SCARLETT
The black stair pulsed beneath my boots like a living vein.
Every step hummed with the same rhythm as the mark on my shoulder slow, deliberate, and impossibly old. Behind me, Kael’s voice cracked across the chasm.
“Scarlett! Stop don’t you dare take another step!”
The command snagged at my chest, but the call beneath the mountain was stronger. A force older than any bond tugged at me, pulling me downward.
Darius’s storm-lightning flared in the dark. “We’re coming after her.”
“No,” Lucien’s low voice cut through, cold and sharp. “The stair will choose who follows. Watch.”
He leapt first, shadow spilling like ink. The black crystal accepted him, glowing faintly under his feet.
Kael swore, flames erupting around his shoulders, and followed. Darius gave me a single furious gl
