The abyss was silent.

Not with peace.

But with fear.

The Forsaken who had watched who had waited stared now in shock.

Because Lyla was still standing.

Because the darkness that had swallowed her had not taken her.

It had become her.

She could feel it, coiling beneath her skin. Alive. Waiting. Powerful.

And Malachai felt it too.

For the first time his stance shifted.

His black eyes, once filled with certainty, now flickered with something else.

Doubt.

"What have you ...