Gabriella’s POV
Light tore through the hall like a sun exploding in reverse.
Not warm.
Not gentle.
Not divine.
This was ancient light—raw, violent, born from a place older than wolves, older than magic, older than prophecy.
The moment it surged out of me, I felt myself slipping.
Not falling.
Not fainting.
Splitting.
The physical world blurred—Tristan’s roar, Leo’s shield collapsing, Mark yelling my name, Rhael’s wolf slamming into corrupted rogues—
All of it stretched into a thin, distant echo.
A voice whispered in the cracks of reality.
Finally.
The floor vanished beneath my feet.
And I dropped into darkness.
THE OTHERWORLD
I hit the ground hard—but not stone, not earth.
Something soft.
Something glowing faintly beneath my palms.
Grass.
Glowing, silver grass.
I was s
