LOGINMAGNUSBack when I'd been younger and stupid enough to think love could conquer anything.***The memory hit me without warning.I was young again. Standing in the foyer of this exact house, wearing a shirt Sigourney had picked out for me because she said it made my eyes look warmer. My palms were sweating. I'd wiped them on my pants three times already."Relax," Sigourney whispered, squeezing my hand. Her smile was radiant. "She's going to love you."I wasn't so sure about that. Annamaria Adhams had a reputation. She was our headmistress after all. Cold and calculating were her forte. A headmistress who ran her academy like a military operation and her personal life with even more precision. But Sigourney loved her. She spoke about her with this reverence that made me want to try."Magnus." Annamaria appeared at the top of the stairs. Tall and as elegant as a bitter witch could manage. Every inch of her screamed old money and older magic. "Welcome.""Thank you for having me, Mrs. Adh
RAEI stared at her, waiting. My body felt like it might dissolve at any moment. The transparency in my hands was spreading up my arms now. I could see the outline of bones beneath skin that looked more like mist than flesh.Annamaria's expression shifted. Not quite satisfaction. Something colder. More calculating."You are weakened," she said. "So sure. I'll do my duty as a grandmother. I'll tell you a story."She began to circle me slowly. I turned with her, refusing to let her get behind me again. Each movement sent small shocks through my system. Like static electricity but internal."Do you know why twins are revered and feared in many cultures?"The question came out of nowhere. I blinked, trying to focus through the pain that still echoed in my bones."I'm not a twin.""I take it you don't have an answer." She stopped walking. Her hands clasped in front of her. "So I will tell you."The garden seemed to dim. The vibrant colors muted slightly, like someone had turned down the sa
RAE The white faded like fog burning off in sunlight. Colors bled back into existence. Green first. Deep, vivid green that hurt to look at after all that blinding light.I blinked. My vision cleared slowly.I stood in a garden.Not just any garden. The kind you see in dreams or old paintings. Flowers bloomed in impossible colors. Trees stretched overhead with branches that seemed to move without wind. The grass beneath my feet felt too soft and a little bit too perfect. Everything had an edge of unreality to it, like someone had painted the world and forgotten to add the flaws.Annamaria stood a few feet away.She looked different here. Younger maybe, or just more present. Her dark hair fell in waves past her shoulders without a single strand out of place. She wore a simple dress that moved like water. Her eyes, those same eyes that had stared at nothing in that room, now fixed on me with sharp awareness.She studied me for a long moment. Her gaze traveled from my face down to my fee
RAEI followed her through the house. The hallway walls were lined with faded paintings, their subjects obscured by years of dust and shadow. Our footsteps echoed on the wooden floor. Each step creaked under our weight.She stopped at the base of a staircase. The banister was carved from dark wood, intricate patterns worn smooth by countless hands. She started climbing without looking back to see if I was following.I kept my hand pressed to my neck. The bleeding had stopped, but the skin still stung. My heart hammered against my ribs. I had come this far. I couldn't turn back now.The stairs groaned beneath us. We reached the second floor landing and she turned right, moving down another hallway. This one was narrower. The air felt heavier here, thick with something I couldn't name.She stopped in front of a door. The same door where I'd seen the light from outside. Her hand rested on the handle for a moment before she pushed it open."After you," she said. Her voice had gone flat ag
RAEI climbed down from the truck bed, my legs stiff from the long ride. The driver leaned out his window."You sure this is where you want to be dropped off?" He squinted at the dark road ahead. "Doesn't look like much out here.""I'm sure. Thank you for the ride.""No worries. Goodnight.""Goodnight."The truck's taillights disappeared around a bend. Only then did I turn to face the property.The gates sagged on their hinges. Rust had eaten through the iron in places, leaving gaps like missing teeth. Vines crawled up the bars and wound through the metalwork, thick enough that I couldn't see much of what lay beyond. The whole place looked like it had been forgotten decades ago.I walked closer. My fingers wrapped around one of the bars and I pushed. The gate didn't move. I pushed harder, throwing my weight against it, but it stayed locked tight.I stepped back and studied the fence. The bars were spaced wide enough. The vines would give me handholds.I grabbed onto the iron and start
MAGNUSI stared at Kieran. My hand was still pressed against my temple, and the headache was getting worse by the second."She what?""She brought everyone back," Kieran said again. His voice was steady, but his eyes told a different story. "There were bodies. A lot of them. And then she... she healed them. All of them."Before that headache of mine worsened, my phone rang.The sound cut through everything else. Through the now drizzle of a rain. Through the voices around us. Through the pounding in my skull that wouldn't stop.I looked at the screen.It was Celeste and despite how much I didn't want to, I couldn't help myself. I answered. "What.""Your precious daughter is back." Her voice was raw, shaking with something between fury and fear for some reason. "And guess what? She just tried to choke me to death. Come put a leash on her before I do."My breath caught. "Wait. She's home?"I didn't get an answer because the line immediately went dead after that. I stared at the phone







