The house didn’t settle.
It didn’t quiet.
It shuddered.
As though Artem’s presence had left a wound in the walls themselves.
Nora’s wrist throbbed violently, but she barely felt it over the crushing, suffocating tension strangling the hall.
Demetri held Sasha like he was holding the last piece of a breaking world.
Her sobs tore into the fabric of the house.
“Don’t let him take me… don’t let him… I don’t want to go with him…”
“You’re not going anywhere,” Demetri whispered, voice shredded. “Never. Never.”
Ivan hovered protectively, scanning the hallway as if Artem might appear again out of the shadows. Mila pressed a hand over her mouth, tears streaming silently.
Nora pushed herself from the wall despite her broken wrist.
She had to get Sasha.
She had to help.
She had to—
Her v
