I flinched, gasping as her words jarred me from my frozen state. My knees buckled, and I gripped Devon’s arm for balance. I saw concern in his eyes when he turned toward me.

“Celeste, what’s wrong?” Devon whispered to me in a low tone.

Run? My heart slammed against my ribs, my instincts screaming to obey, but my feet were rooted to the floor. Why would Mouriana tell me to run? “Who” is she?” I whispered.

Devon’s growl deepened as he held me. “I don’t see her either, but your pulse is way out of control. What are you seeing, C—il?”

I shook my head, trying to understand Mouriana’s warning. “She’s” she’s looking right at me,” I stuttered. “Lady Bernadette, how can you not see her?” I glanced at Bernadette, who was now looking a little flustered.

“I feel a presence,” Bernadette admitted. “But I don’t see anything. What is it, Celeste?”

I watched the woman’s head tilt slowly, like a marionette’s string being pulled. Then she moved—no, not moved, but shifted, like a ripple in the air, and the shadows around her writhed with even more intensity. The barrier groaned audibly, and I felt the pressure of her presence squeeze the air out of me.

The woman’s voice slid into my thoughts: Little Celeste. Mouriana’s chosen. How fragile you are. Oh, how delicious it will be to destroy you.

My breath caught. She knew Mouriana. She knew me!

“Mouriana,” I whispered. “Who is she?”

That’s Remnant, Mouriana answered quickly, her voice no longer playful. She is bad news. Your shield won’t hold, so once she breaks it, I’ll give you three an opening to teleport. Don’t try to fight her.

Our barrier shattered with a crack like splintering ice, and darkness burst in, drowning the light in the chamber. I coughed as the air thinned, each inhale clawing at my throat. The shadows pulsated around her in a strange rhythm. Not shadows. Blood. It smelled like blood.

Devon’s claws stretched with a sharp, metallic sound as he stepped in front of me. “Stay behind me,” he ordered, and I knew he could see her now too.

Lady Bernadette was already moving, forming another shield around us, but I could see she was gawking at Remnant as well. “Gaia’s grace, what is that?” she muttered under her breath.

Remnant moved abruptly, her head tilting like she was listening to a sound only she could hear. Her lips curled into a sardonic smile, exposing teeth that sparkled like polished knives. When she spoke, her voice was a slithering rasp that filled the chamber, scraping against my ears like nails on stone.

“Your blood sings to me,” she murmured, her gaze sweeping over us. “Shall I answer?”

The ground trembled under us, and my breath caught as I saw it: thin rivulets of crimson rising inside our shield. They snaked upward in a vein-like fashion, pulling toward her outstretched hands. Blood. It moved like it had a life of its own.

“Move!” I screamed at them. As soon as we shifted, the shield shattered, leaving us exposed. The shadows lashed out immediately. Their tendrils whipped towards us like liquid daggers.

Devon leapt in front of me, his claws meeting one tendril mid-strike, severing it cleanly. But even as it dissolved, several others surged forward, their razor-sharp edges slicing into his shoulder and leaving a jagged tear. He staggered but didn’t fall.

Bernadette wasn’t spared. A shadow struck her mid-cast, her protective sigil evaporating as she was thrown to the ground. Blood bloomed across her thigh, the wound deep and vicious. She clutched her leg, her face twisting in pain, but the shadows showed no mercy.

They came for me next, moving with serpentine wickedness. Unbidden, my magic surged, a torrent of water bursting all around me to stop them. The force knocked them back, scattering their forms into mist. The impact drove me to my knees, my chest heaving as my vision blurred.

“You cannot fight what flows within you,” the Remnant said in a malevolent voice. She floated closer. “As long as your heart beats, you’re mine.”

Devon struggled to his feet with blood dripping down his side. Fury burned in his eyes, and his body buckled from rage as he shifted. With a snarl, he lunged at her, slashing violently with his claws. But she didn’t flinch. She didn’t even blink. With a casual flick of her wrist, the blood pouring from his wound coalesced into a jagged crimson anchor that slammed him into the ground with devastating force. The floor cracked beneath him, the sound echoing like a thunderclap.

“Devon!” I screamed, my voice raw as I scrambled toward him. But the shadow warriors rose again, coiling into a wall that blocked my path.

Bernadette hurled a sphere of light toward them, but her injury weakened her magic. The light struck the shadows, dispersing them, but the force wasn’t strong enough to last. A cruel and wicked smile spread across Remnant’s face as she faced Bernadette.

“You bleed so well,” she crooned. “Shall I show you what it feels like?”

The blood pooling around Bernadette rippled, then surged up in jagged crimson spikes. She screamed as she was pierced by the spikes and pinned to the ground.

Remnant’s laughter rang out, freezing and merciless. She turned her burning eyes to me. “Run, if you can,” she said. “It will not save you. You will leave your mark wherever you tread.”

There was a hive of shadows gathering around Devon, like predators closing in on prey. A primal and overwhelming fury swept through me. My voice rose in a growl. “Get away from him!”

