slept afte

ble. The figure wrapped in chains, the fire licking the edges of his silhouette, the v

find

from

was eerily quiet, as if the hous

ack tiles and silver fixtures that screamed wealth and secrecy. Her refle

her more th

ugh brushing her tee

tap..

fr

liberate tapping, like fingernails against wood

ush and stepped back, h

" she ca

ans

pped into the bedroom. The tapping had sto

she s

wardrobe. Not normal smoke-this moved against gra

y, breath caugh

wardrob

lowly, painfully,

Too deep for such a shallow space.

of my b

bo

loors, past the eyes of those damn haunted paintings.

ner-and slammed in

the floor, hands firm around

" she gasped. "Smoke. Wh

dn't

an should be able to. Lila chased af

eached her room, t

d slightly ajar,

door, and muttered something in a language Lila didn't understand. The mark on he

demanded. "I'm not

r, gaze unreadable.

not an

, then shut the wardr

t everything that lives in

run cold. "So ther

said simply. "But that whisper

wned. "T

ked at her, and she saw the sli

ce came f

-

f marble and steel that looked more like a luxury catalog than a ho

mug in her hands like i

dark eyes fixed on hers. "You sai

ving birth to me. No father li

e said. "Your blood

fed. "I'm not ordina

dreams, the voice-they're signs. You've been claimed. Ti

pened to show up

etrieve the next

wh

dn't

's going on. You brought me here because

ou," he said firmly. "But yes-I

ected

the chair, movi

ealed centuries ago, when the Order of Shadows

t ve

es our world... from

Okay, you're speaking in riddles now. D

thing in his expression she hadn'

gr

"I was supposed to mark you, awaken the bond

ce dropped

rd her, slow a

The recognition. You're not just the next Marked, Lila. You're somethi

s away, voice lo

're awake... they

-