The storm outside hadn’t stopped.
It had quieted, yes—the thunder retreating into far-off mutters—but the rain still fell in thin sheets. The sound of it on the roof was steady, relentless, like the ticking of a clock counting down to something I didn’t want to name.
I lay on my bed for hours, my clothes changed but my body still aching with the weight of what had been said in the hospital room. Katie’s words. Alaric’s cold practicality. Tyler’s silent, tethering hand. Over and over, the memory replayed until it felt carved into me.
The Shadow Queen. Kill her, or watch the world crumble.
I shut my eyes and whispered a prayer I wasn’t sure God could hear from here. Then, before I could talk myself out of it, I reached for the Veil.
It was like pushing my hands through thick water—resis
