ALICE
The soft lights of my bedroom brushed over my skin, warming the cold determination settling in my chest.
I smoothed my fingers along the fabric of my dress, the dark satin catching the light like water.
Aria hummed inside me, restless, pacing, her presence sharper than usual.
"We shouldn’t be going to a party, we should be taking her throat," she muttered.
“Not tonight,” I whispered, applying one last stroke of lipstick. “Tonight we watch. We gather. We wait.”
Aria grumbled but didn’t argue.
A knock echoed through the quiet room.
“Come in,” I called.
Mira slipped inside, her eyes glossy and her hands trembling. The moment I saw her expression, my stomach tightened. Mira never trembled.
“Alice…” Her voice wavered. “I......I’m so sorry.”
My heart sank. “What happened?”
Sh
