AYLA – POV
I should have stopped her.
Every part of me screamed when Callen stepped into the light.
Not because I doubted her.
Because I knew—if the seventh thread called her, it meant we were never meant to hold her.
I stared at the spot where she vanished.
The air still shimmered, like breath held too long.
No rift.
No tether.
Just the echo of her choice. And the way it fractured something inside me I didn't know was still fragile.
Kael stood beside me. He didn't speak, didn't reach for me. He just stayed.
Which somehow made it worse.
I didn't want steadiness.
I wanted fury.
Something to burn because grief like this didn't come from loss. It came from knowing you were the reason someone was strong enough to leave.
Rylan murmured behind us. "The Hollow is stable. For now."
I heard his words but didn't let them root.
Stable meant nothing.
We'd mistaken stillness for safety too many times.
