Nicole stepped through the doors of Snow Manor with a weight in her chest she could not name only feel.
Jasper's presence was absent.Not faint. Not distant.Gone.
The manor, usually alive with his quiet gravity, felt hollow in a way that made her breath catch. The bond between them hummed faintly, strained, like a thread pulled too tight.
"Nicole."
She turned and found Dixie standing near the base of the stairs, her expression drawn and pale despite her beauty. For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Nicole already knew.
"What happened?" she whispered.
Dixie's jaw tightened. "Serf summoned him. He knows abou the children you bare. There was a duel with Virgil, Serfs half brother. Jasper held his own, but Serf…" Her voice faltered. "He turned the Tirade on him."
Nicole's hand flew to her mouth. A sound broke from her chest before she could stop it, sharp and raw. Tears blurred her vision as the truth settled into her bones.
