The portal swallowed them whole.
Crossing through Christian's rift felt like being turned inside out—a sickening lurch as reality folded around them, compressing their bodies through spaces never meant for human passage. Daisy's stomach heaved, the twins inside her fluttering in panicked response. The Moon's Tear burned against her throat, pulsing with urgent silver light that barely penetrated the absolute darkness pressing against them from all sides.
"Don't let go," Christian's voice came from everywhere and nowhere, frost trailing his words like crystalline breadcrumbs. His hand gripped hers with bruising force, anchoring her in the void. "Whatever happens, don't let go."
Behind them, Cassius's golden light flickered like a candle in hurricane winds, stretching and distorting as the
