AYLA'S POV
Not the heat of the cavern, not the golden blaze I'd unleashed. This was colder, sharper—like ice burning through my veins.
The First Luna's essence slammed into me, and suddenly I wasn't lying on stone anymore. I was falling.
The bond flickered above me like a faraway sun, Kael's voice echoing in threads I could barely catch: Ayla. Hold on. Don't let her take you.
But the pull beneath me was stronger. A vortex of silver light yawned below, clawing at me, threads lashing around my limbs. And from within it, the First Luna's voice, smooth again, terrifyingly calm.
"You thought you could steal from me? Foolish girl. You were only ever my vessel. My blood. My fire. My fate. You don't belong to yourself."
Her form rose out of the abyss—silver and terrible, her face a perfect mirror of mine twisted with malice.
"You belong to me."
