The creature hesitated.
Just for a second.
But in war, a second was everything.
Aria felt it the flicker of uncertainty inside something that shouldn’t feel anything at all. The bond, once scattered and fraying, tightened around her again, threads pulling back into place like they had finally found their anchor.
Her.
She inhaled slowly, steadying herself.
“Lucian,” she said, her voice calm now, grounded. “Don’t fight it the way you usually do.”
He didn’t take his eyes off the creature. “Explain.”
“It feeds on dominance,” she said. “On force. On resistance.”
Lucian’s jaw tightened slightly.
“…Then what?”
Aria stepped forward.
“You don’t overpower it.”
The mark on her chest glowed brighter steady, controlled.
“You out-anchor it.”
The creature shifted, its jagged form twitching
