“She found the edge,” he muttered to himself.
My blood iced over. “What?”
His gaze fixed on me, urgent now.
“Wake up,” he said sharply.
“What—”
“Wake up, Maeve,” Keegan’s voice bounced through my brain, replacing Gideon’s.
The world lurched, the trees blurred, and the air snapped like a cord breaking.
I was ripped upward, gasping, and a crash sounded above me.
It wasn’t inside my dream.
It was above the bed…on the roof.
My eyes flew open into darkness, faintly lit by moonlight through the window.
For a split second, I didn’t know where I was, only that something had beenright there, close enough to touch, and now it was gone.
Another scrape echoed through the space, but it was longer this time.
It was followed by something dragging across shingles.
The cottage. I was back in the cottage.
It's Karvey, just Karvey shifting position.
But Karvey usually moved with weight. A thud. A solid, stone-bodied hop.
This was different, lighter, and faster.
It was almost like claws or boots.
Keegan stayed still as his eyes connected with mine.
“You heard it too,” I whispered.
Keegan’s breath was quiet. Controlled. “Yes.”
Another thud, then a low, frustrated huff. It wasn’t human and not quite an animal.
Keegan sat up, ready to move, and I grabbed his wrist. "Wait."
His eyes caught the dim light, and they turned golden.
"It could be Karvey," I whispered, though I didn't believe it.
Keegan tilted his head, listening.
Then: tap tap tap. Directly above us. It was like something was testing the boards.
His jaw tightened. "That's not Karvey."
My stomach dropped, and a low vibration moved through the cottage.
