LILA’S POV
Kneel.
The command wasn’t spoken out loud.
It didn’t need to be.
It pulsed through the air like a heartbeat that didn’t belong to me
and yet…
…it did.
The corrupted mates dropped to their knees all at once.
Thirty… forty… I didn’t even know anymore.
Every single one of them bowed their heads not in defeat.
In obedience.
My breath hitched.
“No…” I whispered.
But the word felt weak.
Distant.
Like it didn’t belong to me either.
Because deep inside…
Something answered.
Yes.
The power inside me surged again—dark and golden energy twisting together violently, feeding off each other, growing stronger with every second.
“Lila…”
Nathan’s voice trembled beside me.
I turned slowly.
And the moment our eyes met
Something shifted.
His golden aura flickered.
Dimmed.
