Elara's POV
The young woman's name was Aria. The spark in her hands was weak, unsteady, but it was hers. It didn't come from a bond. It came only from within.
Lyra and the other Oracles gathered around her, their faces a mix of wonder and concern. "The field is interacting with the latent Potential in the unbonded," Lyra murmured, holding a hand near the spark. It flickered in response. "It's not stable. It could flare, or gutter out. Or worse."
"Worse?" I asked.
"Unchanneled, this energy could consume her," Aric said gravely. "It needs a focus. A bond provides that focus naturally. For her, alone... it's nothing else but a fire in a paper house."
Aria looked up at us, her eyes wide with a fear that had finally broken through her catatonia. "It... it hurts. And it feels…….it feels go
