Chapter 86 – The Burning City
**** Isabelle’s POV ****
The acrid stench of smoke seeped into Isabelle’s lungs before she even realized what had happened. At first, she thought it was another nightmare—the kind that had plagued her after Luca’s twin returned, after her mother’s sins were dragged into the light. She thought it was just her mind replaying fears in the dark.
But then the bells tolled.
The city bells.
They rang in a frenzy, a sound meant not for celebration or ceremony but for alarm. It was the shriek of iron against iron, hammering into the night, tearing her from the fragile cocoon of her room. Isabelle sat up in bed, her silk nightgown clinging to skin already slick with heat.
Her hand flew to the window.
And her heart shattered.
The city below wasn’t cloaked in shad
