The walls were trembling, or maybe that was just me.
Every step I took down the spiral staircase felt heavier, hotter—Nyxara pacing under my skin, her growl no longer contained. Humphrey’s scream still echoed in my head like a living thing. It hadn’t just been pain. It had been torment—raw, jagged, soul-deep torment.
And I felt it.
We felt it.
“If they’ve hurt him again…” Nyxara snarled, “I will rip this kingdom apart.”
The scent hit me before I reached the cell. Jasmine laced with blood and something burnt—magic dust. As I stormed past the final bend of the corridor, the guards tried to stop me. One opened his mouth to speak—
“Get out of my way,” I growled, and my eyes flickered silver-black.
They backed off instantly.
I kicked the cell door open—just as another scream tore from H
