under his control
From the shadows behind them, a small figure stepped forward no older than seven, pale, wide-eyed.
It was Alara.
Her voice trembled as she looked up at Ava. “She said you’d come.”
Ava’s breath caught. “Sweetheart…”
But before she could reach her, Alara stepped back and whispered, “Run.”
The ground erupted beneath their feet.
A blinding explosion tears through the valley, and when the smoke clears, Ava is gone leaving only the sound of a child’s voice calling her name through the ruins.