Chapter 62

• Celeste’s POV
• The old neighborhood we stumbled into was a ghost of what it once might have been. Rust clung to the railings, walls were mottled with damp, and the scent of mildew hung heavy in the air. Elijah’s weight pressed against me with every step, his blood dripping onto the cracked pavement like a trail for predators to follow.
• We slipped through a passageway where no light dared to reach, the shadows pressing close until the darkness itself felt alive. Finally, I stopped at a small, hidden door tucked behind a stairwell. It was damp, tucked away from sight, and almost forgotten by time.