Page 75 of Echoes From the Void
Luna kneels beside him, her lawyer’s composure finally cracking. “Don’t you dare joke right now.”
“Someone has to,” Leo whispers as corruption creeps higher. His eyes meet mine, and I see the truth he’s trying to hide. The same truth that got his mother killed.
Some corruption can’t be fought.
Some shadows can’t be saved.
Some smiles hide the darkest truths.
And sometimes, protecting your family means making the hardest choice of all.
The purple veins reach his chest, and Leo starts to scream again—the sound of pure shadow essence being twisted into something wrong. Something that will destroy everything he is.
Unless we stop it.
Unless we make that choice.
Unless we become the monsters we’ve been fighting.
Through our pack bond, I feel his silent plea.Don’t let me become like him.
Don’t let me become my father.
Chapter 25
Frankie
Matteo’s mothermeets us at Shadow Locke’s medical wing, her shadows already reaching for Leo before we fully materialize from shadow-walk. Purple corruption spreads across his skin in sick, pulsing veins, each surge drawing bitten-back screams from his throat.
“Here,” she directs, gesturing to a bed surrounded by ancient texts and medical equipment that hums with shadow energy. Luna follows close behind, her shadows cradling their mother’s research journals like precious things.
“The shadow-song helps,” Lyra says softly, her violin never stopping as she sits beside the bed. “It’s slowing the spread, at least.”
I’ve never seen Matteo’s hands shake before, but they tremble now as he lays Leo down. Through our bond, his fear and helplessness taste like copper and ash.
“We can’t wait,” I say, drawing their attention. “Those coordinates in our blood—if there’s any chance my mother’s research facility has answers about corruption...”
“Go.” Luna doesn’t look up from the texts she’s already spreading out, her voice carrying that same legal authority she uses in court. “Matteo’s mom and I have experience with shadowhealing. Lyra’s music is helping. And someone needs to find answers before this spreads further.”
Through our pack bond, I feel Matteo’s soul-deep reluctance to leave Leo. But we all know Luna’s right. Time isn’t just running out—it’s bleeding away with every purple pulse beneath Leo’s skin.
“I’ll contact Bishop and Dorian,” I touch Matteo’s arm, feeling his shadows curl around mine. “My mother’s research facility might be our only chance at understanding this corruption. What Valerie’s really doing. What happened to Leo’s father.”
He nods, leaning down to press his forehead against Leo’s. “Don’t you dare die while I’m gone,” he growls, shadows wrapping around them both.
Leo manages a weak smile despite the corruption creeping higher up his chest. “Wouldn’t dream of it, darling. Go be heroic. I’ll just lay here and look pretty.”
Even dying, he tries to make us smile. It makes leaving both easier and infinitely harder.
Bishop and Dorian meet us at Shadow Locke’s gates, their power signatures humming with tension. This isn’t academic anymore. Leo’s corruption makes it real in a way theoretical research never could.
“The coordinates,” Bishop says, Guardian marks already glowing against his skin, “they’re to a facility twenty miles outside city limits. Heavily warded, if the ancient texts are right.”
“Of course it’s heavily warded,” my shadows curl with anxiety. “Because my mother never did anything the easy way.”
Pain rips through our pack bond—Leo fighting another surge of corruption. Matteo’s shadows writhe in response as he checks his phone.
“He’s stable,” he says before I can ask, though the words strain with effort. “Mom’s keeping the spread contained. For now.”
