The darkness wasn't empty.
It breathed.
Shadows slid along the walls like living things, stretching toward us, tasting the air. Ruth clutched my arm, her nails digging into my skin.
"Eliza," she whispered, "tell me this is a joke."
"I can't," I said.
Santiago stepped in front of us, eyes blazing gold. "Stay behind me."
The shadows laughed.
Kristoffer's voice filled the room—smooth, amused.
"You didn't think I'd let you keep her, did you?"
A figure stepped forward, peeling itself out of the dark.
Human-shaped.
Wrong-eyed.
Ruth screamed.
"That's impossible," she sobbed. "That's—"
Her brother.
Or something wearing his face.
He'd died two years ago in a hiking accident.
My stomach dropped through the floor.
"You see?" Kristoffer's voice purred. "Everyone has a door they'll open."
Ruth collapsed to her knees. "Make him stop."
The thing smiled at her.
I felt something inside me tear.
"No," I said.
The word didn't sound like mine.
The Veil shuddered.
"Eliza," Santiago warned, "don't—"
"I said no."
Power surged through me, raw and burning. The room warped, reality bending like glass under pressure.
The thing lunged for Ruth.
I moved.
The kill was fast.
Too fast.
Light ripped through the creature, tearing it apart molecule by molecule. It screamed in Ruth's brother's voice until there was nothing left but silence and ash.
Ruth stared at the empty space.
Then at me.
Her face crumpled.
"You killed him," she said.
"No," I whispered. "I freed him."
She backed away like I was radioactive.
"I don't know you anymore."
That hurt more than any wound.
Kristoffer applauded.
"Beautiful," he said. "You're learning."
Santiago roared and charged—but the shadows swallowed Kristoffer whole, his laughter echoing as he vanished.
The lights flickered back on.
The room smelled like smoke and grief.
Ruth ran.
I didn't chase her.
Later, at the cabin, I sat on the floor staring at my bloodstained hands.
"I crossed another line," I said.
"Yes," Santiago replied quietly.
"Say it," I demanded. "Say I'm a monster."
He knelt in front of me, lifting my chin so I had to meet his eyes.
"You're human enough to break," he said. "And strong enough to keep going."
My breath hitched.
"I don't want to lose everyone."
"You will," he said gently. "If you survive."
Tears spilled over.
He pulled me into his chest, holding me like I might shatter.
For a moment, the world was quiet.
Then he kissed me.
It wasn't careful.
It wasn't gentle.
It was desperate and grounding and real, like proof we were both still alive.
When we pulled apart, his forehead rested against mine.
"This changes things," he said.
"I know."
Far away, thunder rolled.
Kristoffer's war had begun.