The transition back to the Shadow Realm was a violent rip through space, a breathless plunge into the dark that left my knees buckling the moment my boots hit the obsidian floor.

I stumbled, the solid shadow sword I had summoned in the High Court shattering into a thousand wisps of black smoke. Th

"Stay with me, Aria. Do not close your eyes. Open your eyes!"

Lucian's voice sounded like it was coming from underwater, muffled and distant. I tried to obey him, but my eyelids felt like they were made of lead. The fire in my shoulder had spread, turning the blood in my veins to acid. Every beat

The rift tore open with the sound of shredding silk, dumping Lucian and me into the grand foyer of the Solis estate.

The transition from the shadow realm to the mortal plane was usually disorienting, a sudden shift in gravity and air pressure, but I felt none of it. My blood was roaring too loudly