Aria drifted in cold darkness. The lake surrounded her like a womb of shadows, tugging her deeper. Her limbs moved sluggishly, her spirit wolf thrashing inside her, roaring against the pull. But she couldn't break free.
She wasn't just drowning in water. She was drowning in doubt, in fear, in failure.
Then—a pulse.
Not from the lake.
From within.
A sudden surge of silver fire burst from her chest, and her eyes snapped open. Her wolf howled in fury. With a shout that echoed like thunder beneath the waves, Aria exploded upward, breaking the surface of the lake like a star torn from the heavens.
She gasped for air, the moonlight shimmering across her wet skin. Caleb stood at the edge, chest heaving, eyes wild.
"Aria!"
She swam to the shore and collapsed into his arms.
"She's gone," Aria whispered. "Elena… something's taken her. Mara's magic is inside her. I saw it."
Caleb wrapped a towel around her, but his voice was hard. "Then we rip it out."
