Chapter 3 Unbroken thread

The catacombs beneath Blackthorn Manor were not listed on any blueprint. Mara found them behind a loose panel in the library, where dust layered everything like time itself had stopped breathing.

She and Aiden descended in silence, lantern light flickering against stone walls etched with forgotten sigils. The air smelled of earth and memory.

At the far end, they found a chamber - circular, with an altar at its heart. Resting atop it was a silver amulet, its center a stone that pulsed in rhythm with the marks on their skin.

Mara reached for it, her fingers trembling. The moment she touched it, a wave of memory surged through her - flashes of lives she didn't live, loves she never forgot. A field of wildflowers. A blade stained red. A promise whispered at death's edge.

She gasped .

Aiden steadied her. "You saw it too?"

She nodded. "Over and over. We loved. We lost. We died."

He looked down at the amulet. "This is the key. But it comes with a price."

"A soul," she whispered.

The chamber trembled.

Outside, the veil thinned.

And in the shadows beyond it, something ancient began to stir - waiting for them to choose again.