Thirty-three: The Broken Soul

The Aphelion Mansion had never felt so still.

Rain lashed against the stained-glass windows, turning the moonlight into fractured shards on the marble floor. The storm outside raged, but inside… everything was silent.

Too silent.

Damien stood near the shattered vase Myra’s outburst had destroyed—his shirt torn at the shoulder where her magic had hurled him across the room. He didn’t feel the sting. Not really. His hand hovered over his chest where the echo of her power still lingered, a phantom bruise beneath his skin.

“She left the estate,” Sebastian said, voice low and hollow, slicing through the silence.

Madeline sat curled on the velvet chaise, arms wrapped tightly around herself. Her eyes were glassy, vacant. Her lips moved—silent prayers to a sister she was losing all over again.

No one moved to chase after Myra.

Even Rosa Noctis hadn’t followed her.