Zara’s POV
The forest did not feel the same anymore.
It knew me.
Every step I took, the ground seemed to hum beneath my feet. The wind curled around my body like it was guiding me somewhere… or watching.
Waiting.
Greyson stayed close behind me, his presence in a steady heat at my back. Protective. Alert. Dangerous.
But controlled.
For now.
Fire stirred inside me, not restless—awake.
Fully awake.
“We are close.”
“To what?” I whispered under my breath.
“Truth.”
That word again.
I was beginning to hate it.
Because every time someone mentioned truth, it felt like something in me was being peeled open.
Layer by layer.
Until nothing familiar would remain.
We reached the clearing just as the moon rose higher, its silver glow bathing everything in an unnatural light.
And then—
