Ava Morales crouched in the cramped, smoke-filled safehouse, the _Liber Nocturna_'s pages fluttering in the draft like a living thing. Elian cleaned his knives, the whetstone's rhythm unnerving. Lucas monitored the encrypted feed, tracking the Order's movements. Catherine sat apart, her gaze inward, shadows lingering in her eyes.
"The Order's closing in," Lucas said, his voice low. "They've put a bounty on you, Ava. Dead or alive."
Ava's fingers tightened around the _Liber_. "What do they want with me?"
Elian's green eyes locked onto hers. "You're the key to the _Liber_. With you, they can control reality itself."
Catherine's head snapped up. "But at what cost?"
Ava's mind reeled. The _Liber_'s hunger was a constant presence, urging her to write… to rewrite. She thought of her parents, killed by the Order. Of Catherine, trapped in shadows. Of her own soul, unraveling.
Elian handed her the quill. "Ava, you need to master the _Liber_. Now."
Ava wrote: _"I control the shadows. They obey me."_
The room's darkness swirled, coalescing into tendrils that wrapped around her wrists. Ava felt a rush of power… and a creeping dread.
Catherine's eyes widened. "Ava, stop—"
The shadows tightened, Catherine's words cut off. Lucas drew his gun, but Elian stopped him.
"Ava, release her," Elian said, his voice calm.
Ava's intent wavered. The shadows retreated, Catherine gasping for air.
The _Liber_'s pages turned, writing: _"Control is an illusion. The shadows own you."_
Ava's vision blurred. "What does it mean?"
Elian's expression was unreadable. "It means the _Liber_'s manipulating you. Using your fears… your guilt."
Lucas's gaze narrowed. "We need to get Ava out of here. The Order's tracking her power spike."
Catherine stood, her movements stiff. "I'll go with her."
Elian nodded. "Lucas, prep the car. Ava, write something. Make sure we're not followed."
Ava's fingers moved, the quill scratching: _"The roads behind us vanish."_
The safehouse's mirrors shattered, reflections distorting. Outside, the streets blurred, erasing their trail.
Elian pushed them toward the door. "Move. Now."
They fled into Prague's twilight, the _Liber_'s whisper in Ava's mind: _"You're mine… forever."_
Ava's grip on the quill tightened. She'd fight… but the shadows were already inside.