “You… bastard.”Tristan tilted his head mockingly. “That’s no way to greet an old friend. Or did you forget how close we used to be?”“You tried to kill Elias,” Dorian growled. “You’re not my friend. You’re nothing but a traitor.”Tristan grinned. “Still so loyal. How sweet. But you really should learn to choose better people to worship.”He strolled closer, hands clasped behind his back
CHAPTER 86The silence at breakfast was unbearable.No one spoke.The silver cutlery scraped quietly against porcelain, the soft clinking echoing too loud in the grand dining hall. Kairis sipped her tea with an unreadable expression, her eyes shifting between Lucian and Elias every few seconds.Elias pushed food around his plate, lips tight.Lucian didn’t even touch his eggs.No one apologized.No one addressed the fight from last night.The air between Elias and Lucian was so tense it could be sliced with a knife.Dorian tried to clear his throat to say something—anything—but the energy at the table smothered it. Finally, he gave up, set his napkin down, and stood. “I’ll…go for a walk,” he muttered.Kairis raised a brow. “Running from the tension like a coward?”Dorian just gave her a tight smile. “I prefer gardens to this cold war.”He slipped out the side door, closing it gently behind him.The garden was quiet. Too quiet.Dorian walked along the cobblestone path with his hands tuc
CHAPTER 85The doors of the manor slammed shut behind them.No one spoke.Tension simmered in the air like a storm held at bay. Elias walked ahead of the others, his spine rigid, his mind reeling. Alistair’s words still rang in his ears. The cryptic warning. The way he looked at him. Like he knew him—more than anyone else did.Lucian's voice broke the silence, low and too calm. “You shouldn’t have gone.”Elias froze mid-step.He turned slowly. “Excuse me?”“You heard me.”Lucian stepped closer. “I told you to stay out of it. You’re still unstable—”“Unstable?” Elias scoffed. “So I’m unstable now?”“That’s not what I meant.”“Then say what you do mean,” Elias snapped.Lucian’s jaw tightened. “I mean you need to listen. You’re not thinking straight, and this isn’t a game. That man is dangerous. You’re acting like a—”“Like a what? A child?” Elias barked. “Is that what you were about to say?”Lucian folded his arms. “If the shoe fits—”“Don’t you dare,” Elias seethed. “I am not your resp