Aria’s POV

Something was wrong.

I felt it in my bones, a creeping unease that had nothing to do with Hope's newly awakened wings or the training Damon had started with her. This was different, darker, like a shadow sliding across the sun.

I stood on the balcony of our bedroom, watching the forest that stretched beyond our territory. The trees were green and healthy, the land healed from years of war. But beneath that peace, I sensed something stirring, something that didn't ...