Ashley's POV
The air was heavy, thick with some sort of weird energy that tingled my skin and sent shivers crawling up my spine. My breath clogged in the back of my throat as this man before me-this stranger yet somehow not a stranger-smiled, his eyes shining bright with something that knotted my stomach.
“It’s been such a long time, daughter,” he murmured, his voice eerily soft, almost reverent. “I’ve waited ages for this moment.”
I barely registered the way my fingers curled into fists at my sides. My pulse pounded in my ears, drowning out the sound of my own shaky breath.
Wh. what? I stuttered, my voice barely above a whisper. Everything around me seemed to blur, the world a great shifting mass, as though the seams of reality were breaking apart.
Beside me, Liam turned to Ivan. His brow furrowed and his stance went stiff, his normally sharp, controlled demeanor faltered as his gaze darted from Ivan to me and back. "What's going on, Ivan?" he demanded, suspicion creeping in.
Iva
