Scarlett’s POV

The hallway outside the ancestral chamber is quiet, eerily so, but the stone beneath my feet hums faintly, vibrating with a heartbeat that belongs to someone else. Someone ancient. Someone is waiting.

I’ve asked Killian to meet me here. Alone. No one else. He appears as I finish tracing a protective sigil along the wall—a faint glow lighting my palm. His silhouette is tall and imposing, but the tension in his shoulders is almost imperceptible. Almost human.

“Kieran is… ...