The storm didn’t roll in with thunder this time. It came with silence.A silence so absolute it made the heart of the city hold its breath. No rain, no wind — just the faint hum of electricity dying in the veins of street lamps. The clouds above Rosemont swirled black and red, as though the sky itself had begun to bleed.Ethan stood at the highest point of the northern docks, overlooking the smoldering skyline. The golden fire in his veins flickered with unease. Somewhere in that endless dark, the Ash Warden moved — and with her came the end of everything he’d tried to protect.Behind him, Ava climbed the steps, her boots slick with rain. “The Rosemont estate’s under attack,” she said, breathless. “The Warden’s people hit from three fronts. I saw her sigil — ash over flame.”Ethan didn’t turn. “She’s not after the family. She’s after the flame.”“Which means you,” Ava said. “And me.”He finally faced her. Her eyes glowed faintly gold now, pulsing in rhythm with his own. Whatever had h

The storm had rolled in before dawn, blotting out the skyline like spilled ink.Ethan and Ava moved through the underground access tunnel beneath Saint Veritas Cathedral, flashlights cutting thin lines through the dark. The air was wet, metallic — the scent of centuries sealed away. Concrete gave way to stone, then older stone, the kind carved by hand and time.Every step echoed as if they were walking through the ribs of something dead and enormous.“Are we sure this isn’t suicide?” Ava murmured, gun drawn.“If the legends are true, the Core is down here,” Ethan said, voice low. “The last surviving remnant of Seraphine’s code. The Warden’s after it, too.”“Then we should pray she’s slower than we are.”Ethan gave a faint smile. “She’s not.”They descended a spiral staircase that curved endlessly downward, the light thinning until it was devoured by shadow. The deeper they went, the more the walls changed — carvings gave way to metallic filigree, veins of some unknown material that pu