The moon water burned through Seraphina's veins like liquid lightning, each heartbeat spreading silver fire deeper into her bones. The kitchen dissolved around her, walls and windows melting away like paint in rain, replaced by something that felt more solid than stone, more real than waking life.
She stood in a vast space caught between starlight and shadow. The ground beneath her feet seemed solid enough, but when she glanced down, she could see straight through to galaxies wheeling in endless void. The air carried the weight of ancient magic and grief so old it had fossilized into wisdom.
"Where am I?" Her voice echoed strangely, multiplying and layering until it sounded like a chorus.
"Inside your own heart, child." Morag's voice came from everywhere and nowhere. "The place where you keep all the truths you're too afraid to face."
