This was a detailed, hand-drawn database of Timebornes and Timebounds worldwide—a personal ledger of the damned.
My dagger. My exact dagger was etched onto parchment with eerie precision.
They’d cataloged everything.
Emily’s necklace.
A fresh wave of panic surged through me, pressing against my ribs and making me feel weak.
I had to find the Sun Dagger and get out of here.
Fast.
Where was it?
I hurried toward the massive desk, yanking open drawers and rifling through their contents.
Nothing.
Damn it!
Could it be hidden inside the books?
I pulled volume after volume from the shelves, flipping through their pages, searching for a concealed compartment.
Nothing.
The books themselves were disturbing—scientific tomes detailing poisonous plants, the extraction of lethal tinctures, and the most efficient ways to inflict suffering through toxins.
Everything a madman would need to wipe Timebornes and Timebounds from existence.
My stomach twisted.
I had to keep looking.
Where is it, where is it, where is it?—
A sound made my blood freeze.
Footsteps.
Loud. Approaching the door.
Then—
The door swung open.
I went rigid, heart slamming against my ribs.
My fingers trembled as I carefully slid the book back into place.
Shit.
I didn’t dare turn around.
How the hell did I explain this?
My throat felt dry, my mind scrambling for an excuse for anything that could explain why I was standing in a room filled with evidence of Raul Costa’s obsession with hunting my kind.
