Samantha didn't know how long she remained frozen on the floor.
The entire world felt like it had shifted beneath her feet—her heartbeat louder than ever, her breath shallow and erratic. The obsidian ring lay still near Callum's feet, humming faintly. The air thrummed with power, but it was different now—calmer, no longer volatile.
Callum stood there, breathless. His shoulders rose and fell like a man who had just swum up from drowning. His golden eyes flickered, not with menace or detachment, but with disbelief. The Overseer's aura was gone.
Truly gone.
He blinked slowly, as though every sensation was unfamiliar. Then his eyes landed on her—his mate, trembling and bruised on the floor, her eyes wide and wet.
"Samantha," he whispered. Just her name. But it carried the weight of a thousand storms.
Before she could rise, he was already kneeling before her. Gently, reverently, he cupped her face. "Are you real?"
