“You can’t be serious,” Damian said, his voice low but sharp.
I turned to face him, feeling the weight of everything we had built pressing down on my shoulders. “I am.”
His golden eyes burned with frustration. “After everything, you want to just walk away?”
The wind howled through the trees around us, carrying the scent of war and the echoes of the past. The camp behind us was restless, the warriors uneasy after the betrayal from within. The ones who remained were waiting for me to make the final call.
“You think I want this?” I asked, my voice raw. “You think I fought, bled, and lost everything just to step aside now?”
“Then don’t.” He took a step closer, his presence overwhelming. “They need you, Lyra. We need you.”
I swallowed hard. “And if I stay? What then? More blood? More batt
