~Elara~
My breath fogged the observation window as Damon's technicians scurried around the Nexus Chamber like worker ants preparing for their queen. Below, twenty containment pods formed a perfect circle—living sacrifices for Damon's twisted ascension.
Fifty-three minutes until the eclipse.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" Damon's voice slithered over my shoulder. "The culmination of decades of research, of your mother's vision."
I kept my expression carefully neutral. "My mother's vision was freedom, not control."
"Semantics." He waved dismissively. "Freedom and control are two sides of the same evolutionary coin."
The silver in my veins surged in response to my anger, but I tamped it down. Now wasn't the time. The mate bond with Caleb hummed stronger with each passing minute—no longer the fr
