"The Source isn't broken," Samantha said, watching the Ancients' childlike forms waver. "You didn't break anything."
The starlight girl's mirror-teeth reflected something ancient and hungry. "Clever little vampire."
"You're not siblings either," Marcus added, centuries of tactical analysis falling into place. "You're fragments."
The constellation boy's stars turned to black holes. "Closer..."
Kai straightened, his wolf instincts screaming warnings. "You're not showing us these visions. You're feeding off them—off our reactions, our fears, our bonds."
The Ancients' childlike facades cracked further. The smallest one's skin showed not histories now, but hungers.
"The Source doesn't need guardians," Maya realized.
"Or warnings," Lucas finished.
The shadow girl's elemental trails turned predatory. "Keep going..."
