Liam didn't waste time. As the others still marveled at the woman's transformation, he stepped forward with firm urgency in his voice. "I can see the unbinding worked," he said, his eyes scanning her face, still stunned at how drastically she had changed—but not enough to distract him from what still needed to be done.
The woman turned to him slowly, her newly youthful face soft with understanding. "Yes," she said, her voice now clear—no longer cracked with centuries of decay. "This is what I once looked like... before the curse… before everything was stolen from me."
She ran her hand through her thick, raven-black hair, looking down at her restored form, still in disbelief herself. Her skin was fair and flawless now, her eyes shimmering with that ethereal, ancient kind of beauty that came from bloodlines long forgotten. A queen reborn, no longer a shade.
Even Marcus, ever the skeptic, found his voice. "Damn," he muttered, not even trying to hide the awe. "She's… beautiful."
