Aurora's P.O.V

I shook my head, my chest tightening as the thought dug deeper into me. "No... no, this is impossible," I said, my voice sharper than I intended. "For you to even dream of achieving something like this, you'd need sacrifices."

Ashton's eyes didn't waver. He nodded slowly, almost too calmly. "You're right," he said. "We do need sacrifices."

Caroline, who had been silent until now, snapped out of her shock. Her voice cracked as she demanded, "What the ...