AYLA'S POV
Not warmth, not light. It was a suffocating flame that ate through skin, bone, and thought. A prison made of my own reflection.
I stood in a hall of mirrors—endless, stretching forever. Each reflection of me was different. Some were my wolf, teeth bared, chains around her throat. Some were me as Luna, crowned in silver and blood. Others were broken, hollow-eyed, a shadow wearing my smile.
And all of them whispered the same thing.
Give in.
The fire burned hotter, voices blending into the chorus I'd heard through Kael's screams. The First Luna. The Council. The destiny that had stalked me since the moment I first shifted.
"You were made to rule," the reflections hissed. "Not to love. Love makes you weak. Love makes you kneel."
I pressed my hands over my ears, but the fire roared louder. My own voice rose from the mirrors, sharper, crueler.
