Melody.
The cave was cold, the air thick with magic and the stench of blood. I could feel the warmth of my own life force slipping away, draining from the gash across my side. The blood pooled beneath me, staining the stone altar where I lay prone, too weak to move. My chest heaved with each labored breath, and my limbs felt like lead. I could hear my heartbeat, slow and heavy, as it pulsed in my ears, but it was the sound of Kael's voice that broke through the haze.
"Julia," Kael's voice rang out, steady but filled with something deeper—something desperate. "This isn't you. Please, I know you. You've been consumed by something dark, but I'm still here. I'm still your brother."
I couldn't move, couldn't speak. All I could do was watch as Kael stood in front of Julia, his presence a quiet beacon of hope. But I knew the danger—the desperation in his eyes matched my own. We had both loved her, once. And now, I feared there was nothing left of the woman I had called sister.
