"Some ghosts don’t rest. They wait. Watching. Waiting for the perfect moment to remind you that you never really escaped."
The first sign was the scent.
A familiar one. Sharp, acrid, laced with something metallic. Not blood, but something just as dangerous.
I froze mid-step, my breath catching. The grand halls of the palace felt too quiet, the usual murmur of courtiers absent. The tension in the air was thick enough to choke on.
"Asher." My voice barely carried, but I knew he heard me.
He was at my side in an instant, his presence a solid weight against the storm of uncertainty building inside me. "You sense it too."
It wasn’t a question.
I nodded, my fingers curling into fists. "He’s back."
The name didn’t need to be spoken. We both knew who he was.
Ruvan.
A name that once carri
