Astraea's POV
I didn't know what it felt like to be drained, truly drained, until tonight.
Lying back on my bed with the room spinning and my limbs aching like they'd been filled with stones, I could still barely believe what had just happened.
This whole time in the human world had been strange, unpredictable, and annoying… but never terrifying. Not like this.
Seeing Zephyra's soul, her actual soul, curled up in the corner of my wardrobe like some wounded animal had nearly stopped my own heart.
It had taken me a second to realize what I was looking at. The presence had crept in slowly, and I'd honestly assumed at first that it was going to be some low-level spirit passing through, or maybe some weak intruder stupid enough to try hiding from me, but then I locked the room, tracked the presence using my energy, and there she was.
