CHAPTER 194
The evening sun bruised purple across the horizon. The iron-wrought gates of the estate had barely clicked shut behind them before the atmosphere shifted, giving way to the suffocating deep woods.
There was no warmth in the sunset. Here, the trees grew thick and gnarled, their roots like the buried ribs of giants, anchoring the earth against the coming storm. The silence was the most unsettling part.
Lucian led the way. He didn't look back, but Isabella could feel the bond between them humming with a frequency that made her teeth ache.
She clutched the 'Chronicle of the First' to her chest, her fingers tracing the singed leather.
"It's a bit too quiet," Isabella whispered, her voice sounding small against the backdrop of the towering oaks.
Lucian stopped, turning slightly so the fading light caught the sharp angle of his cheekbone. He stood perfectly still.
