My stomach twists, tight and hot. “He doesn’t trust witches.”
Mary nods. “Exactly. That’s what makes it worse. He doesn’t trust them, and he’s still using them. You know what that means.”
“He’s binding them.”
“Correct,” she says, like we’re in a briefing room again. “Dark pacts. Broken relics. Stuff that should’ve rotted in the Alpsdecades ago. He’s stitching witches and shifters together with Seal-blood magic and acting like he’s building a new kingdom instead of a powder keg.”
I look down at the parchment. The lines shift just enough to make my vision blur. My hands clench before I can stop them.
“And the Pact?” I ask. “What’s left of it?”
“Gone or hiding,” she says. “But Darius isn’t waiting around. He’s doing something smarter. He found a mate.”
That makes me freeze.
“He found what?”
Mary nods. “A witch. Not a pawn. Not a toy. A mate. She’s helping him organize. Teaching. Channeling the Seal differently. It’s changing.”
“That’s not possible,” I say, voice too flat even for me.
Mary leans in, her tone sharp enough to draw blood. “You think I’d show up at your door dragging this mess if it wasn’t already happening? I saw her myself. She’s not just holding power. She’s steering it.”
I shake my head. “We tried this before. Pact witches. Seal-blood hybrids. You remember what happened. They burned from the inside out. Their bond didn’t hold.”
“She’s not them,” Mary snaps. “And neither is Kaleigh.”
At that, Kaleigh walks over to the parchment and picks it up.
“Kaleigh—” I start, but she’s already touching it.
The moment her fingers brush the surface, something flickers. Her eyes darken, and she pulls in a breath sharp enough to cut.
I’m beside her in half a second, steadying her arm, catching her weight before she sways. “What did you feel?”
Her voice comes quiet, almost unsure. “Like something just opened its eyes.”
Mary watches us like she’s seen this before. “It’s waking in her. Just like it did in Tessa.”
“Leave Kaleigh out of this.”
But Mary doesn’t back off. “Tessa made her choice. So did Darius. And now he’s making his move. He sent a message. One line.” She looks me dead in the eye. “Bring her in. She’s part of this now.”
She heads toward the door like she’s done her part and whatever happens next isn’t her business anymore, but I know Mary. It’s always her business. Especially when Darius is involved. She might walk like a soldier, but she’s here because she’s his sister first. And she’d burn half the world if it meant keeping him from drowning in the other half.
“Tell him he still owes me for Minsk,” I mutter.
She pauses, one hand on the door. “He says you owe him for Lviv.”
And then she’s gone.
I shut the door behind her and lean my forehead against the wood. The silence that follows feels different this time. Heavier. Kaleigh stands behind me, arms crossed, the glint under her skin faint but pulsing like a heartbeat.
“You’re not going to say it,” she says, “but I know what you’re thinking.”
I turn to face her. “You’re not going anywhere near Darius.”
She raises an eyebrow. “I just touched that parchment and something inside me opened up. You think that’s something I can ignore?”
