Ava's POV
Kaelis hadn’t spoken since she dropped the words that split me open like a knife.
“A girl named Ava.”
“A scream that cracked the world.”
“Protect the world from you.”
I sat frozen by the fire as snow—black, soft, wrong—drifted around us like falling cinders. Damon stood a few feet away, blade in hand, keeping his back to me. He hadn’t asked questions yet. He didn’t need to.
He’d heard enough to start doubting me.
Kaelis slept with a strained expression, curled tightly into herself like she was bracing against some unseen weight. The veins under her skin were turning blue again—faint, but growing. Like something inside her refused to die.
“She’s not healing this time,” Damon finally said, voice low. “And we’re running out of time.”
I nodded slowly, barely registering my o
