(Continued)
Fenric's laughter rang out too loud.
It rolled, almost indulgent…across the storm like a hand stroking something already broken. Mocking it.
But beneath them…
The sea answered.
Far below the surface, deep within Calareth's spine, the glowing veins pulsed again.
Once.
Twice.
Slow.
Measured.
In perfect, terrifying sync with Autumn's heart.
She felt it before she understood it.
A pressure bloomed behind her sternum.
It was heavy. It was rhythmic. As if something unseen had pressed an ear to her chest and decided to listen. Her breath stuttered. The air tasted metallic. Each beat of her heart dragged a faint echo through the water beneath her feet.
Thud.
The veins flared brighter.
Thud.
The light rippled outward through the stones like a nervous system waking up.
Autumn's levitation wavered…not downward this time, but sideways…caught in a strange, gentle current that did not belong to the storm.
