LUKAS’S POV
I stood in the dim glow of my study, the rough-hewn table between me and Selenea littered with maps and scribbled plans. Her voice hummed in my ears, sharp and steady, as she traced a finger along the jagged lines of Tenebrous’ outer walls. We were plotting—scheming how to slip into that cursed cell, free the elders, and set the stage to bury Ryker once and for all. The air felt thick, heavy with purpose, but something else stirred beneath my skin. A prickle, faint at first, like a whisper brushing the back of my neck. I clenched my fists, nails digging into my palms, and tried to focus on her words.
The maps blurred. My pulse quickened, a dull thud growing louder, wilder. I knew that rhythm—too well. The curse, the shadow of my ancestors, creeping up from the pit where I’d b
