CHAPTER 54 Battle

  Ally's POV

  My fingers tremble against the worn leather of my suitcase. Dawn's anxious whine echoes from within, a sound that chills the marrow of my bones. I can't do it- I can't leave.

  "Elliot," I whisper, his name a shard of glass in my throat. I imagine him out there, the moon casting silver lines over his proud form, unaware of the betrayal lurking in the shadows.

  The ground quakes beneath me, a distant rumble that crescendos into an unmistakable roar. My heart clenches- Nathan. I peer through the gossamer curtains, the night alive with the spectre of war. An army advances like a wave of darkness upon Elliot's territory, their armour glinting under the relentless gaze of the moon.

  "Damn you, Nathan," I curse under my breath, the words tasting of poison and regret.

  Dawn snarls her fury a mirror of my own. We are one, she reminds me, her presence a fierce blaze in my mind. Yes, we are one, and I cannot abandon who I am- not for fear, not for safety.