Chapter 98

Briar’s POV

The compromise had been elegant in its simplicity.

I’d proposed a partial awakening—enough power to help my grandmother’s people without becoming fully immortal, without having to choose between my two worlds. The siren elders had been hesitant, warning of risks and untested magic, but my grandmother had finally agreed to attempt the modified ritual.

"You’ll age slower," she had explained as the ceremony began, ancient words of power flowing around us like living water. "Perhaps a year for every ten that pass. Your power will be significant but not absolute. And you’ll need to return to us regularly to maintain the connection."

It wasn’t perfect, but it was hope. A way to save both families without destroying either.

Now, as consciousness slowly returned to me, I could feel that the ritual had worked—perhaps too well.

I gasped awake, my body arching off the bed as power moved through my body.

Every nerv