Ellie's POV
The stone chamber felt alive, breathing slow and heavy.
Candles shook in their sconces, their flames bending toward the black sigil on the floor. Smoke from the brazier smelled like rust and burnt herbs. The air pressed against my skin, thick and wet.
A scrape of boots on stone.
Fiona stood up from the rubble where I’d knocked her down. Blood streaked her temple but her smile was sharp as a blade.
“You really thought you’d stopped me?” Her voice was low and rough, almost playful.
.I tightened my grip on the jagged rock in my hand. “Stay down, Fiona.”
She laughed, dry and cold. “Stay down? My dear Ellie, I’ve only just begun.”
Before I could move she cut her palm with a curved knife and let her blood drip on the glowing crescent. The sigil pulsed like a heartbeat.
“No!
