Mason left her chamber without sealing it.
That terrified her more than any prison could have.
The Abyss revealed itself slowly, like a predator circling wounded prey. Endless corridors of obsidian and bone. Demons knelt as he passed, pressing clawed hands to the ground, eyes lowered in reverence and terror.
Their whispers followed him.
The Sovereign has claimed one.
The Marked has returned.
The Dark Goddess stirs.
Mason ignored them.
His thoughts were entirely on Seris.
She was weaker than he remembered.
Stronger, too.
The blood in her veins had recognized him instantly. Her soul had answered his call like a lover waking from sleep.
That had pleased him.
That frightened him.
For the first time in millennia, something existed that could be taken from him.
And Mason did not share.
He paused at the edge of a vast chasm where darkness fell forever, folding into itself in endless descent. From here, he could feel her clearly—her pain, her fury, her refusal to submit.
She was pacing now.
Testing the limits of her cage.
A flicker of something sharp twisted in his chest.
Possession was simple.
Obsession was not.
"She will destroy you," one of the ancient demons whispered from the shadows.
Mason's gaze never left the void.
"She will remake me," he corrected.