Kora’s POV
The night swallowed me whole as I walked deeper into the forest, barefoot and trembling, but not from cold. The mark on my neck pulsed with heat beneath my skin, like something alive — something hungry.
Leaves whispered overhead. The trees leaned closer as if listening. I didn’t know where I was going. I only knew I couldn’t stay in that house another second, not with the look Edward gave me — fear and love tangled together until I couldn’t tell one from the other.
I stopped at the edge of the river. Moonlight shimmered on its surface, and for a moment, it was peaceful. Just water. Just wind. Just me.
Then the mark burned.
I gasped and fell to my knees, clutching at my throat. The pain wasn’t physical this time — it was emotional, ancient, mourning. My reflection in the wat
