Chapter 159 The Forgotten Gate

The stars shimmered faintly above as Isabella stepped beyond the overgrown hedgerows that lined the southern edge of the manor’s ancestral grounds. The mist had rolled in thick, wrapping around her like a cautious whisper, every step forward tugging at threads of memory she didn’t know she held. The map etched in the ledger from her mother’s trunk had led her here—toward the gate whispered about in riddles and silences. Damian trailed a few paces behind her, his boots crunching softly on the moss-covered path. He hadn’t wanted her to come alone, not when the symbols surrounding the gate seemed to pulse with old power. Even now, he carried the obsidian pendant Elias had pressed into his palm, just in case the stories were true.