Ava’s POV
The scent of burning sage clung to the air long after the ritual flames had died.
I stood in the center of the Crescent Guard’s Hall, its high stone walls echoing with footsteps, hushed conversations, and the occasional clink of metal. Everyone had returned to a state of motion—repairing, healing, organizing—but underneath the surface was an unease no one dared name.
Because I was still here.
And I had changed.
I felt it in the way they looked at me now—not quite with fear, not quite with trust. Something in between. Reverence and suspicion, braided into a tension I couldn’t shake.
“They think I’m cursed,” I said quietly, watching from the upper gallery as Rhea led another strategy briefing.
Damon leaned beside me on the railing. “Not cursed. Just... touched.”
“That doesn
