a's

n't s

n for a

my feet. But inside me? Everything was different. The world felt too loud and too quiet at once. My thoughts were a storm that refused

se. But how the hell do you choose who to b

loor, trying to make sense of everything. I didn't cry. I couldn't. There was no room for that. My

cked. The one who left before she could be left. That was my identity. That was my safety. So imagine how cruel the universe must b

and let others tell

d the truth, I had to find it myself. Even if that meant breaking rules

it was the only address I had ever found that might be connected to my biological past. I didn't know who it belonged to, or why it had bee

would become the match that lit the f

s already halfwa

st tighter. The driver barely glanced at me in the rearview mirror, probab

feline. The paper was worn at the edges, s

wasn't what

alls were weathered, ivy curling up through cracks in the brick, and the paint on the

d out of the cab, I

ep in my bones recognize

I was being stupid. That this was pointless. But then I remembered the way Dominic had looked at me, a

open like it hadn

d long and narrow, lit only by the softest flickers of light from overhead bulbs that buzzed like they

y end. A nameplate, etched i

imbed up in

ocked once, then pu

urtains. The walls were lined with shelves stuffed full of worn tomes and strange artifacts. A heavy oak desk sat

nking. She couldn't have been more than her mid-forties

aid without hesitation. "

eath

ead. I hadn't told

I am?" I asked, my vo

steps. "Because your arrival has always been part of the path," she sa

cold. "That's

and pulled out a thick, manila folder. It looked ancien

said, "is yo

r, and the world s

My name wasn't Aria Hayes. Not original

name: L

er: U

it might start breathing. I had nev

spered. "Why was this kept

s," Dr. Deveraux interrupted gently. "And you wer

hing fragile cracking in

ecause now, you need to remember who you are. Becau

hem was of a woman with long, silver-streaked hair and fierce eyes-my mother, I realized

" I asked, my voic

" Dr. Deveraux confirmed. "And

oat cl

... becau

re the last link. The prophecy begins and ends with your blood

landed hard. Like chains s

s stinging at the edges of my vis

anding. "No one ever asks to be chosen, Aria. But you were. A

slowly, the air arou

elieved-was a lie. But the worst part? I w

Moonborn. Orphan. Warri

e of all those pieces.

ing was ce

n't gone. It

was comi