The darkness beneath the roots hadn't lifted. Even after Aria had walked away from the stone throne, even after the shadows had scattered with Mara's disappearance, the air felt heavier—like something ancient had been disturbed, yet not wholly awakened.
Rowan was gone.
One moment he stood beside her, eyes shining with sorrow and strength. The next, he was dust—spiraling into the deep. Caleb, Elena, and Aria had searched the ruins in frantic waves, calling his name. The ground still pulsed with spirit energy, but it was tainted now, stained with something older than Mara.
"His aura," Elena whispered, her fingers pressed to the mossy stones. "It's fragmented… almost like he's alive and dead at once."
Solene emerged from the shadows, her eyes rimmed with silver tears. "No," she said. "Not dead. Bound. And not to us."
Caleb's jaw tightened. "Then to what?"
Aria didn't answer.
She already knew.
—
