Chapter 73 – Shadows in the Blood
The moon was a sickle hanging in a violet sky when Elara crept into the library of House Blackthorne. The storm had passed, but its residue lingered in the cold damp air and in her chest, where her heart beat like war drums. Her steps were silent, her breath shallow.
She didn’t have long.
After Zayne had collapsed from blood loss, she stayed with him just long enough to ensure he was stable. But she couldn’t ignore what the cryptic Seeress had whispered before dying in her arms.
> “The truth lies in the bloodline. In the oldest page… hidden beneath the black phoenix.”
Now here she was, alone in the ancestral library of his house. The guards had been called off for the night, distracted by the skirmishes outside the estate. The council was moving fa
