Selena's POV
The secret chamber within the Blackwood estate was where I had come to hide.
To gather the strength to continue my plan. Magnus stood beside me, his figure shrouded in the shadows, his ancient presence barely a whisper against the thick silence of the room.
He hadn’t spoken for what felt like hours, and that unnerving quiet stretched out between us. I could feel his eyes on me, the disapproval in his gaze seeping through the air like a bitter draft.
"You were too careless," Magnus’s voice cut through the stillness like a knife, sharp and unforgiving.
I didn’t respond immediately. Instead, I let my fingers trail over the surface of the ritual dagger at my side, the cool metal grounding me, though it did little to settle the storm of frustration brewing inside me.
I had
