🦋ALTHEA
Silence pressed in from all sides.
I stared at the nightshade berries, their dark shine catching the candlelight. They looked almost beautiful. Almost harmless.
One bite.
That's all it would take.
No more fear. No more struggling against what I might become. No more risk of turning into the woman who'd put children in chains and murdered Seraphina.
I reached for them slowly, fingers trembling as they hovered over the glossy black surface.
Maybe the crone was right. Maybe this was mercy—for me, for Thorne, for everyone who would suffer if Zyra consumed me entirely.
"Don't," Zyra growled, but her voice sounded distant. Tired.
My fingertips brushed one of the berries.
The door burst open.
"Althy!"
I jerked back, the platter clattering as Thal came barreling into the room, his face lit up with pure joy. "You're awake! You're finally—"
