Liora POV
The world dissolves into a golden haze the moment my blood touches the pedestal, the Silver Dagger’s ruby pulsing in my hand like a second heartbeat. Power surges through me—a searing, binding hum that drowns out the shrine’s musty rot and the sharp tang of silver veins. Pain lances behind my eyes, white-hot and relentless, and my knees buckle. Kai’s arms catch me before I hit the stone, strong and steady, his ocean-mist scent flooding my senses like a lifeline. Atlas’s rumble vibrates through his chest into mine, possessive and fierce, as the bond between us flares brighter than the dagger’s glow. I cling to him, to the warmth of his body, as the visions drag me under.
The present falls away, and I am no longer just Liora. I am the bloodline itself, swept into an ancestral tap
