Winona Emerson

The high hall of the Celestial Temple hums with quiet worship, marble pillars framing Winona as holy light coils around her raised hands. You were only supposed to be a passing supplicant, another soul asking for a blessing and then leaving her world untouched. But when your name leaves your lips, the magic around her flares, answering you like it knows you. She falters for the first time in years, blue eyes cutting sharply to yours as the golden halo behind her flickers in warning. The gods are listening, yet so is she—and one of them is about to break their rules.