I couldn’t help the weight that pressed down on me as we descended deeper into the crypt beneath Elias’s territory. Every step seemed to echo, amplifying the sense of danger that loomed closer with each passing moment. I felt the cool, damp air against my skin as we moved further into the bowels of the earth, the stone walls feeling ancient and heavy with secrets. Something was haunting about this place—something that whispered that this crypt held more than just the remnants of a forgotten time.
“Stay close,” Elias murmured, his voice a low rasp. I nodded, my heart pounding in my chest. This wasn’t the first time we’d been in a place like this—dangerous, hidden, forbidden—but the stakes had never been higher. What lay ahead could be the key to everything.
I glanced at him, the faint fli
