Damien's POV The cold air in the hall was heavy and still, turning the guards’ frantic movements into a slow, deliberate shuffle. Sienna was leaden in my arms, a physical anchor to a life slipping from my grasp as she stood on the threshold, neither here nor gone. Six minutes, ten seconds. "Damien, you are going against the rules. You know the consequences," Morrigan said, her voice surfacing not as a scream but thin—the sound of a predator realizing its prey has finally grown teeth. The phantom sting of a failure years old settled deep in my marrow. I looked down at Sienna, catching where the sweet, wild trail of her soul was gone, replaced by a growing chill. Beneath that, a trace of her lavender soap remained—a small, human detail that made the marble floor beneath my boots feel suddenly very cold. I didn't waste breath on a reply, turning my back on her instead. Click. My boot hit the stone. Click. Click. The exit was only yards away, but behind me, the air shrieked as a j
Last Updated : 2026-04-29 Read more