Zara’s POV
The forest disappeared.
Not slowly.
Not gently.
It ripped away.
One second I felt Greyson’s presence behind me…
The next—
Nothing.
Silence.
Cold.
Endless.
I stood alone in a place that did not feel like the present.
The air was heavier here. Older.
Charged with something that pressed against my skin like a warning.
Or a memory.
“Greyson…?” I called out.
No answer.
Even my own voice sounded distant.
Fire stirred, but this time—she wasn’t calm.
“Stay alert.”
“Where are we?”
There was a pause.
Then—
“Before.”
Before what?
I didn’t get the chance to ask.
The world shifted again.
This time, it formed instead of vanished.
Stone walls rose around me.
Tall.
Ancient.
Carved with the same crescent symbol burning into my wrist.
My breath hitched.
“This… thi
