Ethan didn't chase after the stranger. He stood frozen for a full second, fists clenched at his sides, before turning back to Lily with an expression that had shifted from fury into something far more controlled, and far more frightening.
"Say that again," he said quietly. "Slowly. Every word he said to you."
Lily repeated it, voice shaking despite her effort to sound calm. "He said the mark isn't permanent yet. That there's a window where it can be undone if the right sacrifice is made. And when I asked what sacrifice, he said mine or yours. That the council hasn't decided which one they'd prefer."
"The council," Ethan repeated, and something dark passed behind his eyes. "Not rogues. Not some outside enemy. He said council."
"You think he meant Grayson's council. The elders."
"I thin
