She gasped, breath catching in her throat. For a moment, she couldn't even move. Her fingers curled instinctively around it as the light wrapped around her hands like silk.
Behind her, the man's mouth fell open slightly. Glimora tilted her head, eyes round. The little creatures whispered all at once—words she couldn't understand, but the tone was full of awe.
The flower pulsed once—then dimmed, its glow fading into her skin, like it had accepted her.
The moonlight above flickered in answer, brighter for a heartbeat, and then settled.
Isabella just stood there, shaking slightly, staring down at her hands. She could feel it—the warmth of the Moonpetal Lily, a quiet thrum of energy that seemed to sync with her heartbeat.
She whispered, almost afraid to break the moment. "It… it worked."
But even as she said it, the air around them began to change again—something unseen stirring beyond the cave walls, like the mountain itself had heard her.
