_Lyla's POV_
The moment my body slipped under the water, icy fingers gripped my chest. Panic surged through me as my lungs screamed for air. I clenched my jaw, forcing myself to stay still. Every instinct screamed at me to thrash, to rise back to the surface, to tear the thread from my wrist and live.
"You can do this," Astra murmured inside my mind. Her voice was steady and soothing. "Breathe with me, Lyla. Trust the ritual. Trust yourself."
I squeezed my eyes shut tighter, trying to focus on her voice rather than the burning sensation in my chest. Breathe, I told myself. Not through your body. Through your spirit.
I imagined myself breathing through the thread tied to my wrist, drawing strength from it, from the bond that tethered me to Dorian, to Astra, to everything I loved. The bu
