The captive's kiss

felt herself pulled even deeper. Her mother's past was no longer a shadow of some

arco unpacked equipment and Ethan studied maps that were spread across a rickety table. The

ow deepening. "If what that contact said is true, our first lead with you

a said, trying to keep the shake from her voice. "

nation. "We'll go in disguised. If we are careful,

e clarity on the terrors around them. But then there was the part of her that was afraid of what sh

e when Marco's phone buzzed. He glanced down

, noticing immediately t

ld appear we are not the only ones after Marianne's files. Another faction- an even m

old. "Another fac

rk in the background, moving pieces from behind the scenes. They are ruthless, and th

Which means they're onto us. We

formation she'd gathered since joining Ethan and Marco: a ghostly organization, rum

a's lap was heavy, a weight to the mystery they unraveled. Every time she looked at her mother's handwriting, it caused

e, scowling. "We've got a tail," he said, hi

t lurched.

ed, checking the mirrors. "They've go

under his seat, pulling out a GPS and punching in the coordina

er, flipping through its pages, hoping there might be something-anything-that could give them an

loud, barely above a whisper. She looked up at Ethan. "D

oast or a time. Your mom was good with hints, leaving things right ou

kles of Marco's hands gripping the steering wheel whitene

se them before we get to Sanctuary. I know

forested area. Ava clung desperately to her seat as her pulse leapt with every swerve and dip. The trees were like giants all

p and down as their pursuers fou

e with a glimmer of hope. "That

she was making. She glanced once more at the folder. The flash

think? Enough to bring

ere's a good chance that whatevers on that drive could hold the truth about the

the dense trees gave way to a view of the coastline and the ocean stretching out beneath the gray dawn sk

e on the coast, weathered and overgrown with ivy. It had the appear

ed squinting at the l

nally, his voice low. "Old and

as stale, yet somehow, it felt curiously safe. Marco looked at the windows-high above

wall. She followed the lines with her eyes until they stopped

here-Low Tide Access. You think it's connected

entry point. If your mother did leave something there, it would b

curved around a narrow stretch of sand to caves carved into the side of the cliff. Ava's heart thud

t symbols etched into the walls, symbols she knew from her mother's journal. She felt a surge of emotion: pride

on the floor, partially buried beneath the pile of stones. Ava knelt and lifted the box with trembling hands. A creaking

y, his eyes keen. "Wha

ther's face when she was younger, standing beside a man she'd never se

e man from the files. He was clo

s Edgar Blackwell, one of the founding members of the

where in the ranks, keeping watch. And if your mother was c

fell. There were names, locations, and coded messages, a blueprint of th

o unraveling the w

would never rest until they recovered these secrets, and Ava knew the stakes were multiplied tenfold: no longer

purpose, one that she had never known before. Her mother's legacy was a legacy o

airs around the table, Ava laid the photograph and documents before them. The way forward was vague, w

h other, they would fac