Akira POV:
The Mother flickered, her form breaking at the edges.
She was buckling.
Not dying—forming into something worse.
Something more primal.
Lincoln knocked into Ayaana again. His fire pulsed beneath his skin like a heartbeat trying to get free.
“Ayaana—she’s pulling—"
“I've got you,” Ayaana whispered fiercely.
“You cannot keep him. He is not yours to hold.”
“He is,” I spat. “He chooses us. That’s enough.”
Her shape twisted, the darkness blooming inside the gold.
"He was never meant for your world."
“Then he will made it his."
"You cannot unmake what the eclipse birthed."
“No,” Crisha said, lifting her staff and letting the runes burn bright.
“But I can stop it from taking what I love.”
The Mother froze.
A fire flared in Lincoln's chest.
“Ayaana…” he whispered.
“I’
