Back at the Matteo estate, silence blanketed the corridors like snowfall.
In Elena's bedchamber, she sat beside the low-burning fire, a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. The flame's warmth did little to chase away the chill settled in her bones.
She didn't look up as Cheri entered quietly, holding a sealed letter in one hand.
"My lady… this just arrived."
Elena frowned. "At this ungodly hour?"
She took the letter, eyes narrowing at the unbroken seal. The paper was thick. The wax dark. Her heart kicked against her ribs.
She broke the seal.
Read.
And went still.
Her face paled.
"Cheri…"
Her voice was distant, uneven. The letter fell from her hands, landing on the floor like a blade.
"Go awaken Lady Aurora. At once."
Cheri bowed and vanished into the corridor with silent urgency.
Elena stared into the fire. Her hands shook. The words echoed in her mind.
He's alive.
Aurora burst into the room wrapped in a shawl, nightgown billowing as she skidded to a halt.
"Elena—what is it? What could possibly—"
Elena turned toward her. The firelight caught the hollows beneath her eyes. Her expression was strange—something between shock and awe.
"Read it."
She handed over the letter.
Aurora scanned it quickly.
Then crumpled.
She collapsed to her knees as though the floor had vanished beneath her.
"M-My brother… is alive?"
Elena knelt beside her, placing a steadying hand over Aurora's trembling fingers.
"We must find Seamus. He has to know—"
Aurora moved to rise, but Elena stopped her, pointing to the bottom of the letter.
"Wait. There's more."
She ran her finger beneath the signature, revealing a faintly glowing sigil—a mark of enchantment that shimmered like starfire.
"Not only is he alive…"
She met Aurora's wide eyes.
"He's leading the underground himself."
A crack of thunder split the sky. Lightning flashed outside the window, illuminating both women's faces in ghostly white.
They said nothing more.
There was no need.
Only the fire.
Only the letter.
Only the impossible truth flickering in the dark.