Petal's Pov

The clearing held its breath.

Aslaan stood in front of me, every muscle pulled tight, his eyes locked on Nera like he was already calculating the thousand ways this could end. The warriors fanned out just as he had ordered, their movements quiet but sharp, forming a semicircle around the ruins. Nothing about this moment felt real. The moonlight washed everything in silver, and beneath it, the cracked pillars and broken stones looked like the skeleton of an ancient beast.

And ...