The familiars pulse brighter, leading us around a curve where faint traces of color bleed into the black. Not much. Just enough to remind us what isn’t Void.
“Feels weird,” I say quietly, “walking toward light for once.”
“Don’t get used to it,” Rhett replies.
I wasn’t planning to.
Theo slows.
Just a step. Then another. His eyes go unfocused—that thousand-yard stare that means he’s Seeing something the rest of us can’t.
“Theo?” Wes moves closer, concern sharpening his voice.
Theo doesn’t answer. His hands start shaking.
“Shit.” I step forward, but Stellan holds up a hand.
“Don’t interrupt it,” Stellan says quietly. “Let it finish.”
Theo’s breathing goes shallow. His lips move, forming words I can’t hear.
Then he gasps—sharp, like surfacing from deep water.
The vision snaps.
Silence.
“Theo?” Rhett’s voice is careful. Controlled. “What did you see?”
Theo blinks hard, eyes still glowing faintly silver. When he speaks, his voice is rough. Shaken.
“A year.” He swallows. “We’ve been here at least a year.”
My stomach drops.
“The sanctuary,” Theo continues, words tumbling faster now. “Riley’s on the Council. With them. Like she belongs there.”
Thane’s expression goes cold. “Riley.”
“And the Feeders.” Theo’s hands clench into fists. “Our Feeders. The ones who came for refuge—they’re not free anymore. They’re chained. Mining.”
“Mining what?” Stellan’s voice is deadly quiet.
“The veins.” Theo looks at him, and there’s something broken in his eyes. “The same silver Ether veins from here—from the Void. They’re spreading through the sanctuary now. They turned it into a mine.”
Rhett swears—low, vicious.
Wes looks like he might be sick.
Thane goes utterly still. When he speaks, his voice is lethal. “They enslaved Feeders. My people came to Bree for sanctuary, and the Council put them in chains as soon as she was gone.”
His silver eyes blaze. “I will burn that Council to ash.”
“Wait.” Wes looks between Theo and the rest of us. “Why didn’t you see any of this before? You’ve been having visions this whole time.”
Theo’s quiet for a moment. “Maybe because it wasn’t a possibility before. The Sight shows what could happen, what might happen. If we never believed we’d get out…” He looks at the familiars leading us forward. “Maybe now we do.”
“Zira?” Stellan asks, and for the first time since I’ve known him, his voice cracks.
