THE DARK VILLAGE

Previously

…The silence in the room stretched, thick with unspoken possibilities. Elias looked at the obsidian shard, at the coiled serpent, and felt a profound sense of disorientation. His quest for family history had led him to the precipice of a far greater, far more dangerous truth. He was no longer an observer; he was entangled, his own fate now bound to the dark heart of Blackwood. The shadows outside seemed to deepen, to press against the windows, as if the greater evil itself was waiting, watching, for his decision.