Ivy POV

“Rick, don’t touch that.”

My voice came out sharper than I meant. Rick froze, his hand hovering above the stone floor of the corridor.

He looked up at me. “Why, Mama?”

I swallowed and walked closer. “Just… don’t. Come here.”

He pulled his hand back and obeyed, but his eyes stayed on the ground. He had been doing that a lot lately. Watching things that weren’t there. Listening to sounds no one else heard.

Lucien stood near the doorway, arms crossed. “He only ...