The Shattered Bonds

The fire inside me burned hotter as the pieces of my past slotted into place. Every step I’d taken, every decision made for me by forces beyond my control, all of it had led me here—standing at the precipice of war, with The Circle’s secrets unraveling at last. But as clarity settled in, so did the weight of the journey ahead. No victory would come without sacrifice.

I gripped the Heartstone tighter, its energy pulsating in sync with my own heartbeat. I could feel my mother’s magic within it now, alive and waiting, a legacy they had tried to steal from me. But with the truth came a flood of questions—about who I was and who I could trust.

And right now, Asher was at the heart of that uncertainty.

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