Luna Everleigh's POV
***
I didn't hesitate.
As the battlefield raged behind me, as the Devourer let out a roar that shook the very air, I gritted my teeth and hauled Rhydian's unconscious body into my arms.
"Luna, we have to go—now!" Nalia's voice was sharp, urgent.
I knew she was right. If I stayed any longer, I wouldn't get another chance to escape. My heart screamed at me to fight—to end this now—but Rhydian's blood was warm against my skin, and I couldn't leave him.
I ran.
Through the ruins, past the shadows stretching like grasping fingers, through the whispering echoes of something ancient calling my name. My breath came in ragged gasps, my arms burning under Rhydian's weight, but I didn't stop.
I couldn't.
By the time I collapsed in the safety of an abandoned temple deep in the forest, my body was trembling from exhaustion. I laid Rhydian down carefully, brushing his sweat-dampened hair from his face.
He was burning up.
His normally golden skin had taken on an unnatural pallor, his veins darkening beneath the surface like something corrupt was spreading through him.
No. No, this wasn't just a wound.
This was something else.
—
To be continued...