LILA’S POV
The ground beneath my feet cracked.
Thin fractures spread across the earth like spiderwebs as the energy inside my body surged wildly. Golden light wrapped around my arms, but dark threads twisted through it, pulsing like veins of shadow.
I couldn’t breathe.
Not because of fear.
Because something inside me was waking up, something I can't seem to understand.
The massive creature with crimson eyes continued walking toward me slowly, every step deliberate, controlled, as if it already knew I couldn’t run.
Marcus stepped in front of me instantly.
“You’re not touching her,” he growled.
His sword glinted in the sunlight as he raised it toward the creature.
The beast didn’t even flinch.
It simply kept walking.
Rogues moved aside for it like soldiers obeying a commander.
A
