The moonlight filtered through twisted branches as Aria stepped into the glade, her cloak brushing through knee-high grass. Everything was too quiet. The wind didn't rustle. Not even a cricket chirped.
She took a hesitant step forward.
“Elias?” she called out. “I got your note.”
A soft laugh echoed behind her—silken and venomous.
“Oh, sweet little Aria,” Lillian purred, stepping out from the shadows in a tight black training set that gleamed with silver runes. “Didn’t anyone ever tell you not to believe everything you read?”
Aria’s heart dropped. “You wrote the note?”
“Guilty,” Lillian said with a mocking curtsy. “I figured if I couldn’t take you down in the ring, I’d do it where no one could hear you scream.”
Aria’s fists clenched. “Why? Why are you doing this?”
“Because I’m tired
