It was nearly dawn, but the sky above the Hollow Lands stayed black.
No stars. No moon.
Just the weight of something ancient pressing down on the earth like it was watching.
Waiting.
Aelira sat in the stillness, breath shallow, cloak slipping down her arms. The fire had burned to embers but she didn’t feel cold. Not with the heat still pulsing through her skin. Not after what had just passed between her and Astren.
She could still taste him on her lips.
Still feel the bite of his grip on her waist. The way he’d held her like she might disappear if he let go for even a breath.
But the air was different now. And so was she.
Something inside her had shifted.
No. Not shifted. Broken open.
She wasn’t sure when it started—maybe when the stranger kissed her, maybe when the seal in the g
