Cold iron bit into my wrists.
Blood dripped slowly from my fingertips, splashing onto the freezing stone floor of the ritual chamber.
Julian stood over me, his handsome face twisted into a cruel, triumphant sneer that shattered every lie he had ever told me.
"Your magic belongs to me now, Evangeline," he whispered, twisting the dagger deeper into my chest.
Agony flared, white-hot and consuming, before my vision faded to black.
My half-sister Elara stood behind him, giggling as she held the silver chalice catching my stolen power.
I had given them everything.
My love, my loyalty, my family's ancient legacy had all been laid at his feet.
In return, they had poisoned my father, slaughtered my guards, and drained my soul.
Then, nothing.
Only a cold, suffocating void remained.
---
Soft silk brushed against my bare skin.
Sunlight streamed through a high arched window, warming my face with an intensity that made my eyes snap open.
Gasps tore from my throat as I sat up, clutching my chest.
No wound met my frantic fingers.
No blood stained my nightgown.
Only the smooth, unblemished skin of a twenty-year-old girl remained.
Trembling, I swung my legs out of bed.
My feet touched the plush, familiar rug of my old chambers in the Solis Estate.
This was impossible.
Dead women did not wake up in their childhood bedrooms.
Rushing to the vanity, I stared at the mirror.
A young, vibrant face stared back at me.
My hair was long and undamaged, free of the gray streaks caused by Julian's torturous experiments.
My eyes were bright, filled with life instead of the hollow despair of my final days.
Twenty.
I was twenty again.
Three years before the fall of my house.
Today was the exact day Julian was scheduled to arrive at our estate to propose.
Rage, cold and sharp, crystallized in my chest.
They thought they had won.
Julian and Elara thought they could play me like a fragile instrument, using my light magic to elevate their own status before discarding me.
For years, I had suppressed my true nature to please him.
Julian had hated my dark affinity, calling it a curse, forcing me to use weak, pure light spells that left me exhausted and vulnerable.
But I was not a creature of light.
Caleb Vance had known that.
He was the Duke of the Obsidian Citadel, my supposed enemy.
During our clashes, his dark magic had always collided with mine, but he had never truly hurt me.
In my final moments, when Julian had sealed the ritual chamber, Caleb had broken through the castle defenses.
His sword had been broken, his black armor shattered, but he had fought like a demon to reach my side.
"Why did you come?" I had gasped as he knelt in my blood.
"Because I have always loved you," he had whispered, his obsidian magic flaring one last time to shield my dying soul.
Those words had haunted me in the dark void.
Now, I had a chance to rewrite the story.
Closing my eyes, I reached deep into my core, searching for the magic I had buried for so long.
Darkness answered instantly.
Tiny shards of black glass materialized around my fingers, humming with lethal, silent power.
This was my true strength.
Julian would never control me again.
I would find Caleb Vance first.
A soft knock sounded on the bedroom door, pulling me from my thoughts.
"Lady Evangeline, your father has requested your presence in the drawing room," Martha's voice drifted through the wood.
"Lord Julian has just arrived."
My heart did a violent flip, a cold wave of hatred washing over me.
"Thank you, Martha. Give me a moment to dress," I called back, keeping my voice sweet and even.
"Of course, my lady. I will inform his lordship."
Her footsteps faded down the hall.
Julian was here.
He was three years early for his betrayal, but today was the day he would try to trap me with his false promises.
I looked down at my hands, watching the obsidian sparks fade back into my skin.
He wanted the perfect, docile light sorceress.
I would not give him the satisfaction of seeing me today.
Instead, I would let him wait in the drawing room while I made my escape.
Letting him believe I was simply nervous or unwell would buy me the time I needed.
By the time he realized I was gone, I would already be in the territory of his greatest rival.
---
Walking down the grand corridor, I stopped outside my father's study.
A deep, booming laugh echoed from behind the oak door.
My heart squeezed so tightly I could barely breathe.
Father.
He was alive.
