The nightmare started three nights after the Architect delegation left.
I woke to Arianna screaming. Not her normal crying when she was hungry or uncomfortable, but genuine terror. Piercing shrieks that made my heart stop.
Kael was already moving, his shade manifesting instinctively as we rushed to the nursery. What we found made my blood run cold.
Arianna was floating above her cradle, suspended in midair by her own shadow magic. Dark tendrils wrapped around her tiny body, pulsing with energy far too strong for an eight month old. Her eyes were open but unfocused, glowing with that same red light that appeared when Kael's curse was fully active.
"What's happening?" I reached for her but Kael grabbed my arm.
"Don't touch her. If her shade is active and uncontrolled, it might attack you instinctively." He moved closer carefully, his own shade reaching out to his daughter's. "Arianna, it's Papa. You're safe. Come back to us."
