Only her.
The shadows stirred.
Lazarus emerged, silent and composed, both a balm and a warning.
I couldn’t read him.
Not now.
Not when I was unraveling at the seams.
“Please,” I rasped, my voice scraping against the silence.“Heal her.Save her.”
My words echoed off the walls, a command and a prayer entwined in desperation.
I didn’t care what it cost.
“Whatever you do, save her.”
The weight of those words hung between us, heavier than the very history of this place.
My vision blurred, darkness creeping in once more, clawing at the edges of my consciousness.
I reached for Elizabeth, my fingers trembling, my strength draining away.
My body betrayed me, the last of my willpower shattered under the weight of exhaustion, of poison, of grief.
And just before the void pulled me under?—
I held onto one final, desperate hope.
That Lazarus could undo what Elizabeth had sacrificed herself to achieve.
And then?—
Oblivion took me.
ChapterTwenty-One
ELIZABETH
Iawoke to the caress of silk brocade beneath my fingertips, the fabric cool and unfamiliar against my skin.
A dim glow surrounded me—countless candles flickering in their sconces, their trembling flames casting eerie shadows across the vaulted ceiling.
My head throbbed with crushing pressure as if it were caught in a vise, each pulse of pain sending waves of disorientation through me.
Where was I?
Fragments of memory swirled in my mind like scattered leaves in a storm.
The masquerade—bright masks, laughter like chimes of crystal?—
And then, chaos.
I had been the alchemist of that ruin.
The thought struck hard, cutting through the haze and leaving only regret behind.
