Carlos’s P.O.V.

My thundering roar echoed in the temple, erupting chaos. Nobles surged to their feet, guards drew weapons, and the priest stumbled backward, clutching his staff like it might shield him from the truth unraveling before his eyes.

“Carlos. Stop!” Ava screamed, but I couldn’t, my logic taken over by anger. I jerked that woman’s body again, desperate for answers. She looked at me, unfazed, her smile mocking.

“She has been taken. Taken far away from here.”

That single sentence shattered something inside me. I slammed her down onto the marble floor, cracks forming webs beneath her body.

Guards rushed forward, but one sharp glance from me froze them...