Dahlia's POV
"This... this is the mountain itself. It's tired of being mined. It's tired of being a battery. It wants to be a god again."
The room went cold. The radiator clanked in the corner, but the chill didn't come from the air. It came from the boy at the end of the table.
"This is exactly what I was afraid of," I whispered, burying my face in my hands. "I thought if we got far enough away, the magic would just... fade. Like a radio signal getting weaker."
"You can't outrun the earth, Dahlia," Nate said, his voice surprisingly gentle. He reached across the table, his scarred hand hovering near mine before he pulled it back. "I spent nine years trying to kill the ghosts of the Silver-Crest. I burned the laboratories. I tore down the fortress. I thought if I destroyed the legacy, I'd save the kids. But Axel is right. We didn't end it. We just moved the battlefield."
