Chapter 115 - An Ancient Pact, A Desperate Search

The words on the locket seemed to burn into my palm as I clutched it—"The blood price must be paid. A daughter for a daughter until the line ends." My throat tightened with each passing second.

"A daughter for a daughter," I repeated, my voice hollow in the silent room.

Alaric paced before the fireplace, his shadow stretching tall against the wall. His jaw was clenched tight, the muscle there twitching with barely contained fury.

"This is barbaric," he growled. "Some ancient blood debt passed down through generations of women? It's medieval."

I set the locket down on the desk, unable to bear its weight anymore. My fingers trembled as I smoothed my mother's letter again, searching for clues we might have missed.

"My mother wrote that she heard of others who escaped—women who managed to evade the Blackwoods for years," I said. "That means this has happened before. Multiple times."