The blade burned like captured moonlight as it arced through the air, aimed straight for Caleb's heart.
"No!"
Aria's scream split the silence. She moved faster than thought, faster than breath—her body slamming into Elena's, catching her wrist mid-swing. Sparks exploded between them as moonfire met Aria's aura, a shockwave tearing cracks into the marble floor.
Elena snarled, her face a mask of fury and grief twisted into something unrecognizable. Her eyes gleamed silver, but not pure moonlight—there was a sickly undertone, a shimmer of something corrupted.
"Let him go!" Elena hissed, her voice low and feral. "He's the rot that will break this world!"
Aria's grip tightened. Her fingers dug into her sister's skin hard enough to draw blood. "This isn't you," she said through clenched teeth, heart hammering so loud it drowned everything else. "Fight it, Lena. Please—fight her!"
