The sharp chime of Sumaya's phone alarm cut through the silence, dragging her out of sleep. She groaned, rolling over as her hand fumbled blindly across the bed to silence it. Her eyes blinked open slowly, lashes sticky with sleep. With a tired yawn, she rubbed her face and sat up, stretching her arms above her head until her shoulders popped.
For once, her night had been dreamless. No walking through moon-drenched forests. No haunting voice calling her name. Nothing but silence.
And that—felt oddly refreshing.
But the moment of peace didn't last.
Like a tidal wave crashing through her calm, the memories of her discussion with Avanaya from the night before surged back.
Moon Child. Prophecy. Locked powers. Fated mate. Comatose mother. The words echoed in her mind, unraveling the threads of her reality and leaving her grasping for clarity. It didn't feel real, and yet the heavy weight of the charm around her neck begged to differ.
