Marco's POV
Elena raised her hand and Vincent's shadow magic stopped cold.
"Impossible," Vincent snarled through Vale's possessed mouth. "You're dead. I saw you die."
"You saw what I wanted you to see," Elena replied calmly, stepping closer to her daughter's possessed form. "Just like everyone else has for the past fifteen years."
My mind reeled. Elena was alive. The woman I'd mourned, the mother Vale barely remembered - she'd been alive this whole time.
"Where have you been?" I demanded, anger and relief warring in my chest.
"Protecting her," Elena said simply, her starlight eyes never leaving Vale's black ones. "And preparing for this moment."
"What moment?" Dante asked suspiciously.
"The moment when our daughter would need to choose between light and darkness," Elena explained. "Vincent's possession isn't random. It's the final test."
"Test?" I repeated. "Our daughter is dying and you're calling it a test?"
