I couldn't tear my eyes away from those haunting words. The ancient letter trembled in Alaric's hands as we both absorbed its terrible implications.
"The Serpent sleeps within our blood," I whispered, each word like ice on my tongue.
Alaric's face had gone deathly pale. "My entire lineage... tainted. Carrying this... thing inside us."
Before I could respond, Alaric doubled over with a sudden gasp of pain. The letter fluttered to the ground as his hands flew to his temples.
"Alaric!" I grabbed his shoulders, panic surging through me. His eyes met mine, and what I saw there turned my blood cold—his normally clear gaze clouded with something alien and ancient.
"I can feel it," he ground out between clenched teeth. "Like ice spreading through my veins. The ring—its influence lingers."
I looked frantically toward the sarcophagus where the silver ring lay. Even from this distance, I swore I could hear it—a faint, sibilant whisper too low to make out words, but unmistakably calling.
