"Did you really think dropping the iron gate meant you were safe, Rachel?"
The voice echoed from everywhere at once—smooth, mocking, and dripping with an absolute, possessive malice that made my phantom stomach turn.
From the shadows of a collapsing archway, a figure began to form. Tall, imposing, and draped in the oppressive aura I had spent a lifetime trying to outrun, my father stepped into the ruined courtyard. The unnatural purple clouds swirled violently above him, casting a sickly, bruising light over his features. His jaw was clenched, a dark, dangerous fury radiating from his posture. Being locked out of my mind for a solid week had clearly fractured his monstrous ego, but right now, his eyes burned with a cruel, triumphant satisfaction.
"You've left the front door wide open, m
