Page 271 of House Ignis

Firelight licked over diagrams of monstrous, beautiful creatures—tall fae with shadows coiling around their forms like living cloaks. Their mouths were captured mid-scream, revealing rows of gleaming fangs.

“They live on… Aelmyra,” I whispered. The word curled across my tongue like it had been waiting for me to speak it. “A hidden kingdom.”

My hands trembled as I traced the inked coastlines.

The territory was vast and wild, entirely absent from every map I had ever studied.

“No wonder no one can find them,” I murmured, my throat tightening. “But how the hell do they get so close to us?”

The next page flared brighter as I read, the Veyari script shimmering like liquid silver.

"Their gift is shapeshifting, unique among all fae. They may wear any skin they desire. Their powers: darkness, void, shadow. Immortal beings. Some—rare, born of old blood—may wield two.”

“Two powers?” My voice cracked. “What the fuck are these things…”

My gaze dropped lower. An illustration filled the page, several monstrous creatures rendered in dark ink.

A great feline with silver eyes. A scaled predator with a venomous tail. A winged beast with serrated jaws. No two looked remotely alike.

“Vel’tara. Soul-bound companions. No two alike. Each a predator. Each a weapon. Together—unstoppable.”

“Vel’tara,” I breathed.

Awe tangled with something much colder in my chest.

The script darkened, the ink appearing thick and wet. “

The shadows are their veil. Their eyes, when burning red, mark their ascension to full power. They may walk among fae unnoticed—until the hunger wakes.”

My skin prickled violently. Those eyes… the ones that had watched me from the dark. The ones that had followed me in my dreams. Then I saw it, centered on the final page of the chapter.

One above all: The Shadow King.

My stomach lurched. “A king,” I whispered.

“Beware the Shadow King. His bloodline older than kingdoms. Predator above predators. His strength unmatched...”

Aether went very still beside me. I shivered, the air in the library suddenly feeling like ice. A predator.

Then, the passage that truly froze my blood:

Their unions are not like ours. When they bond, it is not ceremony. It is surrender. Eternal. Sacred blood awakens what lies buried.”

“Bite,” I whispered, and the word felt like a death sentence. Dread seeped into my bones, heavy and terminal.

At the word, the torches exploded into brilliant, white-hot life.

Every rune in the room pulsed. Once. Twice. Like a heartbeat that did not belong to me.

My fingers trembled as I dragged them down the page.

Eternal. Awakened. Buried.

The library groaned softly.

A scroll tore free from a shelf nearby and snapped open. Somewhere deeper in the stacks, a book slammed shut with a violent crack that echoed like a thunderclap.

It felt like the place was finally recognizing me.