Lyla stood in the clearing, the Marked Ones watching her in silence.
The air was thick with energy, her body still humming with the aftermath of the fight.
She had won.
But as she looked down at her hands at the swirling darkness still curling around her fingers like living shadows she realized something terrible.
She hadn’t just won.
She had become something else.
And she wasn’t sure she could undo it.
The Marked leader approached, their silver eyes gleaming.
“You feel it now, don’t you?”
Lyla exhaled slowly.
She did.
And that terrified her.
The shadows didn’t just obey her.
They called to her.
Even now, with the battle over, she could feel them whispering beneath her skin.
They weren’t fading.
They weren’t leaving.
They were waiting.
Lyla clenched her fists.
She didn’t