I hurled myself forward, everything narrowing to nothing but the need to reach him. My body moved without thought, my magic responding to an instinct far deeper than anything I understood. Heat erupted within me, building to an unbearable intensity, and then I was engulfed in flames.

The shadows recoiled, hissing and shrieking as my fire surged through them. When the flames touched them, they disintegrated, disappearing into nothingness, filling the air with the acrid stench of burning.

I collapsed beside Devon as the flames went out, their searing heat replaced by a wave of exhaustion that left my limbs trembling. His eyes met mine, fierce even in pain. “C—il,” he rasped. “You’”

Before he could finish, more shadows appeared, and Remnant’s laughter echoed again.

Light chases away shadows. It’s why they killed the lights to take form. I took a deep breath, settling myself, and sent a wave of oriental fire coursing through the inn. As the flames roared to life, they swept across the room, incinerating all the shadows. As the embers cleared, only the Remnant stood in the middle of the destruction, utterly unfazed. Her eyes glowed with chilly delight, and her expression was like carved stone.

Why didn’t the fire hurt her?

Turning, I summoned a fiery shield around Lady Bernadette, who lay motionless in her blood. Gaia, there was so much blood. Too much. My stomach twisted at the sight, but I forced myself to look away, focusing on Devon. He groaned, forcing himself upright, his hand pressed to his side where blood seeped through his tunic.

“You unlocked your fire,” he rasped, a ghost of a smirk tugging at his lips. “This should be interesting.”

“Not the time for jokes, Devon,” I muttered, crouching beside him. My heart beat faster as I wiped the blood from his mouth with trembling fingers, feeling the dark energy corrode his strength. It clung to him like poison, invading his essence relentlessly. Fear coiled in my chest.

I saw Remnant move out of the corner of my eye and turned. “So, the little one fights,” she said with disdain in her eyes. “Good. Now, fight harder.”

The blood pooling on the floor rippled at her words, sputtering upward in a massive, writhing mass. They hovered around her like suspended raindrops. My stomach churned, but I couldn’t flinch now. Putting my hands up, I summoned a fire barrier around Devon and me. Those blood drops formed into daggers and shot viciously against our shield, leaving spiderweb-like cracks on its surface. My arms trembled under the strain, and I glanced over my shoulder at Devon.

So long as there was blood here, she could get through.

“Enough!” Mouriana’s voice filled the inn. I saw her form materialize outside my shield, radiant in her magnificent form. With a sweeping gesture, she created a rift behind me. “Get them and get out of here!” she ordered.

After letting go of the shield, I spun toward Devon. “Devon! We’ve got to get Lady Bernadette and move!”

It took Devon a moment to get to his feet, his movements slow and heavy with pain. Despite the sluggishness, he crossed the room with surprising speed. His jaw was clenched, his breaths laboured, but he didn’t flinch as he reached Lady Bernadette. Her limp form sagged against him as he hefted her up, the strain obvious in the tight lines of his face. Dragging her toward the rift, he moved with the focus of someone who refused to let his injuries claim him.

Remnant stood watching, her composure unbroken with the smallest hint of amusement curling her lips. The blood pooling around us pulsed like a heartbeat throughout the inn. Her crimson eyes tracked Devon’s every step until he vanished through the rift, but she didn’t move.

I turned back to Mouriana, who stood face-to-face with the Remnant. “Mouriana,” I began, “you’”

“Leave this place, little witch,” Mouriana interrupted sharply. She didn’t glance my way, her attention locked firmly on the Remnant. “I’ll find you when I’m done with this pest.”

Remnant’s gaze shifted to me, her lips curling into a feral snarl that sent a chill racing down my spine. “Don’t worry, little one,” she hissed. “I will find you once we’re finished here. Your blood will sing for me.”

“Don’t pay attention to her, Celeste!” Mouriana snapped. “Go! Why not pick on someone your own size, Mythica? Not that you’d come close.”

The Remnant—Mythica—threw her head back and laughed, and the sound was chillingly childlike, like a distorted melody grating against my ears. “Oh, Mouriana,” she said. “I’m so glad you remember me, dear sister. That makes this so much more satisfying.”

Sister? The blood drained from my face. My voice came out as little more than a whisper. “Why did she call you sister?”

“She’s not my sister,” Mouriana hissed. And still, she didn’t look away from Remnant, almost as if turning away for a minute would be a grave mistake. “She’s an old rival. A usurper. Desperate to bend the world to her will.”

“Celeste, listen to me,” Mouriana continued. “She is pure corruption. You are not ready for this fight. Go. Tend to your mate and the Bloodworth. I have a score to settle with her.”

I froze, my feet rooted to the spot, but the crackle of Mouriana’s energy jolted me back to reality. With one last glance at the nightmare unfolding before me, I turned and hurled myself through the rift, the world splintering into light as I left the chaos behind.

My last thought as the rift closed was a desperate hope: that Mouriana could destroy Mythica.