Chapter 69

Daphne

Something was wrong with Zachary.

I felt it—sharp, violent, like a blade twisting inside my chest.

Not fear. Not intuition.

A bond screaming in agony.

And it was pulling me straight to him.

I ran out of the museum when my heart couldn’t take it anymore. Each breath burned like fire. My lungs screamed, my legs trembled—but stopping felt impossible. If I stopped, something terrible would happen. I knew it.

I ran into the central hall and straight to the meeting office. His scent was getting stronger the more I go closer.

I pushed the door open and went in.

And the world shattered.

Zachary lay on the floor in a pool of blood—pale, motionless, a knife buried deep in his abdomen while the elders stood around him like silent statues.

He was… he was lying... There was blood everywhere. His blood.

My knees nearly gave out.

This wasn’t an injury.

This looked like death waiting to happen.

S