Selene's POV
The world split like a mirror beneath moonlight. One side shimmered with the spectral hues of the Astral Crossroads, the other bled into the mortal realm, my realm. I could feel it before I even saw it. The pulse of the earth, the breath of the wind, the faint echo of every heartbeat within the apothecary and beyond. The veil between worlds had thinned and I the true Selene was finally ready to cross it.
Except… something was wrong.
The air around me trembled as if resisting my presence. I pushed harder, summoning the bond that tethered me to Lucian. His name formed in my mind like a prayer and through the fragile link between our souls, I felt his pain, sharp, raw, unhealed. He was alive, but barely. The bond had taken its toll on him and yet… there was something else within that connection. A distortion. A shadow.
Then I saw her.
