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“I’m here.”

Silence again.

“Let me talk to her.”

“I don’t think she can.”

Cold.

Everywhere.

Then—

A sound through the phone.

Small.

Barely there.

Guild moved. “Bethany?”

Another sound.

A breath.

Then… one word. Broken. Almost too quiet for the speaker to catch. “Nyssa.”

The room disappeared.

Bethany breathed again and said my name one more time.

“Nyssa.”

Nobody moved.

Nobody spoke.

Alaric looked at me and for the first time since I’d known him… The Revenant had nothing.

“Bring her home,” London said finally. “Bring her back to us.”

Then he pressed the button and ended the call.

37

ALARIC

I should’ve found her.

The thought had been circling for the last seventeen minutes.

I should’ve found her.

Not Guild. Not some fucking accident on an empty service road.

Me.

I stood at the edge of the driveway and stared into the darkness. My vision had sharpened again. Enough to separate the road from the wet grass beside it. Enough to make out individual branches against the sky. Enough to watch for headlights in the distance and know within seconds they weren’t the ones I was waiting for.