Alisha leaned closer to Roland, her voice a poisonous honey that filled the silence of the room. "Do not be in such haste, Roland. A hunter who strikes too early loses the prize. You must be patient to earn your reward. I will reveal the intricacies of my plan when the stars align... but for now, we wait."
She slowly turned her gaze toward the portrait of Serene, the sapphire of her eyes hardening into shards of jagged ice. A faint, haunting whisper escaped her lips, directed only at the painted face of the woman she once called a friend.
"I will send you back... exactly where you belong."
The months bled into one another, a slow, agonizing procession of grey days within the suffocating walls of the Tharron estate. As the seasons shifted, so did Alisha's silhouette. Her belly began to swell, a constant, physical reminder of the union she loathed.
