Chapter 57

• The Elder leaned forward, his ancient eyes fixed on her with an intensity that sent shivers down her spine. "The price of power is not easily understood. You will gain strength, power beyond anything you have ever imagined, but with that power comes responsibility. The power to shape fates, the power to destroy, the power to bind others to you in ways that even love cannot unbind."
• Elara felt a cold sweat break out on her skin. Power. Responsibility. Destruction. These were not things she had ever wanted. She had always been a girl who valued peace, simplicity, and love—not wars or bloodshed. And yet, somehow, she was being asked to carry the weight of something far greater than she could comprehend.
• "Why me?" she asked, her voice breaking. "Why am I the one chosen for this? What makes me so different?"