Elara's POV
The figure stepped out of the darkness.
I couldn't move. Couldn't breathe. My hand froze on the car door handle as the shadow became a shape, became a person walking toward me through those open doors.
"Don't," Thomas said sharply beside me. "Not yet. Let him come to you."
"Him?" My voice came out as a whisper. "Who—"
But I already knew. Deep down, I already knew.
The figure stopped at the threshold. Light from the gray sky touched his face.
My heart stopped.
Cassian.
Not a ghost. Not a memory. Real. Standing twenty feet away, watching me with those storm-gray eyes that had haunted my dreams for ten years.
He looked exactly the same. Seventeen forever. Dark hair falling into his eyes. Tall and lean. Beautiful in a way that used to make me forget how to talk.
"Elara." His voice drifted across the distance between us. The same voice. The same way he said my name, soft and careful, like it was something precious.
I shoved open the car door and stumbled out. My legs barely held me.
"You're dead," I said. "I went to your funeral."
"I know." He didn't move closer. Didn't smile. Just stood there like he was afraid I'd disappear if he breathed wrong. "I'm sorry."
"Sorry?" Anger exploded through my shock. "You're sorry? I mourned you! I cried for months! And you're just—you're just here? You've been here the whole time?"
"Yes."
"Why?" The word ripped out of me. "Why would you do that to me?"
"To keep you safe." His hands clenched at his sides. "To keep you alive."
"That doesn't make any sense!"
"Miss Thornwood," Thomas said behind me. "Perhaps you should go inside. This conversation needs privacy."
"No. He can explain right here." I took a step toward Cassian. "Tell me why everyone lied to me. Tell me why you let me think you were dead."
Cassian's jaw tightened. "Because if you'd known I was alive, you would have come back. And if you'd come back before you were ready, they would have killed you."
"Who? Who would have killed me?"
"The same people who killed your parents." His eyes were dark with pain. "The same people who are trying to kill you now."
My knees went weak. Thomas grabbed my arm to steady me.
"I think we should continue this inside," Thomas said firmly. "Before someone sees."
"Sees what?" I demanded.
"You. Here. Alive and returned." Thomas looked around nervously. "The moment you step onto the manor grounds, certain people will know. We need to get you behind the wards."
I didn't understand what that meant, but something in Thomas's voice scared me. I looked back at Cassian.
He'd moved closer without me noticing. Now he stood just a few feet away. Close enough that I could see he wasn't quite right. His skin was too pale. His eyes too bright. And when the wind blew, his hair moved but his shadow didn't.
"What happened to you?" I whispered.
"I'll explain everything. I promise." He held out his hand. "But please, Elara. Come inside. You're not safe out here."
I stared at his hand. The same hand I'd held a thousand times as a kid. The same hand that had touched my face the night he kissed me.
The hand of someone who was supposed to be dead.
I reached out slowly. My fingers touched his.
The moment we made contact, everything changed.
The air turned freezing cold. So cold my breath came out in white clouds. The mist around the manor thickened, swirling like it was alive. And the shadows—all the shadows from the trees, the walls, the gates—they moved.
Not natural movement. Not wind or clouds. They moved like snakes, sliding across the ground toward us.
"Inside! Now!" Cassian pulled me forward.
Thomas ran ahead, disappearing through the doors. Cassian kept my hand in his, practically dragging me up the steps.
The cold got worse. Ice formed on the ground under my feet. The shadows reached the bottom step.
My foot touched the threshold.
The world exploded.
Light burst from the doorway, bright and silver and violent. The shadows screamed—an actual sound, high and terrible—and retreated. The cold vanished like someone had flipped a switch.
I fell forward, and Cassian caught me. We tumbled through the doorway together and hit the floor hard.
The doors slammed shut behind us with a boom that shook the walls.
Silence.
I lay there on the cold marble floor, gasping for air, my heart trying to punch through my ribs. Cassian's arms were around me, holding me tight.
"You're okay," he breathed into my hair. "You're okay. You're safe now."
I pushed away from him and scrambled to my feet. My hands were shaking so badly I could barely stand. "What was that? What were those things?"
"Shadow creatures," Thomas said. He stood nearby, looking pale but calm. "They can't cross the threshold. Not while the wards are active."
"Wards? What are you talking about?" I spun around, looking for answers, and finally saw where I was.
The entrance hall of Thornwood Manor.
My childhood home.
It was exactly like I remembered. High ceilings with painted angels. A grand staircase that split in two directions. Paintings of my ancestors on the walls. Even the smell was the same—old wood and roses and something else. Something magical.
"Welcome home, Elara," Cassian said quietly.
I turned to look at him. He'd stood up but kept his distance, watching me with an expression I couldn't read.
"This isn't my home," I said. "I don't have a home. Not anymore."
"Yes, you do." He gestured around us. "This has always been yours. It's been waiting for you. I've been waiting for you."
"For ten years? Why?"
"Because I made a promise." His voice was rough. "To your mother. To protect you no matter what. Even if it meant breaking your heart. Even if it meant you hated me."
Tears burned my eyes. "I could never hate you."
"You should." He looked away. "When you find out what I've become, you'll wish I had died in that fire."
"Cassian—"
A sound stopped me. Footsteps. Coming from deeper in the manor. Slow and deliberate. Getting closer.
Cassian's whole body went rigid. "No. Not yet. You're not supposed to be awake."
"Who's not supposed to be awake?" I asked, fear crawling up my spine.
The footsteps got louder. Closer.
Thomas backed toward the door. "Mr. Vale, I thought you said the others were dormant."
"They were. They should be." Cassian moved in front of me protectively. "Something's wrong."
A door at the end of the hall opened.
A woman stepped out.
She was beautiful and terrifying. Long black hair. Red lips. Eyes that glowed like embers. She wore a dress that looked centuries old, and when she walked, she left frost on the floor.
She smiled at me. All teeth.
"Well, well," she purred. "The little Thornwood finally comes home. We've been so hungry waiting for you."
Cassian's hand found mine and squeezed hard.
"Run," he whispered.