lyra’s povWhen I woke, the world was broken. The ceiling above me had collapsed, and moonlight bled through the cracks like liquid silver. Dust filled my lungs as I struggled to breathe. The air was thick with smoke, and the sharp scent of blood stung my nose.The crypt was in ruins. The altar lay in pieces beside me, split clean through as if struck by lightning. The lantern had gone out, but faint trails of light danced across the shattered stones. Kael was gone. No footprints, no trace of him, not even warmth in the air.For a moment, I thought I had imagined him — the burning eyes, the mark, the storm of light. But when I looked down, my palm told the truth. The crescent mark still glowed there, faint but alive, pulsing in rhythm with my heartbeat.I pressed my hand to my chest, trembling. “What did I do?”The ground trembled beneath me before I could think of an answer. A distant howl tore through the night, long, raw, and wrong. Then came another, and another, until the air out
Last Updated : 2025-12-03 Read more