AYLA’S POV
Distortion. It was the closest word I could think of to describe what I was feeling. My mind felt like it was expanding and retracting at the same time. It was as if there was a fuzzy TV in my brain, with images flashing before my eyes, fading into nothingness. My stomach twisted and turned, dropping and rising in my throat. My body tingled and was on fire. I felt all of this. At once. I thought I was going to die.
But as quickly as it came on, it was over. And I found myself standing on…nothing. I was standing on something firm, surrounded by galaxies, stars, and blackness. Bright stars twinkled nearby, blinding me. I looked around, panic setting in that I couldn’t see Ares now.
A dark movement next to me had me jumping almost out of my skin, and then Ares was there, materia
