Power still lingered in the stone, humming beneath the floor like a pulse, as if the Veil itself hadn’t finished with them. Alina felt it under her skin, restless, prowling. It was harder to breathe here, every inhale tugging the mark on her arm tighter, as though the air itself carried chains of shadow and fire.
She knew Kael felt it too—his jaw locked, shoulders tense, his hand never straying far from the hilt of his sword. Riven, on the other hand, looked like he had been waiting for this moment. His grin was wolfish, sharp, even as his dagger twirled idly in his hand.
The silence didn’t last long.
A low crack reverberated through the chamber, followed by another, then another, until the walls themselves seemed to exhale darkness. Shadows poured like water, peeling from the stone, mo
