Dimitri's POV

Margaret bursts into my study with glowing amber eyes and trembling hands.

A year ago. This moment changes everything.

I'm reviewing territorial expansion reports when the doors slam open. She's fresh from hours in her ritual chamber—candles, blood, whispered incantations. Her ritual robes are stained with wax and herbs. Now she stands before my desk, breathing hard.

"I saw them," she says without ...