Nora's POV
The doctor's voice cuts through the sterile air as he raises another card. "What do you see when you look at this one?" The ink blot twists across the white surface, dark and menacing, with shapes that seem to watch me no matter how I turn my head.
My pulse thunders against my ribs as I stare at the twisted pattern. The black smear reminds me of the creature that lived beneath Nana and Papa's house, the shadow thing that whispered to Lena and Phoenix, trying to lure them into the darkness below.
The same beast I drove back with a burst of pure light from my small hands.
But at ten years old, I already understand that truth isn't what they want to hear. I study the card, Lena's terrified shrieks still echoing in my memory. Phoenix's fingers gripping mine so tight they left marks, his eyes wide with terror.
I force my breathing to steady and meet the man's clinical gaze. "The oak tree behind our house," I say.
