Those words—those simple words—shattered everything.
I couldn't breathe.
The realization cracked over me, each shard of it like jagged glass in my chest. The Watcher had been manipulating Julia for years. Using her, twisting her. Feeding her the lies, turning her grief, her broken heart into something darker. But this? This was a betrayal on a level that went beyond anything I had ever imagined.
The world felt smaller with every passing second, and I could feel the earth beneath my feet trembling. I had thought we were fighting against something external, something we could see. But this—this had been inside us the whole time.
"How do we protect her?" I rasped, my voice weak, barely a whisper, though I had to ask. I had to know.
MoonChild's face tightened with the knowledge of what was coming, but she spoke with a quiet, unwavering certainty. "We must end her life. We must end the Watcher's hold on her before it's too late."
The words hit me like a thunderclap.
