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Stone rose into the dark. Windows sat black and watching. Something overgrown spilled from the balcony, reaching toward us like it’d been waiting.

The car stopped.

I didn’t move.

I couldn’t look away.

This place didn’t feel empty.

It felt…occupied.

Guild didn’t switch off the engine. He put the car into park and stepped out. Another shadow moved. A man I hadn’t noted stepped down from the stone steps—like he’d been waiting for us.

The door opened.

I stepped out.

It closed behind me. The sound soft. Final. I lifted my gaze slowly to the man standing before me.

Silence stretched between us.

Then—

“So it’s you.” The man murmured. His dark eyes scanning me once before stopping. Like I’d already been decided.

Something shifted.

Fast.

Sharp.

Moving through me before I could stop it—like a current under my skin. One that made me feel… exposed. My thoughts rushed in, trying to catch up, trying to make sense of how a man I’d never met could look at me like that.

Heat climbed into my cheeks as those pale, unfocused eyes filled my mind.

Alaric.

He told this man to expect me.

“She’s his.” Guild said.

A pause.

A shift in the air.

“Yeah,” the man answered. “I know.”

“Go with Rafe now,” Guild said, stepping back. “I’ll send your things tomorrow.”

Wait.

I turned toward him, panic flaring. He was leaving?

He didn’t look at me. Didn’t hesitate. He just walked back to the car. I turned, opening my mouth to cry out. But no sound came. The crunch of his boots on the stone filled the space instead.

The door opened. Closed. The engine revved. Headlights swept past me—and then he was gone.

“Come on,” the man said, already turning toward the house.