POV: Luna
I wake up the next morning feeling like I've been hit by a truck.
Every muscle aches. My head pounds. My mark throbs with residual energy.
But I'm also different.
Stronger somehow. Like the otherworld visit changed something fundamental.
Nova is sitting in the chair beside my bed, watching me with worried eyes.
"How long have you been there?" I ask, my voice rough.
"All night. I wasn't going to leave you alone after what happened." She leans forward. "How are you feeling?"
"Honestly? Like death. But also... alive. Does that make sense?"
"With you? Yeah."
I sit up slowly. My mark is still glowing. Faintly. Like embers instead of fire.
"It hasn't stopped since you came back," Nova observes. "Whatever happened in the otherworld, it changed your mark. Made it more active."
