Jackson slipped back into the vault, bundle of clothes clutched against his chest, cheeks still flaming from the pillow incident. Lilith stood in the center of the candlelit space, naked and radiant, staring into an ancient wooden box lined with faded crimson velvet. Inside lay a dagger unlike any relic he’d ever seen: obsidian blade veined with silver, hilt wrapped in blackened leather that seemed to drink the light. It pulsed faintly, as though alive.
“Is that…?” Jackson breathed, disbelief warring with awe.
Lilith’s ruby eyes lifted to his, conflicted. “It fits every detail Mia described. And…” She hesitated, fingers hovering above the blade. Cassian’s voice echoed in memory: ‘It will speak to you. It always does to those of true blood.’ After the border m******e, she knew Jackson wou
