Kora’s POV
The sound beneath the temple grew deeper, louder — like the heartbeat of something ancient waking after centuries of silence. Dust shook from the ceiling, small stones rolling across the cracked floor. The others scrambled to their feet, weapons drawn, but Edward didn’t move from my side.
The glow under my skin pulsed in rhythm with that sound. I couldn’t stop trembling, not from fear this time, but from the power that felt like it was clawing to get out of me.
“Kora,” Edward said quietly, his hand brushing my arm. “Tell me what you’re feeling.”
“Alive,” I whispered, though it sounded more like a confession. “It feels like it knows me. Like it’s calling me.”
The noise deepened again, echoing through the chamber. The altar in front of me split down the middle, and light pour
