POV: Orion Kings
I gasped awake, my body jerking upright. The knife slipped from my hand and clattered to the ground. For a moment, I couldn't breathe—couldn't think. My mind felt like a fog was lifting after years of darkness.
"What—" I choked out, looking at my shaking hands. Hands that had almost—
"Orion?" Amara's voice. My sister's voice.
The memories crashed back like a huge wave. The Mother's words in my mind. The order to kill my own sister while she was distracted by the crystal. The knife I'd picked up, moving like a doll on strings.
I'd almost killed Amara. Again.
"Stay back!" I shouted, scrambling away from her. My back hit a tree, and I pressed against it, trying to put space between us. "I'm not—I don't know if she's still in my head."
Amara approached slowly, golden light flickering at her fingers. We were alone in a small clearing—not the ritual spot. She must have moved me.
"She's not," Amara said softly. "I purged her power when I healed you. Again."
