Page 126

Shadows swirled inside and out of the sphere, thick with the familiar, oily sheen of darkness, moving like living smoke.

My throat tightened, breath catching at the sight.

The shadows swirled and pulsed, sending ripples of water cascading across the surface. Our hair billowed behind us under the force of its gust.

It can’t be…

A pair of golden eyes cut through the swirling shadows like two sparks about to catch flame.

I knew those eyes. Trusted them. Yearned for them. Had let myself fall so deeply into their golden depths that I’d forgotten I’d once known better than to trust them.

The shadows slowly faded, working their way up from the bottom of the dark sphere.

My mouth hung open as a man's form slowly unraveled from the fading shadows until finally, Layne Murrows stood before me, real and corporeal.

Layne hovered above the water’s surface, his body no longer marked by the familiar scars and dark veins that I’d grown to accept as part of a past I’d never know.

But as the same veins now crawled across my own body, I regretted that decision with every fiber of my soul.

Whatever curse had bound Layne to the depths— the prison that had kept him trapped for god knows how long—was gone.

He was free.

Layne walked atop the water, standing tall in front of me, his face solemn. Shadows pulsed off him in waves. He held his hands out in front of him, flexing them as he slowly turned them over, observing his form. His golden eyes swept across the dock, surveying Preston's scattered ashes and the destruction around them.

Layne’s eyes took me in—my tail, the black veins spreading across my body, and finally lingering on Ethan’s hand that gripped tight to my own.

His eyes said everything and nothing in equal measure. The theatrics and witty remarks were replaced with silence as Layne stared down at the ground, his head hanging low.

Kneeling by my side, he slowly caressed my face, his touch so warm against mine. A touch I once had comfort and longing for.

I grimaced and pulled my head back.

Ethan’s hand gripped mine tighter, his jaw clenching as he glowered at Layne.

Layne’s voice came out small and broken. “Evelyn, I…there was no other way.”

The water bubbled around us, turning into a sea of inky shadows as the distant sound of rattling chains echoed through the air again.

My chest rose and fell rapidly as I grabbed Layne’s face, forcing his gaze.

“Layne…” My voice shook. “What did you do?”

Layne pressed his eyes shut, slowly shaking his head. “Evelyn, I’m—I’m sorry…”

Shadows churned in the water around us, thick and wild. The sea of darkness writhed with a mind of its own, its oily sheen rippling across the surface. Somewhere below, chains rattled, louder and closer as the dock shook below us.

My hand trembled as I gripped Layne’s face, forcing his gaze to meet mine. “What do you mean?” I demanded, my voice shaking. “What the fuck did you do!”

The quiet comfort of his golden gaze was gone, like a dwindling fire. The embers of guilt and resignation were the only things behind his eyes now.

My hands fell away as pain ripped through me again. The dark veins pulsed, burning as they branched across my body, spreading like wildfire.

Layne winced and averted his gaze.

Ethan’s hand tightened on mine. “Evie, who the fuck is this guy?” He turned, glaring at Layne as he put himself between the two of us.

I gasped as pain exploded across my chest, my body seizing. The dark veins crept across my shoulders, crawling up my throat and across my back. With each breath, my chest tightened, each one harder than the last.