☽ Nyra ☾
Zarek’s warning stayed lodged in my ribs like a thorn. Blood. Secrets. Parents who might still be alive. A power I still hadn’t fully accepted. If I let it keep building, I would do something I couldn’t take back. Kaedra’s words returned, clear and sharp:
There was a place deeper in Blackpine Villa, a cave the elders pretended was only rock. Moonlight touched it. A sanctuary that wasn’t safe if I arrived with a storm inside me.
I didn’t tell Lucan where I was going. If he knew, he would follow, and I needed this to be mine. I needed to do this on my own. Just after midday, I slipped into the forest and headed east, beyond patrol paths. The trees grew thicker, and the light thinned. The air cooled, and each step felt like crossing a line I couldn’t uncross, but my resolve held
