Selene's POV
The world lurched violently, and I staggered backward as the air itself seemed to warp around the Fallen King. His voice deep, gravelly, impossible shook my bones.
"Selene…"
I could feel it in my blood. He was not just a shadow, not just a fragment of some dark tale. He was real. Alive. And he was here. Every pulse of his presence pressed against my skin, a weight that could crush the unprepared.
The Tear hovered just out of reach, pulsing like it knew my fate, calling to me, yet teasing me with the promise of death should I fail. I could almost feel the hum of its power traveling through the air, tugging at my soul.
Lucian's warmth was absent. I realized then that I had left him above, outside the sanctuary, trusting him to protect me from the forest, but now, faced with this, I wished he were here. I wished someone were.
