Natalie~
The moment we arrived at Zane's estate—what was left of it— the silence hit harder than the wreckage. The air was filled with the scent of blood and smoke, the wind eerily still, like the world itself was holding its breath.
I didn't wait.
My heels landed on the crimson-smeared gravel, and I barely registered the broken glass crunching beneath me. My hands were already rising, fingers trembling, my heart pounding like war drums in my chest.
"Jasmine," I breathed, my voice shaky, almost drowned out by the storm inside me. "We have to find him. Please."
Her voice came fast, fierce. "I'm here. I'm ready, Mara."
I closed my eyes and exhaled slow, letting my power pour out of me like a wave crashing against the darkness. It surged through the estate, dancing along every wall, under every shattered stone, every bloodstained corridor. I pushed it deeper—past the ruins, under the rubble, through secret doors and shadowed halls I didn't even know existed.
