Nobody moved for a long moment after Kian spoke.
Vera's sobbing carried up faintly from somewhere below, raw and broken, the sound of a woman grieving a sister who might be dead, or might simply be gone, patient and calculating enough to vanish exactly when vanishing served her best.
"We need to get down there," I said finally, forcing my voice steady despite the tremor still running through my hands. "Vera needs us."
Kian nodded, some of the shock clearing from his face as the Alpha in him reasserted control, pushing grief and confusion aside long enough to focus on what came next. "This way," he said, leading us back through the rotted door and down the narrow spiral staircase, back into the ruined hall below.
Vera was still sitting where the wolves had left her, the ropes cut loose
