CHAPTER 45The sanctum stank of burnt bone and rusted blood.Thick smoke curled from the obsidian brazier in the center of the room, casting eerie shadows across the ritual marks etched into the stone floor. Sigils pulsed, twitching in slow, molten red. The fire at the center was not natural—it crackled without wood or fuel, dancing in shades of green, violet, and deep, churning black.Isadora stood in the center, barefoot, blood-streaked, and trembling with fury.“Ungrateful little wretch,” she hissed, tossing a curled lock of hair into the fire. It hissed, sparked, and filled the room with the smell of scorched rosemary and rot.“He looks at me like I’m some thing, like I didn’t cradle his soul in my palm before he was even born.” She paced around the circle, her hands stained with fresh blood. “I visited him. I warned him. In his dreams, I whispered of the great and terrible things to come. Did he listen? Did he bend?” She stopped, eyes flashing. “No. He clung to them. To the weak,
Last Updated : 2025-04-24 Read more