Hot water covered my skin as I sank into the stone tub, trying to dissolve
the invisible weight I was still dragging from the night before. Steam rose in soft
spirals, fogging the windows, sealing me inside a warm cocoon.
My thoughts drifted in disarray: fragments of restless dreams, the hooded
figure, incomprehensible whispers.
A sharp knock at the door made me jolt.
—Sereniah, open up —Melyra's urgent voice cut through the steam.
Before I could react, the door cracked open. Melyra pushed in, her face pale, her
eyes full of alarm.
—Get dressed—quickly —she ordered in a low voice—. We have trouble.
My heart leapt. I scrambled out of the water, wrapped myself in a towel, and had
barely managed to pull on some clothes when Melyra spoke again:
—Jaxx just returned from the forest. Villagers are missing. No one knows where
they went. And… there are tracks leading north—into the forbidden zone.
I dressed clumsily as her words settled like stones in my stomach.
When I went downstairs, Lyanna was already there, her face as pale as the mist
seeping in through the windows.
—The ceremony sealed your bond —she said, her voice low and tight—, but last
night… something else happened. Not far from the clearing. I felt a break in the
island's energy. As if someone had performed another ritual. Something hidden.
Something… dark.
Before I could ask, Declan appeared. His presence filled the doorway like a living
shadow. His face was stone, his gaze hard.
—It wasn't only the awakening of the new blood —he murmured—. Someone… or
something else was called last night.
We looked at each other for seconds that felt eternal.
And I knew, without anyone having to say it, that the price of change was only just
beginning to show itself.
Declan moved toward me, stopping only a few steps away.
—I'll handle this —he said, firm, authoritative.
I straightened at once, shaking my head.
—No —I shot back—. I want to know what's happening. I want to see it with my own
eyes.
His jaw tightened. I saw the flash of frustration cross his face.
—You don't understand —his voice dropped, almost a restrained growl—. If anything
happened to you… —He cut himself off, drew a deep breath, and then let the mask fall
with brutal honesty—. If something happens to you, Sereniah… I wouldn't forgive
myself.
Silence fell like a blow.
Melyra and Lyanna traded stunned glances—as if they'd never imagined hearing such
a confession from their Lord's lips.
He took another step, closer than was wise.
—Please —he said, this time low, almost intimate—. Stay.
Everything in me protested. Anxiety twisted through my veins. But I saw the pain in
his eyes. I saw the desperation he wasn't putting into words. It made me feel that
protecting me was his fight, too.
I nodded, silent.
Declan closed his eyes for a moment, as if that small gesture had given him air he
didn't know he needed.
He left me with the briefest brush of his hand on my arm—fugitive… and I stayed
there, watching his figure disappear into the fog.
Waiting.
The mist—thick and heavy—seemed to seep even through the walls of the house. I
moved toward the main room, unable to stay still.
Melyra and Lyanna were there, seated near the fire, their faces grave. It was Lyanna
who broke the silence first.
—The island is changing with you —she said—. And that frightens many.
I stepped closer, still feeling anxiety burning beneath my skin.
—Who performed that hidden ceremony? —I asked.
Melyra flicked a quick look at Lyanna before she answered.
—We don't know yet. But that energy… it was ancient. Warped. Not like ours.
—What does that mean? —I pressed.
—It means not everyone on this island wants the same future you and Declan do
—Melyra whispered—. And some… will try to stop it at any cost.
A knot formed in my throat.
—Has this happened before?
Lyanna shook her head slowly.
—Never like this. Never with this kind of force.
I drew my legs up, curling into the armchair.
—And Declan? —I asked, almost voiceless.
Melyra reached out and took my hand.
—He's stronger than you imagine. But he's also more vulnerable now. Because now
he has something to lose.
It didn't seem to be only the island at stake.
It was us.
I stared into the hearth flames, searching for answers in their unpredictable
movements.
—From the beginning —I said softly—. From the moment I arrived here… did you
know? Did you know something in me was different?
Lyanna lowered her gaze, and it was Melyra who answered first.
—We suspected —she said—. The island spoke long before you ever set foot here.
Flowers began to bloom out of season. Animals changed their routes. Even the sea—
as old and stubborn as the island's own heart—shifted its rhythm.
—And you brought me anyway? —I asked, not hiding the bitterness.
—It wasn't us —Lyanna cut in gently—. It was the island. It was Declan. Both acted,
even though neither understood it completely.
—Why me? —I asked, almost a lament.
—Because you resonate —Melyra whispered—. Your soul carries a mark that mortal
eyes can't see. Something that connects to the deepest part of this land. You're more
than new blood, Sereniah. You're an echo of something lost… or the beginning of
something we still don't understand.
My chest tightened. I wanted to reject it, to cling to a logic that no longer existed.
But deep down, I felt it. I always had.
—And the ones who performed the dark ritual? —I asked then, a shiver running
through me.
Lyanna traded another weighted look with Melyra.
—Not everyone who walks this island wants its healing —Lyanna said—. Some
long for its destruction… or its dominion. And they… they recognize you, too.
I held myself tighter, as if I could protect myself from something already in motion.
—Then —I said— the true trial hasn't begun yet.
Melyra nodded, her sadness serene.
—Last night's fire was only one of many trials. What comes now… will be the true
storm.
I fell silent, letting the words drift in the heavy air. The crackle of the fire was the
only sound around us.
—I never felt different in the capital —I admitted softly—. I lived my life like everyone
else, trapped in expectations, appearances, the unwritten rules of a society I never
felt was mine. I told myself I was normal. That I was enough.
I drew a deep breath.
—But since I arrived here… everything changed. It's as if a veil has been lifted from
my eyes. As if my former life had been hypnotized, and this one—here, in the middle of
all this mystery and madness… —I pressed a hand to my chest, searching for words—.
This is my reality.
Melyra smiled faintly, like someone listening to an old truth becoming new on young
lips.
—The island doesn't only reveal what you are —she whispered—. It gives back what
you forgot you were.
A knot rose in my throat, but I swallowed it down. My thoughts turned—inevitably—
to him.
—Declan…? —I asked, unable to hide the tremor in my voice—. Did he always know
what I was to the island?
Lyanna shook her head gently.
—Not entirely. He felt it. Like you feel it now. But his burden—his blood… kept him
from believing fully what his heart was shouting at him.
—And now? —I whispered.
Melyra laced her fingers together, thoughtful.
—Now he can't ignore it anymore. And that makes him stronger… but also more
vulnerable.
—Is he in danger? —I asked, pressing my hands hard against my knees.
Lyanna and Melyra exchanged a loaded look.
—He always has been —Lyanna said gravely—. But now, protecting you, his heart is
no longer his shield. It's his exposed wound.
And I knew, with unbearable weight, that the battle coming wasn't only for the island's
fate.
We were at stake, too—for what we might lose... Or save.