Liam's pulse thundered in his ears, his feet immobilized while his eyes fixed on Ava. The woman he struggled so desperately to save her life now stood before him, different in some way he could never imagine. The light emanating from her was both blinding and soothing, but the shadows curling around her were blacker, more menacing, than any he'd ever encountered.
"Ava?" His voice shook, an utterance of pure disbelief.
Her shining eyes met his; in their dark depths, there was a flicker of recognition, but they were filled with something else-something altogether far more dangerous and powerful. It was as if she had been caressed by both the light and the darkness and now they lived inside her in perfect harmony.
"You aren't the only one who's been fighting," Ava said, her tone a strange