In my past life, Julian had slowly poisoned him with arsenic, making his death look like a natural illness while taking control of our family assets.
Hearing his voice now, full of life and warmth, brought hot tears to my eyes.
I pressed my palm against the cool wood of the door, wishing I could run inside and throw my arms around him.
But I couldn't.
Not yet.
Showing my emotional state would only raise suspicions, especially with Julian's spies already lurking in our household.
I had to remain a ghost.
I must act in the dark to protect those I loved.
Wiping the tears from my cheeks, I forced my expression into a mask of cold determination.
Julian would not set foot in this house again.
He would not touch a single hair on my father's head.
Turning away from the door, I hurried toward the servant's entrance.
Dressing in a simple black riding habit, I slipped a silver dagger into my boot.
Leaving the estate was simple enough.
Rain began to fall as I reached the cobblestone streets of Valenica.
Valenica was a city of stone and secrets, its high towers reaching toward a grey, stormy sky.
Steeling my resolve, I headed toward the northern district, where the Obsidian Embassy stood like a dark fortress.
---
Reaching the Obsidian Embassy, I looked up at the towering black spires.
Unlike the white marble of the Solis Estate, this building was constructed from raw, volcanic stone.
It absorbed the light, standing like a dark monolith against the stormy sky.
I found the low stone wall bordering the eastern garden.
Scaling the wet stones required every ounce of my physical strength.
My muscles burned, but the adrenaline rushing through my veins pushed me forward.
I slipped over the ledge of the second-story balcony, my boots landing softly on the stone terrace.
The glass doors were unlocked, just as they had been in the reports my family's spies had gathered years ago.
Parting the heavy velvet drapes, I stepped into his sanctuary.
Silence hung heavy in the room, scented with cedarwood and rich ink.
A fire crackled low in the hearth, casting long, flickering shadows across the mahogany desk.
Sitting in the leather high-backed chair was the man who had died for me.
Caleb Vance.
His dark hair fell slightly over his forehead, shadowing his sharp, aristocratic jawline.
Broad shoulders were tense, even in repose, clad in a midnight-black tunic.
Instinctively, my breath hitched.
Step by step, I moved closer, but the floorboard didn't even creak before he reacted.
"Who goes there?" his voice cut through the quiet, cold as winter ice.
I stepped out of the heavy velvet curtains, letting the firelight hit my face.
He froze.
Shadows writhed around his boots, reacting to his sudden spike of adrenaline.
"Lady Evangeline," he murmured, his gaze locking onto mine with an intensity that made my heart race.
"You are far from home, and without your shadow of a fiancé."
"Julian is no longer my fiancé," I said, my voice steady and cold.
An amused, dangerous smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
"Did the golden boy displease you?" he asked, leaning back, though his body remained wired for violence.
"Julian is a traitor," I stated flatly.
Caleb's eyes narrowed, the dark mist around his hands settling into sharp, solid needles of obsidian.
"Are you here to play a game, or did you lose your way to the cathedral?" he countered.
"I am here to offer an alliance," I said, stepping closer to his desk.
Before he could mock me, I raised my right hand.
In the palm of my hand, a perfect, glittering shard of obsidian glass materialized.
His eyes widened, his composure fracturing for the first time.
Dark magic of this purity belonged only to the bloodline of the Obsidian Citadel.
"You have been hiding your true nature," he whispered, rising slowly from his chair.
"Secrets are my specialty, Lord Vance," I replied, staring directly into his dark eyes.
He crossed the distance between us in a single, fluid stride.
His hand shot out, his fingers wrapping firmly around my wrist.
A shock of warmth flooded my veins, sending a jolt of electricity straight to my core.
"You shouldn't know how to summon that," he growled, pulling me closer.
"How did you get this power, Evangeline?"
I looked up at him, refusing to flinch.
He stared down at me, his breathing ragged, his eyes searching mine with a desperation that didn't match his cold exterior.
His grip on my wrist tightened, but not enough to hurt.
"You died in my arms yesterday," he whispered, his voice cracking with a raw, terrifying agony.