My breath catches. The way he looks at me—like he recognizes something. What I am. What I’m becoming.
“You’re one too,” I say quietly.
Auren’s expression softens slightly. “Incubus-class, like you. Though I’ve had a few more centuries to perfect the craft.” He glances at Stellan, one elegant eyebrow raised. “Unlike your mentor here, I don’t starve myself out of misplaced nobility.”
Stellan’s expression doesn’t change, but something flickers in his eyes.
“She needs help.” Rhett’s voice cracks. “Now.”
Auren’s attention snaps fully to Rhett, and the playful mask drops completely. “Yes. She does.” He moves forward with purpose. “Bring her. I have healers on staff, and rooms prepared.” He pauses, his amber eyes meeting each of ours in turn. “I’ve been waiting for her. For all of you.”
“Waiting?” Thane’s voice is clipped. Suspicious. “What do you mean, waiting?”
“I mean,” Auren says carefully, “that when a Source awakens after centuries of silence, and then vanishes, people notice. And some of those people…” He pauses. “Some of us choose to care. To prepare.”
“How did you know she vanished?” Thane’s voice is sharp.
Auren’s amber eyes meet his. “Because whoever is playing her part is awful at it.” His gaze sweeps over us. “And when all of you disappeared all at once shortly after? That confirmed it. The real Source wouldn’t have let you go without her.”
My chest tightens.
Theo’s eyes refocus on him. After a long moment, he nods. “He’s telling the truth. He’s… on our side.”
“How convenient,” Jace mutters.
Auren’s smile flickers back, brief and sharp. “Oh, I like you. You’ll fit right in.” His expression sobers as he looks at Bree again. “But your friend is right. I’ve been helping organize resistance efforts since your girl first appeared. Preparing for the moment she’d need sanctuary.” His voice drops. “Please. Let me help her. Then we’ll talk.”
“One of your people comes near her,” Rhett says quietly, “and I burn this place to the ground.”
“Fair enough.” Auren doesn’t look offended. “Then I’ll tend her myself. I’m quite skilled at healing, actually.” He gestures toward a sweeping staircase. “This way. Quickly.”
Gray moves forward, Bree still unconscious on his back. Auren leads us up the stairs, through hallways lined with mirrors and art, until he stops before a set of double doors.
“The guest wing,” he says, pushing them open. “Six bedrooms, all connected to a central sitting room. And this one—” He opens another door, revealing a room that’s all soft light and cream-colored silk. “This one is hers.”
Gray moves into the room without hesitation, standing next to the bed, waiting for one of us to move her. Rhett carefully moves Bree onto the bed with a gentleness that makes my chest ache. She looks so small against the white sheets. So still.
Auren moves to the bedside, his earlier playfulness completely gone. “What happened to her?”
“The Void,” Thane says flatly. “She’s been there for… we don’t know how long.”
“And the corruption?” Auren’s fingers hover over Bree’s arm, where black veins spider beneath her skin. “This isn’t just Void exposure. This is active feeding.”
My stomach drops. “We suspected.”
“Someone’s been feeding on her.” Auren’s voice is grim. “Consistently. For a while.” His amber eyes lift to meet mine. “This is what we look like when we take too much, too often. This is starvation dressed as consumption.”
“Can you help her?” Thane’s voice is barely human.
Auren nods slowly. “Yes. But it will take time. Her body needs rest, nutrition, and most importantly—” His gaze shifts to me, then Stellan, then Thane. “She needs to feed. Not give. Take.”
“We’re Feeders,” Thane says. “We don’t—”
“She’s Source.” Auren cuts him off. “Her Ether is like a living thing. Right now it’s starving because she’s been drained dry. If she’s bonded to you—” His eyes narrow. “And I can feel that she is—then you need to let her draw through those connections. Your emotions, your vitality, your love. Her Ether will know what to take.”
The room goes silent.
“How?” My voice comes out rough. Desperate.
