Kora’s POV
The air inside the seer’s cavern grew heavy after she spoke, thick enough to choke on. Edward’s grip on my hand was the only thing keeping me anchored. The fire beneath my skin stirred, responding to her words like it recognized some deep, forbidden truth.
Lysandra stood silent, her gaze locked on us as though she’d seen this moment a thousand times already. The glow from her candles painted strange symbols on the walls — runes that seemed to move when I wasn’t looking directly at them.
“Your bond,” she repeated, voice calm, almost kind. “It’s the tether between your human heart and the fire that would otherwise consume you. You can’t destroy the fire’s master while you’re still bound to another.”
Edward’s jaw tightened. “You’re saying she has to sever our bond just to fight
