CHAPTER 131

Lucas POV“Emily,” I said softly, brushing my hand against her cheek.Her eyes fluttered, but she did not fully respond.“I’m here,” I added, my voice firmer now, like I needed her to hear it.She blinked slowly, trying to focus.“I didn’t lose anything,” she whispered again.“I know,” I said.But I was not fully convinced.Not because I doubted her.But because I did not understand enough yet to be sure.And right now, not understanding felt like the most dangerous thing in the world.I lifted her carefully into my arms and turned toward the guards who were still standing far at the end of the corridor, watching everything like they had just witnessed something they would never be able to explain.“Clear this area,” I ordered.They snapped back to attention immediately.“Yes, sir.”“And no one comes near this corridor without my permission.”“Yes, sir.”I did not wait for anything else. I carried Emily back toward our room, my steps steady but fast. My mind was already moving ahead,

CHAPTER 132

Clarisse POVI felt it even before anyone came to tell me anything. I felt it deep inside me like a sharp pull that refused to be ignored. It was not pain, not exactly, but it was close enough to make me sit up from where I had been lying. My chest tightened as something heavy pressed against my senses, something familiar yet wrong at the same time. I had felt it once before, long ago, in whispers and fragments, in the stories I was never meant to fully understand. And now it was here again.“They’re moving,” I whispered to myself.My fingers curled slightly against the bed as I tried to focus on the feeling. It was faint, but not gone. Something had just happened, something strong enough to ripple through whatever connection existed between them. The failed ones. The empty ones. The ones that should never have been allowed to exist in the first place.Emily.My jaw tightened at the thought of her name.Of course it was her.Everything always came back to her now.I pushed myself up s

CHAPTER 133

Lucas POVI stood there for a few seconds longer, still holding Emily in my arms, my eyes fixed on the spot where the shadow had been. Nothing remained. No mark, no trace, nothing to show that something unnatural had just existed there. But I knew better than to trust what I could see. The absence of something dangerous did not mean it was gone. Sometimes it only meant it had moved.Emily’s weight shifted slightly against me, and I looked down at her. Her eyes were still open, but they were heavy now, her strength drained from whatever she had just done. Her breathing was slow, uneven, like her body was trying to catch up with what had just happened.“We need to get you back,” I said quietly.She nodded faintly, but she didn’t speak.I did not wait any longer. I lifted her properly into my arms and turned back down the corridor. The guards moved out of the way immediately, their eyes filled with questions they did not dare ask. I ignored them. Right now, nothing mattered more than get

CHAPTER 134

Lucas POVI was still holding Emily when the last trace of that thing disappeared, but my mind had already moved ahead of the moment. Her words kept repeating in my head. They felt it too. That was not just a warning. It was a fact. Whatever those things were, they were connected in a way we did not fully understand yet, and by destroying one of them, we had just sent a message to the rest.I tightened my hold on her slightly as I looked down at her face. She looked drained, far more than she had earlier. Her eyes were still open, but there was a dullness in them that had not been there before. It was not weakness. It was exhaustion. Deep exhaustion, the kind that came from something more than just the body.“Emily,” I said quietly.She blinked slowly and looked up at me, her lips parting slightly as if she wanted to speak, but nothing came out at first. I could feel her breathing against me, uneven now, like her body was trying to catch up with what had just happened.“You need to re

CHAPTER 135

Lucas POVI stood there for several seconds with Emily weak against my chest while the corridor remained completely still around us. The lights had stopped flickering, the shaking had ended, and the cold pressure in the air was finally gone, yet none of it made me relax. If anything, the quiet made my thoughts louder. Emily’s words repeated themselves inside my head.The others felt it too.That meant they were connected somehow.Not by sight.Not by sound.Something deeper.Something worse.I tightened my arm around Emily carefully and looked down at her. Her face had gone pale, and there was sweat gathered near her forehead despite how cold the corridor had been moments ago.“You need to sit down,” I told her quietly.“I’m fine,” she whispered immediately.“You can barely stand.”“I said I’m fine.”Her voice was weak, but stubborn enough to almost make me sigh. Even exhausted, she still tried to fight everything alone.I bent slightly and lifted her into my arms before she could pro

CHAPTER 136

Emily's POVI knew something was wrong the moment Lucas carried me back to our room.My body felt weak. It was as though something inside me had been stretched too far.I could still walk if I forced myself to.I could still speak.But every part of me felt drained.Lucas did not let me take a single step on my own.The moment we entered the room, he carried me straight to the bed and sat beside me.His face was tense.His jaw was locked tightly.I could tell he was trying not to show how worried he was.Unfortunately for him, I knew him too well now."You should rest," he said.I smiled weakly."You have said that at least ten times tonight.""I'll say it another ten."That actually made me laugh a little.The laugh quickly faded when I remembered what had happened in the hallway.The shadow.The connection.The way it had felt.I looked down at my hands.They looked normal.Completely normal.Yet I could still remember the feeling.It had not been a conversation.Not exactly.But so