Kieran

The bond snaps taut, then starts to fray.

I feel her slipping away from me like water through my fingers. My body jerks forward, every instinct screaming at me to reach her, to hold on, to refuse what’s happening.

“No,” I rasp, stumbling toward where Daciana lies on the ground. Blood stains her lips. Her chest is barely moving. “No, no, no—”

Then Hera’s voice cuts through the chaos: “…my daughter.”

My head whips toward the gypsy witch, and for a moment, everything stops. The battle raging around us fades. Celeste’s triumphant laughter dims. All I can hear is those two words echoing in my skull.

Hera’s daughter.

I...