Pain was the first thing Seraphine felt.
Not the sharp kind.
Not the burning kind.
This pain was quiet.
Constant.
Like invisible hands squeezing the life out of her power.
She slowly lifted her head.
The cage glowed brighter the moment she moved.
Lines of divine energy raced along the towering pillars surrounding her, forming a dome of radiant light that sealed the entire prison.
Seraphine immediately felt it.
Her connection to the moon…
Severed.
Her breath caught.
“No…”
The realization hit harder than the chains had.
For the first time since becoming a guardian
She couldn’t feel the moon.
It was like losing a heartbeat.
Across the chamber, the Ancients watched her.
There were seven of them now, standing in a circle beyond the cage.
Their massive forms shimmered with co
