The raw power emanating from Silver Clara felt like a physical force against my skin. Her silver eyes, swirling with ancient energies, fixed on me as dark tendrils of magic curled around her slender frame. The air crackled with electricity, making my hair stand on end.
"No!" I shouted, breaking free from my captors in their moment of distraction. "This isn't how it's supposed to be!"
The Abbess's face contorted with fury. "Restrain her!" she commanded, but her followers hesitated, transfixed by the awakening being before them.
I seized my chance and rushed toward Mistress Sterling, who had collapsed to her knees, blood trickling from her nose. The cultists who'd been holding her had released her to watch their "Shadowed Bloom" awaken.
"Elara," I whispered urgently as I reached her side. "The ritual isn't complete, is it? There's still time."
The exhausted woman lifted her head weakly. "The final verse... binds her purpose," she murmured. "But I haven't... finished it."
