Darkness.Then pain very sharp, blinding, dragging Ethan back to consciousness.His head throbbed where it had struck the dresser. Warm blood matted his hair, sticky against his scalp. He tried to move, but Claire's weight pressed down on his shoulders while Vincent's hands crushed his windpipe."Stop struggling," Vincent hissed, his face inches from Ethan's. "You're just making this harder on yourself."Ethan's fingers scrabbled uselessly against Vincent's wrists. His boss's grip was iron, professional almost, like he'd done this before. The thought sent ice through Ethan's veins even as his oxygen-starved brain began to fade."Vincent, please!" Claire's voice cracked. "He's turning blue!""Good. Means it's working.""You said we were just going to scare him!""Plans change." Vincent's voice remained terrifyingly calm. "He saw us, Claire. He was going to ruin everything. My career. Your comfortable life. Did you think he'd just walk away quietly?"Ethan's vision blurred. The edges of

Ethan's feet pounded against wet asphalt as he sprinted through the industrial district. Every stride carried him farther than it should, his body moving with a fluid grace he'd never possessed before. Buildings blurred past. The night air whipped against his face.Behind him, the five figures pursued in absolute silence. No footsteps. No breathing. Just the whisper of fabric and the occasional scrape of shoes on pavement.“They're gaining,” the Echo warned. “Your body has awakened, but you don't know how to use it yet.”"Then tell me how!" Ethan hissed, vaulting over a chain-link fence without breaking stride. He landed in an alley, his shoes splashing through puddles.“Feel the Xore . The energy in your chest. Let it flow through your limbs.”Ethan tried to focus, but panic scattered his thoughts. He'd been murdered two hours ago. Drowned. Came back to life. And now people were hunting him like an animal.The alley opened onto a deserted street. Sodium lights cast everything in sick

The world exploded into chaos.Lydia's warriors met the Abyssal Guard at the breach, and the impact of their collision sent shockwaves rippling across the compound. Silver light clashed against corrupt yellow, the energies tearing at reality itself.Ethan stood frozen in the courtyard, watching as people fought and died to protect him. A woman he didn't know took a blade through the stomach, her scream cut short as she collapsed. A man unleashed a wave of Xore fire that immolated three attackers before a spear punched through his spine."Get him inside!" Lydia shouted, her hands weaving patterns in the air that created barriers of solid light. "Sera, protect my son!"Sera grabbed Ethan's arm, but he pulled away. "I can't just hide while people die for me!""You can and you will!" She yanked him toward the main building with surprising strength. "Your death would make their sacrifice meaningless!"An Abyssal Guard broke through the defensive line, sprinting toward them with inhuman spe

The pain stopped as suddenly as it began.Ethan gasped, his body convulsing on the bed as the Xore seal finished integrating with his Xore . Sweat drenched his skin. His vision swam with afterimages of light."Breathe," Selene commanded. "Deep breaths. Let the energies settle."Ethan sucked in air, and suddenly he could feel everything. The circulation of Xore energy through his meridians. The pulse of power in his Xore . The new pathways the seal had carved through his body like rivers of light.And voices, two of them now, speaking simultaneously in his mind.“You've made a grave mistake,” the Echo snarled. “The Academy's leash will strangle you.”“Integration complete,” the Academy seal announced in a toneless voice. “Host designated, Ethan Hardy. Bloodline confirmed, First Hardy lineage. Threat assessment, Critical. Defensive protocols active.”"What did you do to me?" Ethan pushed himself upright, staring at his hands. They glowed faintly with silver light traced through with geo

Dawn came too quickly.Ethan stood in the ruins of the Hardy Estate, watching the sun paint the devastated courtyard in shades of gold and red. Smoke still rose from collapsed buildings. The meditation gardens were churned mud and broken stone. Twenty-three bodies had been recovered, defenders who'd given their lives protecting a man they barely knew.Because of bloodline. Because of duty. Because his mother had asked."We'll rebuild," Lydia said softly, appearing beside him. She'd changed into traveling clothes, her silver hair bound back in a severe braid. "The Hardy legacy has survived worse than this.""Has it?" Ethan gestured at the destruction. "How many estates have you lost to Whitmore? How many people have died for a war I didn't even know existed until yesterday?"Lydia's expression tightened. "Forty-three estates over thirty years. Seven hundred and twelve confirmed deaths." She met his eyes. "I've kept count of every single one. Every sacrifice made to keep you hidden, to