The world was an explosion of blinding light and searing heat. Isla’s scream was swallowed by the roar of raw magic tearing through the clearing. She felt herself hurled backwards, weightless and unmoored, her senses fracturing like shards of glass. Time twisted a heartbeat stretched into eternity, and in that moment, something ancient, something buried deep within her soul, cracked open.
When the world finally lurched back into focus, Isla lay sprawled against the altar, her body aching, skin singed where Celeste’s dark magic had grazed her. The scent of scorched earth and blood hung heavy in the air. The rogue champion’s massive form was a shadow against the torn sky, but it had stilled, its head tilted as if listening.
Kael’s body lay a few feet away, unmoving.
“No,” Isla rasped, dra
