The sky no longer bled shadows.
The once-cursed lands of Eclipse Valley were bathed in a gentle twilight—soft silver light weaving through the ash-laced trees, illuminating charred stone and bodies still warm from war. But it wasn't peace. Not really. It was the silence that came after the storm, the wary hush of a land unsure if the thunder was truly done rolling.
Aria stirred in the grass, her limbs heavy, breath shallow. She blinked up at the sky, the moon's light now a pale reflection of what it had been hours ago, as if even it were exhausted.
The spirit bond inside her pulsed—alive, yet aching. Her magic had returned, but not fully. Pieces were missing. Not Mara's pieces, not even those taken by the Mirror Gate.
Her own.
"Aria," came a voice, raw and trembling. Caleb.
