The journey back was quiet.
Too quiet.
Makayla could feel the weight of what had just happened pressing down on all of them. Mikhail hadn’t said a word since the entity left him, and Gino… He looked like he was unraveling. Like something inside of him was breaking apart the more he thought about what they’d learned.
They traveled through the thick forest, away from the ruins, moving as fast as Gino’s human legs would allow. Celine led the way, but Makayla could tell—she was just as unsettled as the rest of them.
No one wanted to admit the truth out loud.
That everything had changed.
That their father wasn’t just some ordinary human who had fallen in love with a vampire.
That he was something else.
Something ancient.
Something dangerous.
And now, the past was coming for him.
Maka
