The silence within the timber cabin was more suffocating than the explosion at the docks. Only the rhythmic, haunting crash of the surf outside punctured the stillness. Anna stood frozen before the open drawer, her fingers trembling as they gripped the black velvet box. The iridescent blue-silver fluid within the syringe shimmered with a ghostly light beneath the cabin's neons, looking like a lethal fragment of a fallen star.
"Legacy..." Anna whispered. The name felt like a hex.
Alaric moved toward her. His massive silhouette engulfed her, a shadow that seemed to cage her before he even reached out. He didn't look surprised to find her with the box. Instead, he looked... relieved. As if his final, darkest secret had finally been laid bare upon the table.
