Jace Caldwell’s chest burned, blood gushing from where Lena Voss had plunged Ethan’s rune-etched dagger into his scar. The shadow city’s plaza pulsed with the spire’s red-veined glow, its Shroud-like face leering, eyes blazing. The sixth Obsidian Heart lay at his feet, its sickly light dimming, while the seventh Heart’s shards glinted in Victor Kane’s hand, his exosuit gleaming. Aria, the young Marked girl, cowered near the spire, her red eyes wide, clutching the fourth Heart’s fragments. Lena stood frozen, her bloodied hands trembling, her face pale with something—guilt? Fear? Jace’s scar throbbed, healing the wound, but slower, pain lingering like a scream caught in his throat. Ethan’s whisper echoed: She’s theirs. His heart was a knot of grief and rage—Ethan’s ash, Lena’s lies, the dagger’s sting. He staggered to his feet, Glock shaking in his hand, the air thick with the reek of sulfur and rusted iron.“Lena,” Jace rasped, voice cracking like brittle glass. “Why?” His scar burn

Jace Caldwell’s scar burned as Ethan—his brother, ash one moment, flesh the next—lunged, rune-etched dagger glinting, aimed at his heart. The shadow city’s plaza pulsed, The Shroud’s maw yawning wide, red tendrils spiraling from the spire’s veined face. The boy, black eyes gleaming, clutched his new Obsidian Heart, its void-black pulse feeding the maw. Lena Voss staggered beside Jace, her shoulder wound bleeding, her eyes wide with guilt from stabbing him earlier. Aria, the young Marked girl, cowered, clutching the fourth Heart’s shards, her red eyes flickering. The sixth Heart lay at Jace’s feet, its sickly glow dim, but its heat seared his hand as he grabbed it, syncing with his scar. Ethan’s scream echoed in his skull: Run, Jace! His heart was a mess—grief for Ethan, rage at Lena, fear of losing himself. The air stank of burnt metal and something acrid, like tears on a hot blade.Jace’s scar flared, time slowing—his body dodged, Ethan’s dagger grazing his arm, blood beading, then

Jace Caldwell’s scar burned as he dove through the portal, its red light searing his skin, spitting him into a sterile NexTech lab—white walls, humming machines, the air sharp with antiseptic and something foul, like meat left to rot. Ethan—his brother, alive, chained to a steel table, red eyes flickering—screamed, his voice raw, human, not The Shroud’s. Lena Voss stood in the shadow city’s crumbling plaza, her eyes white, glowing, her voice ancient: “The Shroud’s in me now.” She gripped a new rune-etched dagger, the new Obsidian Heart’s void-black pulse flaring in her other hand. Aria, the young Marked girl, cowered behind a spire, clutching the fourth Heart’s shards, her sobs muffled. Victor Kane’s laughter echoed from the lab’s speakers, the first Heart’s glow pulsing somewhere unseen. Jace’s scar throbbed, his Glock heavy, his heart a snarl of grief and rage—Ethan’s chains, Lena’s betrayal, The Shroud’s claws. The lab’s cold bit his knuckles, like frost on a blade.Jace staggere

Jace Caldwell’s scar screamed, a jagged pulse in his chest as the shadow city’s plaza trembled, the spire’s veined face crumbling into dust. Victor Kane stood before the roaring portal, his face shifting—skin rippling like oil, eyes void-black, no longer human, his voice ancient: “The Shroud was just the beginning.” Ethan—Jace’s brother, alive again, black eyes glinting—stood beside him, a new red Obsidian Heart pulsing in his hand, his expression blank, not the kid from Brooklyn. Lena Voss, possessed, white eyes glowing, gripped a rune-etched dagger, the new Heart’s void-black pulse dim in her other hand. Aria, the young Marked girl, cowered behind a spire, her red eyes streaming, clutching the fourth Heart’s shards. The final Heart, held by Selene, pulsed like a dying star somewhere in the chaos. Jace’s Glock trembled, his heart a snarl of grief and betrayal—Ethan’s sacrifice, Lena’s cold eyes, Kane’s transformation. The air stung with the reek of molten iron and something sickl

Jace Caldwell’s scar burned, a jagged pulse tearing through his chest as the shadow city’s plaza vanished, the portal’s red light spitting him into a real city—NexTech’s gleaming metropolis, all steel spires and neon veins, pulsing like the Obsidian Hearts. Ethan stood before him, unchained, his black eyes glinting, clutching a new Heart blacker than night, its pulse a low thrum, like a storm trapped in stone. Victor Kane loomed, his face splitting, void-black eyes multiplying, his voice a chorus of shadows: “The Void’s awake, and you’re its heart.” Lena Voss staggered beside Jace, her eyes human again, tears cutting through blood, her rune-etched dagger trembling in her hand, the new Heart’s glow dim. Aria, the young Marked girl, clung to a shattered pillar, her red eyes streaming, the fourth Heart’s shards scattered at her feet. Selene lay slumped, her final Heart pulsing weakly, blood pooling from her scar. The air reeked of ozone and something rancid, like dreams burned to ash