Page 167 of Crowned In Venom

My sister. My brother.

My people.

The family I lost.

My chest tightens.

My mother kneels beside me, her fingers brushing through my hair. I can’t feel her touch, but I feel her presence.

"You are stronger than this pain," she says, her voice firm but full of love. "You are ours. You are fire, Anya. You are unbreakable."

My father nods, his gaze warm but sad.

"Don’t give up, little fox."

The words strike deep.

Tears spill from my eyes.

"I miss you," I whisper.

My mother smiles.

"We are always with you."

The light surrounding them grows brighter. The warmth of their presence begins to fade.

"No—!" My voice breaks.

"You have more to do," my father says, his voice soft but insistent.

I reach for them, but my fingers pass through empty air.

Their faces begin to blur, fading back into the darkness.

"Fight, my love," my mother whispers.

And then?—

They are gone.

The pain rushes back tenfold.

A jagged scream tears from my throat as my body arches against the stone, muscles seizing, spasming.

The Ghost’s chanting reaches its peak.

A final surge of magic rips through me?—

And then?—

Nothing.

The pain is gone.

Just like that.

As if it had never been there at all.

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