Ava's POV
The wind outside the temple carried ash.
It clung to my skin, stuck to my lashes. It wasn’t from fire—it was older, almost sacred. As if the temple’s awakening had stirred more than just energy. Something beyond time. Beyond reason.
Kaelis said nothing as we made our way back toward the ridge. Damon walked beside me, glancing at the horizon every few seconds. He kept stealing glances at my hands, at the fading sigils still pulsing faintly against my skin.
No one dared speak of what had happened underground.
No one mentioned the way I had screamed. Or the way the glyphs had clung to me like I belonged to them.
Because we all felt it now.
I was changing.
That night, we made camp near the ruins of Solhyrn’s watchtower. The wind carried the echoes of distant lightning—silent,
