Lila
The moment my foot crosses the marker, the world narrows.
Not darkness.
Not silence.
Focus.
The forest exhales as one, a deep, ancient breath that seems to come from beneath the soil rather than the air. The silver warmth beneath my skin tightens—not painfully, but decisively—like a clasp closing around my ribs.
The markers behind me dim.
There is no going back.
I stand alone in the clearing now, the space subtly reshaped around me. The trees feel farther away. The sky higher. Even the ground beneath my feet feels more aware, as if it’s listening for something specific.
For me.
“This is the boundary,” Selene says softly, stopping several paces behind the nearest marker. “Once it begins, no one may cross.”
Rowan doesn’t move.
Damien doesn’t either.
They stand on opposite s
