Chapter 109
Chapter 109
Elizabeth
“He has already arrived.”
Every muscle in my body tensed.
The little girl’s eyes remained fixed on the darkness beyond the stone staircase.
Nobody spoke.
Even Lucien looked serious now.
Which was honestly impressive.
The heartbeat below the church continued.
Slow.
Steady.
Ancient.
Boom.
Boom.
Boom.
I stared into the darkness.
Trying to see something.
Anything.
But all I could make out were shadows.
Damon moved slightly in front of me.
Subtle.
Almost unnoticeable.
But I noticed.
Of course I noticed.
The little girl shook her head immediately.
“No.”
Damon didn’t look at her.
“No?”
“The darkness wants that.”
Now that got everyone’s attention.
Adam frowned.
“What does that mean?”
The girl pointed toward the staircase.
“The one below knows how you think.”
Silence.
For the first time, Damon actually looked at her.
Interested.
Dangerous.
Focused.
The little girl didn’t back down.
Which made her either incredibly brave or incredibly foolish.
Possibly both.
“The protector enters first.”
She pointed at Damon.
“The king.”
Then she pointed at the darkness.
“And then the king never leaves.”
Well.
That sounded terrible.
I folded my arms.
“Okay, definitely not doing that.”
The girl nodded rapidly.
“Good.”
The church bell rang again.
Only this time it sounded wrong.
Distorted.
As if something had grabbed it.
The sound cut off halfway through.
The entire crowd flinched.
Something was happening below.
Something big.
I could feel it.
The mark on my hand suddenly became ice cold.
I looked down.
The glowing symbol had changed.
New lines were appearing.
Moving beneath my skin like ink spreading through water.
“What the hell?”
Damon immediately grabbed my wrist.
The second his fingers touched my skin, the lines stopped moving.
We both froze.
The mark returned to normal.
Silence.
Lucien blinked.
“Interesting.”
I looked up at Damon.
He was staring at my hand.
Not blinking.
Not moving.
Thinking.
A lot.
“What was that?”
Nobody answered.
The little girl looked alarmed.
Genuinely alarmed.
“That’s not supposed to happen.”
Those were possibly the worst words anyone could say.
Ever.
Adam stepped forward.
“What isn’t supposed to happen?”
The little girl’s gaze remained locked on my hand.
“The mark is changing.”
My stomach dropped.
Wonderful.
Absolutely wonderful.
Because my life clearly needed more magical problems.
The heartbeat below suddenly stopped.
Just stopped.
The silence that followed felt wrong.
Like the city itself had forgotten how to breathe.
Every person in the crowd lifted their heads simultaneously.
Watching the church.
Waiting.
Then—
Footsteps.
Coming from below.
My pulse spiked.
One step.
Then another.
Slow.
Measured.
The sound echoed up the stone staircase.
Nobody moved.
The footsteps continued.
Closer.
Closer.
Closer.
Something was coming up.
I could feel it.
Then a figure appeared at the bottom of the stairs.
Not fully visible.
Just a silhouette.
Tall.
Broad shoulders.
Male.
The crowd immediately lowered their eyes.
Every single one.
The little girl looked terrified.
Not nervous.
Terrified.
The figure took another step upward.
Moonlight touched part of his face.
I froze.
Because I knew him.
Or at least—
I thought I did.
Dark hair.
Golden eyes.
Sharp features.
A face that looked strangely familiar.
Like someone I’d seen before.
Only older.
Much older.
The stranger stopped halfway up the staircase.
His gaze found mine immediately.
Not Damon.
Not Adam.
Me.
My stomach tightened.
He smiled.
And somehow that was worse.
Because it wasn’t a friendly smile.
It was recognition.
“You.”
His voice carried easily across the street.
The crowd shivered.
I swallowed.
The man laughed softly.
“I wondered how long it would take.”
Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
The stranger’s golden eyes studied me.
Then he tilted his head.
Almost curious.
“You look different.”
A chill ran down my spine.
I had never seen this man before.
I was certain of it.
Yet he sounded like someone greeting an old friend.
Or an old enemy.
Damon stepped forward.
Immediately.
The stranger’s attention shifted.
His smile disappeared.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
The two men stared at each other.
The air felt heavier somehow.
Charged.
The stranger looked Damon up and down.
Then laughed.
“No wonder.”
Silence.
“No wonder what?” Damon asked.
The stranger’s golden eyes returned to me.
Then back to Damon.
And for the first time—
He looked annoyed.
“Of all the people she could have found.”
I blinked.
Excuse me?
Found?
What exactly did that mean?
The stranger sighed dramatically.
“You always make things difficult.”
The words were directed at me.
I was sure of it.
My confusion grew.
“I have absolutely no idea who you are.”
The stranger smiled again.
This time sadly.
“I know.”
The answer somehow felt worse than if he had threatened us.
The church bell rang once more.
The stranger looked upward.
Annoyed.
As though the bell had interrupted him.
Then he looked back at me.
“We don’t have much time.”
That seemed to be everyone’s favorite phrase lately.
I was beginning to hate it.
Adam stepped forward.
“Who are you?”
The stranger ignored him completely.
His focus never left me.
Which was starting to become unsettling.
The little girl suddenly dropped to one knee.
The crowd followed instantly.
Hundreds of knees hitting stone.
The sound echoed down the street.
My eyes widened.
The stranger looked irritated.
“You really don’t need to do that.”
Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
The crowd remained kneeling.
The stranger sighed.
Then looked at me again.
“See?”
He gestured toward them.
“This is why I left.”
Silence.
I stared.
What?
The stranger ran a hand through his dark hair.
Then glanced toward the church.
Toward the staircase.
Toward whatever remained below.
For the first time, his expression became serious.
Very serious.
The amusement vanished completely.
And suddenly he looked dangerous.
Ancient.
Powerful.
Like someone pretending to be human.
The little girl whispered something.
I barely heard it.
But the stranger did.
His golden eyes narrowed.
“Don’t.”
The little girl immediately fell silent.
My stomach twisted.
The atmosphere had shifted.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
The stranger looked back at me.
Then at the key hanging around my neck.
Then at the mark on my hand.
His expression darkened.
“Oh.”
Silence.
“Oh, that’s worse than I thought.”
I really hated hearing that.
The stranger exhaled slowly.
Thinking.
Calculating.
Then his gaze found Damon.
The two men stared at each other again.
The tension was immediate.
Sharp.
Dangerous.
Like two predators deciding whether to fight.
The stranger smiled.
Not warmly.
Not kindly.
Like he knew something Damon didn’t.
Then he spoke.
Only six words.
Six words that made my blood run cold.
“She hasn’t remembered you yet.”