Soraya's POV
The agor was already moving when I realized what I was about to lose.
Its massive body burst from the trees like living stone, earth trembling beneath its weight, breath hot and foul as it snarled and charged. Instinct screamed at me to fight—to plant my feet, draw from the power coiled deep in my bones, and end it the way I had ended the last one.
The ground cracked beneath its claws, bark splintering as it tore through the undergrowth. Every sense inside me flared—sound sharpened, vision narrowing, the world reducing itself to angles and threats. I felt the familiar pull, the ancient rhythm of battle rising like a second heartbeat. This was where I had always been strongest. Where fear turned into clarity.
I could.
I knew I could.
My body shifted naturally into that familiar readiness, muscles tightening, senses sharpening, the old strength humming awake beneath my skin.
But then I looked back.
Just for a heartbeat.
And I saw them.
