Chapter 66: Whispers Beneath the Flame
The silence after the explosion was deafening.
Luna’s ears rang with the echo of her own heartbeat as she lay sprawled on the forest floor. Her body trembled, covered in ash and the lingering heat of the flames that had just erupted from the circle. The scent of scorched earth and smoke filled her lungs, thick and suffocating. She coughed, her throat raw, her lips dry.
For a moment, she couldn’t move. Couldn’t think. The world felt muted, like it was holding its breath along with her. The only thing she could feel was the faint thrum of something alive beneath the soil—something ancient and dangerous, pulsing in rhythm with her racing heart.
Slowly, she opened her eyes.
The clearing was no longer whole. The sacred circle had been shattered. Stone
