EMMA
The door shut behind Xander with a finality that echoed in the hollowness of the room. Then silence wrapped around me like a second skin
tight and suffocating.
I stood there… until my knees gave out and I sank onto the edge of the bed. My fingers curled into the sheets, grounding myself.
My heart was thudding, but it wasn't from fear. It was something else. That old ache… that phantom of a memory pressing just beneath the surface.
Then it came "Come to the old sanctuary, Emma. Alone. Before the full moon sets. Don't trust anyone, not even the guards at your door."
He is the reason why I have chosen this decision. I will get power and I will make sure to destroy Xander.
FLASHBACK
The moon had hung low that night, veiled behind thin clouds, barely lighting the dirt path winding behind the southern wing of the packhouse. I had slipped out in silence, my feet barely making a sound on the stone floor as I tiptoed past the sleeping guards.
