Aria’s POV.........

I was floating.

Not standing, not falling — just suspended in endless light. It rippled around me like water, weightless and silent. My body felt heavy, but not real. My heartbeat was slow, distant, like the sound of a drum from miles away.

Then came the voice.

“Wake, child of moon and flame.”

It was soft, yet it carried through the void like thunder, every syllable wrapping around my mind. I tried to open my eyes — and when I did, the world ...