( Aria's POV )
The world didn’t breathe when the Circle went dark.
For a heartbeat, maybe longer, everything was still. The last flickers of power sank into the stones, like fire retreating beneath cold ash. Only the echo of my scream remained, carved into the night air.
Kael didn’t let go. His grip on me was steady, rough in a way that made it real. The ground was cold against my knees, the scent of burnt magic thick enough to choke.
Lyra crouched near the edge of the Circle, her palms pressed flat to the earth. Her runes had dimmed, but her eyes hadn’t. They were sharp, cutting through the dark.
“It’s over,” she said.
But her voice didn’t sound like victory.
Kael’s hand slid to the back of my neck, warm and grounding. “Can you stand?”
I nodded, though it wasn’t entirely true. My
