The Million-Dollar Heart by Rebecca Ryan

Willa's cheeks flushed a deeper shade of red as she listened.

Without waiting for any further discussion about the wedding plans, she hurriedly made her escape.

Before Maddox followed her, he gave Vivienne a quiet thumbs-up, "If this wedding pulls through, you're the hero we celebrate."

Vivienne chuckled, "If Uncle Maddox and Willa really tie the knot, I'm all for taking the credit."

But she wasn't exactly lying earlier. Willa always dressed in dark colors, but with her naturally pale skin and raven-black hair, red would only make her look more striking.

In the backyard.

Finnian had just returned from the foyer when he saw Vivienne sitting at the outdoor stone table, clearly waiting for him.

Frowning slightly, he couldn't help but nag, "Young lady, you know your condition and yet here you are sitting outside in the night air. Aren't you worried about your fiancé fretting over you?" Vivienne poured a cup of tea and pushed it across the table, not intending to drink any herself, and tilted her chin up, "Mr. Wolf is making me a midnight snack. He'll be here soon." Finnian, "..."

Maybe he was the one worrying too much.

After all, if his apprentice set her mind to something, not even her doting fiancé could stop her, let alone her old master.

Sitting down, Finnian took a sip of the warm tea before speaking, "What's up?"

"Abigail has disappeared."

Vivienne's tone was calm, but Finnian nearly jumped, his eyebrows knitting tightly, "Disappeared? Didn't you capture her after injuring her?"

"To be precise, she was consumed by a magical array, becoming its first sacrifice. We didn't even get a chance to intervene."

Vivienne was telling the truth.

Finnian was stunned.

He could hardly believe that Abigail's fate would end like this. During their encounter, he had sensed that Abigail's magical energy was formidable, especially the unique power within her, which was higher than he had anticipated. But there was one thing.

discern

facial features and bones didn't match,

a first for him, and if his suspicions were correct,

The array consuming her would only absorb her blood and vital essence, but the body couldn't have just vanished into thin air."

hadn't called back yet, which meant they hadn't found any clues about

This was her concern.

the array was her creation, so escaping at a critical moment wasn't

only way to confirm

see Abigail's body with

hanging on. Arrays powered by magical artifacts are

his tea, staring at Vivienne in

Millennia Aegis is

explaining the situation

the burst of white light, it wasn't just Abigail and Delilah that disappeared; the Millennia Aegis, which they

why the array

"This..."

eventually sighing,

Vivienne, "..."

knew it. What really got her master worked up wasn't the situation itself, nor concern for her safety, but

seemed to think of something, pondering for a moment, "Are you suspecting Abigail might

brow, "Abigail and another person, Delilah, entered the core of the array together. I suspect Abigail might sacrifice

Vivienne: "Not yet."

person were both consumed by the array, even if she

up

I've researched, currently, there's nothing that can

Abigail severely injured, she'll

It's unlikely she'll

herself for a while."

Finnian's head, suddenly changing the subject, "Weren't you just suffering from internal injuries? Why's your head wrapped up too?" Finnian paused,

did you?" Finnian's face turned awkward, as embarrassed as one could be, "It's those boys' fault, claiming they'd take care of me. At this rate, their 'care' will be the end of