Isabella's POV
I didn't sleep not because of the memories clawing their way back, or the fire still burning in my blood but because something watched me in the dark.
Not Dominic. Not a guard. Not a man. Something older. Unseen.
When the candles flickered out, it stayed.
When I closed my eyes, I felt its breath against my skin.
And when I finally spoke, the words came from a place I didn't recognize.
"Show yourself."
A silence followed that was too still to be natural.
Then, like a candle catching flame in reverse, the shadows folded in on themselves, and a figure stepped through.
Not human. Not god.
Something between.
Tall. Shrouded in mist and golden thread. Eyes like mirrors reflecting not who I was, but every version of me I had ever been.
"You called," it said, voice like thunder beneath velvet.
"I didn't."
"You remembered. That's louder."
I stood, pulse hammering. "What are you?"
"I am the one who remains," it said. "When the others faded. When the bargains were struck. When the queen died and was remade."
"You're the one he bargained with."
A slow nod.
My throat tightened. "And the cost?"
Its smile was carved from sorrow.
"He asked for your life. I gave it. But you weren't meant to wake fully. Not like this."
"I'm awake now."
"Yes." The god tilted its head. "Which means the game resets. And this time… the board has changed."
I stepped forward. "Why come to me now?"
"To warn you."
"Of what?"
Its eyes glinted. "Of the one who remembers everything."
My blood went cold. "Dominic."
A deeper silence followed.
"You think he saved you," the god said. "But he anchored you. Chained your soul to his. If he falls, you fall."
I stared at it, heart cracking open. "Then I'll make sure he doesn't."
"Then I suggest you start running. The others… are waking too."
It vanished.
The temperature in the room dropped. I could still hear its final words echoing:
"Run, Queen of Ashes. Your past is coming for you."