Selina's POV
The crimson light dripping from the ceiling carried a physical weight. It pressed down upon the cavern air, thick and metallic, turning the crisp, quartz-scented breath of the Stone Nexus into something that tasted of old copper and rust. The pristine brilliance of the Northern Anchor shivered beneath the intrusion, its diamond-white core groaning as the first true frequency of the Blood Moon sliced through the bedrock from the sky miles above.
"Finn!"
I dropped to my knees beside him, my boots skidding through the black quartz sand. The submission of the stone-guards no longer mattered. In this moment, neither did Elias's safety. The universe narrowed down to the terrifying heat radiating from the man twisting on the stone floor.
He was clawing at his own neck. The parasi
