Elara's POV

Lucien brought me to a place that should not exist.

We descended through passages that twisted deeper than the blood garden. Deeper than the laboratories. Down into stone so old it predated the palace itself. The walls changed from worked marble to raw rock carved with symbols that hurt to look at directly.

"Where are we going?"

"To meet someone who can teach you what I cannot." His voice echoed strangely in the narrow space. "She has been waiting for you since the moment ...