Page 42

I jerked my hand back, my breath catching.

This was it. The source of my dreams. The place the witch had led me to.

The crypt.

“Annika!”

I froze at the sound of my name echoing through the crypt. It sliced through the heavy stillness like a knife. I recognized it immediately.

Panic flared hot in my chest. I stepped back from the sarcophagus, pulse racing as the faint glow of torchlight danced along the walls.

And then they were there.

Lucas burst through the doorway first, his eyes wild, searching and finding me. Relief flickered across his face before his gaze dropped to the sarcophagus, to the chains that rattled faintly, vibrating like strings pulled too tight.

“What the hell is this?” His voice was sharp, edged with fear and anger.

Kael followed, his eyes narrowing the second he saw the runes pulsing faintly along the stone surface. “Merciful heavens,” he muttered, stepping closer. “It’s him.”

Lucas was already at my side, his hand gripping my arm, grounding me. “What were you thinking?” he demanded, his voice low but trembling.

I couldn’t answer. My eyes locked on the sarcophagus. The chains rattled again.

Something shifted.

The sound was subtle at first. It was a scrape of stone, like something brushing against the inside of the lid. Then the runes flared brighter, a deep crimson glow that cast flickering shadows across the walls.

Lucas shoved me behind him, his body tense, but it was Kael who stepped closer, swearing under his breath. “He’s waking up.”

“No,” I whispered.

I looked down, and my breath caught.

The stone near the base of the sarcophagus was smeared dark.

Fresh blood. My blood.

It all clicked then. The pull that had drawn me here. The hum in my veins. The strange symbols etched into my mind, whispering to me even in sleep.

They had fed him.

I stumbled back, my legs trembling. “I didn’t—I didn’t mean to—”

Lucas shot Kael a sharp look. “Get her out of here.”

“No,” I said, stepping closer instead of away. My voice was steadier than I felt, but I couldn’t let fear take over. Not now. “We can’t just run. We have to stop this. Destroy him before it’s too late.”

Lucas turned to me, his eyes dark with fury and fear. “Annika, no. You don’t understand—”

“I do,” I snapped, cutting him off. My blood was still smeared on the stone, and I could feel its pull, a tether that connected me to the thing inside the sarcophagus. “My blood woke him. I won’t leave until we finish this.”

The chains rattled again, louder this time, the sound vibrating through the air. Lucas shoved me behind him, his stance braced like he was ready to fight.

Kael swore. “This isn’t a fight we can win, Annika. Not here.”

He was right. Every instinct screamed it. But I couldn’t leave—not yet. I shook my head. “We have to do something.”

Lucas’s jaw tightened, his hand flexing around the hilt of his dagger. “You want to destroy him? Fine. But we need a plan, not blind desperation.”