Chapter 29 · The Last Lock

The blade hits the lock.

I'm not fast enough. I'm never fast enough.

Morgana's bone knife sinks into the third seal like it's been waiting centuries for this exact touch. The sound it makes—god, it's not a crack or a snap. It's a sigh. Like something trapped finally gets to breathe.

"No!" I throw myself at her, but my hands pass straight through. She's just a projection. Just a memory wearing Morgana's face, playing out a script written before I was born.

The lock doesn't shatter. It melts. Black oil runs down the surface of Kade's mind, and I can smell it—old blood, older magic, something that should've stayed buried.

Morgana's smile is the worst part. She looks at me like I'm a child who finally figured out the punchline.

"Did you really think your blood would save him?" She tilts her head. The projection flickers, but her voice stays steady. "You're not the antidote, Lyra. You're the key."

I look down at my hands. They're still bleeding, still dripping onto the floor of Kade's consciousness. Every drop that falls turns black when it hits the ground.

"No. No, I was helping him. I felt the bond—