I watch Stellan disappear up the stairs, then turn back to Seth.
He’s still pressed against the mirror, looking like he might bolt if given half a chance. The snake around his wrist glows softly, a living tether to someone who isn’t here.
“They’ll never believe it,” I say quietly, more to myself than to him. “And I don’t know if I do, either.”
But the cold radiating off Seth says otherwise. The Void-touched emptiness that clings to him like a second skin.
The bond is real. The Void changed him. And somewhere, on the other side of that mirror, Bree is waiting.
We just have to figure out how to reach her before it’s too late.
Chapter 31
Jace
I’m half-asleep on the couch when Stellan appears in the doorway like a ghost with a death wish.
“Where’s Bree?” he asks, voice low and sharp.
“Went to bed early,” Rhett says from the kitchen doorway, drying his hands on a towel. “Said something about needing her beauty sleep.”
Stellan’s jaw tightens. “Good. Keep it that way.” His eyes sweep over the room. “All of you need to come with me. Now. And don’t let her hear you.”
I blink, pushing myself up from the couch. “What’s going on?”
“Just move, Jace.”
That’s when I notice the others filtering in from various corners of the sanctuary—Gray from the library, Wes from upstairs. Theo’s already in the hallway, looking like he hasn’t slept in days.
Nobody’s joking. Nobody’s asking questions.
That alone makes my stomach drop.
“Since when do we whisper in our own house?” I mutter, falling into step behind Stellan.
“Since the dead came back,” he says without looking back.
My stomach drops into my shoes. My heart stays where it was—halfway to breaking.
We follow him out of the sanctuary and into the tree line, tension thick enough to choke on. Rhett burns quiet beside me, steam rising from his skin in the cold air. Wes goes pale behind us. The rest of us follow the sound of Stellan’s shoes.
“What do you think this is about?” I murmur to Rhett.
“No idea,” he mutters back. “But if something’s wrong with Bree—”
“Not now,” Stellan snaps without turning around. His voice is sharp enough to cut. “Save it for the chamber.”
Rhett’s jaw tightens, heat flickering beneath his skin. “If you dragged us out of here for nothing—”
“I said save it.” Stellan stops at the top of the stairs leading down to the chamber, turning to face us. His gray eyes are cold, harder than I’ve ever seen them. “What’s down there changes everything. So I need you all to shut up and listen before you react.”
“You can’t just—” Wes starts.
“I can,” Stellan cuts him off. “And I am. Because if you go down there already defensive about her, you won’t hear what needs to be said.”
The way he says *her* makes my stomach drop.
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Rhett demands.
