The seal was shut. But peace didn't follow.
The Hollow had stopped humming, the forest once again still. Runes across the stone floor glowed with a steady silver light, no longer flickering in pain. And yet, Aria couldn't breathe.
The broken pieces of the battle still lay around them—shattered trees, claw marks carved into the earth, and blood, some dried, some fresh, scattered like a grim trail of sacrifice. Caleb stood a few paces behind her, watchful. Rowan paced the edge of the grove. Elena sat with her arms wrapped around her knees, silent.
The war had ended in fire. But what came next was smoke. Smoke, and questions no one dared to ask aloud.
Aria faced the altar in the center of the Hollow, now a tomb for Mara's sealed spirit. The seal pulsed beneath her skin. It had accepted her magic, her sacrifice, her blood. It had crowned her.
She was Spirit Queen now.
And that crown was heavy.
"You haven't spoken in hours," Caleb said, stepping beside her.
