The necklace around Callie's neck had warmed against her skin.

She hadn't taken it off since Darian had placed it on her that morning. The silver band was thin enough to slip beneath the high neckline of her servant's robes, yet heavy enough for her to feel it with every sip, every heartbeat, every breath. The small obsidian stone at the front rested precisely on her pulse, like a second heart made of night.

Darian had left her in the royal wing after the revelations in the archives, with a s