Chapter 131: The Heart of the Enemy
The silence in the ruined cathedral was suffocating, broken only by the slow drip of blood from Cambria’s side. Smoke curled from the shattered archways like mourning veils, and moonlight spilled through the gaping roof to illuminate the devastation below. Beneath her feet, sacred tiles lay cracked, defiled by war and betrayal.
But none of it compared to the storm brewing inside her.
"You were never supposed to see this place," Lucien murmured beside her, his voice low, ragged. "This was meant to be our sanctuary."
Cambria turned slowly, eyes like flint. "A sanctuary built on lies."
He didn’t deny it.
The confrontation with Evelyn had torn open wounds that refused to close. Seraphine’s ghost still echoed in Cambria’s bones, her legacy imprinted on Cambria’s blood. Project Pandora had not ended it had only evolved. The final protocol was no longer just a threat. It was a countdown.
And time was slipping through her fingers.
Knox had retreated, but not defeated. His forces had scattered into the eastern territories, regrouping like shadows waiting for nightfall. Sophia Drake had vanished again, her perfected soldiers carving a bloody path through the last bastions of resistance. The Blackwood Council was fractured. The monarchy was crumbling.
And Cambria... was losing control.
"I should kill you," she whispered, staring at Lucien. "For everything. For what you did to Mother. For Project Pandora. For turning me into a weapon without a choice."
Lucien’s expression flickered. "You were never a weapon."