Page 56 of The Panther's Price

Her fingers brushed the charm at her throat—bone-carved, worn smooth by years of nervous fidgeting. Eamon had given it to her the day they fled the Borderlands.

It was cold.

Just like the look on his face when she found him.

Still. Peaceful.Empty.

The image burned behind her eyes like frostbite.

“I should’ve come sooner,” she whispered into the wind. “I should’ve found you. I should’ve?—”

A branch cracked nearby.

She didn’t flinch.

Lucien emerged from the trees, breathless, his shadows twitching around him like they were stirred by something worse than mere adrenaline.

Evryn stood before he could speak.

“Where were you?”

“I went back to the outskirts of Hollow,” he said, voice low and ragged. “I needed… confirmation.”

Evryn frowned. “Of what?”

Lucien met her eyes.

And this time, he didn’t blink.

“I was wrong,” he said. “It’s not just that she wants you dead. It’showshe wants it done.”

Evryn’s gut twisted. “Lucien?—”

“She doesn’t want to destroy your bloodline,” he said. “She wants toabsorbit.”

The words dropped like iron.

“What?”

Lucien stepped closer, voice tight with urgency. “There’s a law buried in the Old Veil records, pre-Ascension. If a dominant Veil-marked heir is killed in ritual combat—by another heir of opposing blood—their power doesn’t fade. Ittransfers. Especially if the bloodlines trace back to the first dominions.”

Evryn stared at him. “And she thinks… killing me would give her that?”

“No.” His voice dropped lower. “She thinks ifone of her sonsdoes it, the power binds to her bloodline. Permanently. She doesn't just erase you. Sheinherits you.”

Evryn’s stomach turned.

“That’s why she sent you,” she whispered.

Lucien flinched. “Yes. It’s why Cassian’s been circling this war like a vulture. He thinks this is his chance. To prove he can do what I wouldn’t.”

Evryn stepped back, throat tight. “He’s going to try to kill me.”

Lucien’s voice was like flint. “He’s going towantyou to trust him first. Make it look clean. Righteous. This was always my mother’s endgame.”

Evryn’s hands curled into fists.

“I’m not a legacy to be passed around like a cursed crown,” she spat.

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