“You are what the seal was designed to protect,” Lucian says quietly, and his eyes do not leave mine as the words settle between us like a verdict that cannot be appealed.
“Or contain,” Axel counters sharply, his voice low and dangerous as if he can slice the implication apart by force alone.
Lucian’s lips curve faintly.
“That depends,” he replies, “on whether you fear evolution or extinction.”
The dungeon floor shifts.
Not violently.
Not enough to throw anyone off balance.
But enough.
The stone beneath my boots trembles in a slow rolling ripple, and the chains binding Lucian clink against the wall in a discordant metallic echo that makes the hairs along my arms rise.
Atticus goes still beside me.
Axel’s head snaps toward the ceiling instinctively.
Another tremor moves through t
