Elara POV
I woke up, but I wasn't awake, not really. I could see everything and feel everything but I couldn't move, couldn't speak, couldn't control anything.
It was like being locked in a cage inside my own head, watching through windows I couldn't break.
Seraphina was controlling my body now, wearing me like a costume, and I was just a passenger screaming silently while she moved my hands and spoke with my voice.
"Finally," she said through my mouth, her voice layered and ancient and wrong. "I've been waiting so long for this."
I could see Liora backing away, her face full of horror, Kael struggling to stand with his wounded leg, Alex and the other rebels surrounding us with weapons drawn but hesitant.
"Don't hurt her," Kael was shouting, "that's not her, that's the curse."
"O
