I stared at the woman across from me—this stranger who somehow knew more about me than I ever did. My aunt. My mother’s sister. A witch whose eyes held centuries of secrets, and pain that looked all too familiar.

“You said the dead body… the one I saw back at the mansion… that it awakened something in me,” I said, my voice brittle. “Why?”

Her eyes dimmed with sorrow. “Because it wasn’t just *anyone*, Aria. That body… that was your cousin. My son.”

My breath caught in my throat. The silence between us thickened like a cloud of smoke. I blinked, trying to process what she just said.

“My… cousin?”...