Chapter 60

• "You're not the same, Ava," Valen's voice slithered through the darkness like a cold wind, wrapping around me and digging into my skin. "You're stronger than you realize. And you know it. You feel it, don't you? The power surging through your veins."
• I could feel it. The pulse of power that had grown inside me since that fateful moment when the prophecy had revealed its truth. It wasn't just a whisper now—it was a roaring storm, ready to tear through everything I had once known. But standing before Valen, I could barely hold it back. His presence fed the rage inside me, but so did the truth. I had a choice.
• "What do you want from me, Valen?" I breathed, forcing my words to steady my pulse. I hated him. I hated how he could manipulate every ounce of emotion inside me. How he could twist my past and my destiny into something unrecognizable. But even more, I hated how much he knew about me. About what I could do.