Smoke still rolled across the lab floor.
The hum of dying machines echoed like far-off thunder.
Elias held Aria's shoulders, shaking lightly. "Aria, say something."
She didn't answer.
Her pupils flashed once, then again.
Blue. Ice-blue.
He stepped back. "No… no, please don't tell me…"
Aria blinked slowly, her breath uneven. "I can hear him," she whispered. "Inside my head."
The air felt heavier. The lights flickered though the power was gone.
Elias grabbed the emergency kit, searching for anything that could help. "You're just in shock. He's gone."
But her voice changed, soft, layered, not fully hers.
"Gone?" she said. "You keep saying that word like it means something."
Elias froze. "Sebastian."
The faintest smile crossed her lips, but it wasn't Aria's smile.
"Good to see you, Elias. You were always so loyal… to her."
Elias clenched his jaw. "Get out of her."
"She invited me," Sebastian's voice said through her. "She built the gate herself."
