Adrianna pulled her arm back instinctively, as if distance might loosen the invisible tether now binding her to a destiny she hadn't chosen. The steam from the bath still clung to her skin, now chilled under the weight of Alaric's words.
"I don't want to be bound to anything," she muttered, her voice cracking at the edges. "I didn't ask for this. I just wanted to keep my kids safe… stay alive… maybe sleep through the night without dreaming of blood."
Alaric closed the tome with a quiet thump, the sound final.
"Very few of us ask for the roles we're given," he said, his tone calm, but heavy with something deeper. Regret? Experience? She couldn't quite tell. "The mark doesn't care about what you want. It cares about what you are."
She folded her arms tightly over her chest, jaw tense. "What am I, Alaric?"
"You're a hunter now," he said without flinching. "One of the true-blooded. Acantha's been training you for it, whether you realized it or not. She's seen it in you. I have too."
