AYLA'S POV
The air quivered, humming like a thousand strings pulled too tight. The Hollow had always been alive—but now it was listening.
Rylan's smile was wrong. Crooked, empty, carved by something that wasn't entirely him anymore. His wolf's scent—ash and pine—was buried under something colder, metallic, hollow.
"Rylan," I whispered, forcing my voice steady. "Whatever this place showed you—it's lying."
He tilted his head, the motion sharp, inhuman. "Lying?" His voice was soft, almost curious. "Do you think I don't know the truth when I taste it? The Hollow stripped everything away. All the chains, all the pretending. It showed me what I really am."
Kael's stance shifted, low and lethal beside me. "And what's that?"
Rylan's eyes gleamed violet. "Yours."
The word hit like a blade. Kael went still.
Rylan took another step, his bare feet silent against the stone. "You marked her. You took what was meant to be mine. The Goddess gave her to me long before you ever touched her."
