Chapter 10: Blood in the Hollow

Lucien knelt in the dirt, his heart pounding like war drums in his chest. The forest loomed around him, its blackened roots twisting like snakes, and Evelyn stood above him, her ruined body shaking with wild, manic laughter. “You’ll stay with me?” she whispered, voice ragged, tears streaking her bloodstained face. “You promise?” Lucien swallowed the bile in his throat. “I promise,” he rasped, his voice cracking. “Just let Serena go.” Evelyn's eyes glowed with sickly light, her smile stretching too wide, too unnatural. “Say it again,” she breathed, stepping closer, her bare feet dragging through the dirt. “I want to hear it.” Lucien clenched his fists, the bond thrumming painfully in his chest. He could feel Serena slipping further away — her heartbeat slowing, her presence dimming. “I’ll stay with you,” he said, his voice barely a whisper. “Forever.” Evelyn’s body shuddered with a broken sob, and she dropped to her knees, reaching for his face with trembling fingers. “That’s all