Kieran's POV
Astrid's chanting deepened, each syllable weighted with power older than the stones beneath our feet. Her grip on my hand was iron, the runes carved into the floor glowing hot beneath my knees.
Then....
My mother's eyes snapped fully open, blazing that otherworldly, spectral light. Her scream tore through the room like a blade, so loud and unnatural it made the air itself quiver. Every muscle in her body convulsed, the bed frame groaning as if it might splinter beneath her.
"Hold her!" Astrid barked.
Magnus and Varya pressed down harder, their faces twisted with the strain. Cyrin was already moving, wrapping the chains tighter, his hands blurring with speed, the silver links smoking where they met her skin. The stench of burnt flesh and magic mixed in the air.
My chest tightened.
It wasn't just the heat from the runes, it was her.
