The bodies lay in grotesque silence across the marble, pale under the flickering candlelight Melinda had set around them. The mansion's grand hall, usually gleaming with polished elegance, transformed into a crypt. Shadows moved against the high ceilings, lengthening unnaturally as if the house itself leaned in to watch.

Chloe stood at Valerius's side, her arms folded tightly across her chest, trying not to shake. The smell of blood, copper, and iron still clung to the air. Zoe hovered beside ...