Elias's POV
That's when I saw her.
Maeve's mother stood at the entrance to the corridor, and my first thought was that she looked like death itself had taken human form. She was weak, so weak I could see her swaying on her feet, but there were still shadows writhing around her like living smoke.
She was completely covered in them.
They clung to her skin like a second layer of clothing, so thick and dark that she looked more like a moving shadow than a person. Her hair was floating upward, defying gravity in a way that made my skin crawl, like she was underwater or caught in some invisible wind.
And her eyes… her eyes were completely white. Not just the irises, everything. White as fresh snow.
When those terrible eyes fixed on me, I wanted to stop existing. The anger radiating from her was so intense it was almost physical, pressing against me like heat from a furnace.
Then her gaze shifted to the mob of vampires surrounding us, and I swear I heard some of them whimper.
