IRENE’S P.O.V.
Mother.
And then Iris fell into darkness, her body slack and broken on the fractured ground. My throat burned at the sound of it, fury and grief tangling inside me until they were indistinguishable.
Illyra’s scream shattered the silence. The shadows swarmed around her like vipers as she bared her teeth. “You!”
“Yes,” I answered, stepping forward, my eyes fixed on her as though she were already ash beneath my feet. “Me.”
Her face twisted, half-rage, half-shock. For the first time in centuries, she looked unsettled. Good.
“You shouldn’t be here,” she hissed. “You’re supposed to be—”
“Dead?” I tilted my head, rolling my shoulders back, letting my power stretch outward until the very air trembled. “Yes. I know. It’s all very inconvenient for you, isn’t it?”
Her shadows h
