The photograph changed everything.
Sasha stared at Cordelia Vane's face—cold, ancient, dangerous—and felt a chill run down her spine. This was the woman who had been pulling strings for centuries. The woman who had turned hybrids into weapons. The woman who had been hiding in plain sight.
"She's still alive," Sasha said. "After all this time."
"She was never meant to die." Elder Okonkwo's voice was hollow. "That was the point of the Penumbra. They found ways to extend their lives. Blood rituals. Dark magic. Sacrifices."
Nadia stood in the doorway of the library, her face pale. She had been listening.
"That woman," Nadia said. "She visited the facility where they kept me. Once a year. Always at night. The scientists were terrified of her."
"What did she do during her visits?" Sasha as
