I could feel every pulse of the Door beneath my hands, every heartbeat echoing through the walls. The shadow hadn’t moved far, but it was alive, aware, and waiting. I stayed pressed against the floor, my palms glowing faintly as I tried to steady the threads of my magic.
The fragments Jesse had stolen pulsed inside me like shards of ice, a cold weight in my chest. Every beat of the Door, every flicker of the shadow, sent pain through me. I gritted my teeth and forced myself to focus. I had to survive. I had to guide them.
Hazel. Jax. Zack. My lifeline to the world above.
I tried again to reach them, threading my magic through the Door. This time, I pictured the clearing, the edge of the ruins, the faint shimmer of blue moonlight on the broken stones. The energy responded, weakly at firs
