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Silence.

“She didn’t?”

“Not once.”

Jesus.

Guild stepped closer. “She wasn’t running, Alaric.”

My gaze returned to the dark road beyond the gates. “She was released.”

“I think so.”

The words settled deep.

Cold.

Precise.

Whoever had taken Bethany hadn’t made a mistake. Nobody had found their location. Nobody had interrupted them. They’d finished… then opened the fucking door. I looked toward the house again. Toward Nyssa. And for the first time, a thought formed that I didn’t want. Bethany wasn’t the end of whatever this was.

She was part of it.

Guild started to turn away.

“Wait.”

He stopped.

Something snagged my mind. “You said two words.”

His expression changed. “When?”

“Before. You said Bethany spoke two words.”

Guild looked toward the house. “Nyssa.”

“I know.”

“No.” His gaze returned to mine. “That was both of them.”

I frowned.

Guild’s jaw tightened. “Just her name. Twice.”

Cold moved through me.

Nyssa.

Nyssa.

Nothing else.

I followed Guild inside. The house had changed again. Not louder… but quieter. The Daughters had disappeared from the hallways. Doors were closed now. Voices murmured behind them. Someone cried upstairs.

Nobody screamed.

That would’ve been easier.