Selene's POV)
I met his gaze. The mark on my wrist was still burning, faintly silver, still connected to something beyond this world.
"It's a heartbeat," I said softly. "And it's waking up."
The Feather pulsed once, slow and heavy, and from somewhere distant, the same voice whispered again, soft and haunting:
The Moonborn has chosen. The world shall follow.
The floor trembled. The light spread.
And the moon outside… turned black.
**********
Outside, the sky was a strange color that evening, bruised lavender melting into silver. The remnants of smoke from the apothecary's destruction still hung faintly in my memory like ash in the air. I had once believed that place would be my eternal home. Now, all that remained was ruin and the faint scent of burnt herbs.
