Liam stormed into Damian’s chamber, heart pounding like a war drum. The air was thick with the sharp smell of herbs.
Damian lay on the bed, skin pale, his chest rising and falling in shallow breaths.
His body twitched slightly like something was moving in him.
The healer stood beside him, twisting her hands. "He’s alive... but there’s something inside him. It’s not poison. Not sickness. Something... strange."
Before Liam could speak, Virelle hurried into the room. She stepped past the healer and leaned over Damian.
Her fingers moved fast, tracing invisible patterns above his skin.
She pulled back his tunic. There, just under his collarbone was a strange mark—a rune. Black. Burned into his flesh. It pulsed faintly, like it was breathing.
"This... this isn’t fresh, it wasn’t placed to
