AURORA’S POV

I sat behind a large, twisted root, its rough bark pressing firmly into my back. The damp earth beneath me felt cold and unwelcoming. My mind was far from that gloomy forest, lost instead in the vivid memory of the seer's smoky hut. Her words continued to echo in my mind, a constant and chilling reminder that refused to fade no matter how I tried to push it away.

She had spoken of Alia. My sweet, precious Alia.

I had always sensed something different about her, a feeling that ...