Chapter 19 · The Ghost in the Bone

"Get out! Get the hell out of my head!"

Nora screamed, her voice cracking as she clawed at her own chest.

She didn't just hear Silas; she felt him. A layer of oily film sliding over her ribs. A cold, wrong presence invading the warmth of her lungs. Every breath tasted like copper and old ink.

"Now, now, Nora. Don't be so dramatic," Silas purred. The voice didn't come from the room—it vibrated from inside her sternum. "You invited me in. You broke the lock. I'm just taking advantage of the open door."

Kane was on her in a heartbeat. He seized her wrists, pinning them away from her skin before she could draw blood. His grip was crushing, desperate. His eyes—sharp now, memories restored—scanned her face with a mix of horror and raw protectiveness.

"Nora, look at me!" Kane barked. "Stop fighting it for one second. Where is he? How is he doing this?"

"Inside!" Nora gasped, her body jerking. "He's... he's in the marrow. In the gaps where the Crown shattered!"

Silas chuckled. The sound echoed in Nora's ears like a wet slap. "Exactly. The Crown wasn't a trinket, darling. It was a bridge.