Aria's POV
My whole body went cold at Dad's words. "She's alive? Elena is alive?"
Before he could answer, a sharp pain cut through my head. I screamed, falling to my knees as images flashed behind my eyes—Elena's face, older now, twisted with hate. A woman with silver hair mixing something in a stone bowl. Rowan, chained to a wall, fighting against unseen bonds.
"Aria!" Dad and Caleb both rushed toward me, but another wave of pain sent me crawling backward.
"Don't touch me!" I gasped. My wolf clawed inside me, desperate to break free after years of quiet. "What's happening to me?"
Dad's face went pale. "She's connected to you. Mara's using the blood link."
"Who is Mara?" I demanded, stumbling to my feet as the pain faded. "And if Elena's been living all this time, where has she been? Why didn't she come home?"
"Because I took her memories," said a cold voice behind us.
