Iva woke with a scream.
Her body jolted upright, her breath coming in sharp, panicked gasps as her heart hammered violently against her ribs. For a second—just one—she didn’t know where she was. Moonlight spilled across unfamiliar shapes, shadows clinging to the walls like watching eyes, and confusion wrapped around her mind in a thick haze.
Then reality came crashing back.
The shifting ground.
The whispers.
The laughter.
Her father’s face twisted in shame.
Nick’s voice, mocking and cruel.
Avalon’s small, trembling presence.
And the silver eyes of the Moon Goddess.
Iva squeezed her eyes shut, groaning softly as a dull ache bloomed behind her temples. Her head throbbed painfully, each heartbeat sending a pulse of pressure through her skull.
“It was just a dream…” she whispered, t
