She tried to focus her mind, but the word "stepsister" landed harder than any threat ever could, as did the realization.
It slipped beneath her ribs and stayed there, twisting slowly, rearranging memories she had not yet dared to question. Selene's restraint, her vigilance, and the way she watched without hovering and protected without softening the edges suddenly aligned into a pattern that made far more sense than she liked.
Her ears flattened before she could stop them, a tell she hated.
"Stepsister," she echoed quietly, tasting the word. "So this isn't just politics."
The woman's smile sharpened, pleased in a way that felt earned rather than cruel. "No," she said. "This is blood. Power shaped by the same hands and broken by very different choices."
The chamber seemed to listen and the men in cloaks glanced away.
The man from earlier stiffened, displeasure bleeding through his composure. "You're revealing too much. I suggest you watch how much you speak and not let your anger get the best of you once again."
"And you're still pretending secrecy equals control," the woman replied without looking at him. "If she's already standing at the center of this mess, then ignorance only makes her easier to break."
Her gaze returned to the girl, intent and unflinching. "Selene believes in containment. In delay. In holding the storm behind reinforced glass and calling it mercy. I believe storms are meant to be directed, not buried. I do not hide behind so-called authority."
The limiter reacted sharply, heat flaring beneath her skin as if the word "storm" had been a key. She sucked in a breath as the runes lining the chamber brightened in response, their violet glow pulsing like a heartbeat, not hostile, but alert.
She clenched her fists, grounding herself through the rush. "If this is about ownership," she said evenly, "you're both mistaken and given your actions so far and Selene's, I would say you are the one that is hiding, like a cornered rat."
A low laugh escaped the woman, genuine and unexpectedly warm. "If ownership were possible, little fox, you wouldn't have made it this far and I am not hiding, you will learn what you have walked into soon enough."
The man stepped forward, authority rolling off him like gravity, and the air thickened as if reality itself bowed to his presence. "She was placed under observation for a reason."
"Yes," the woman agreed. "Because she hears what others can't. Because wards recognize her instead of rejecting her. Because even restrained, she resonates. Selene is keeping her for more than just what she is letting on." Her eyes flicked to the limiter, then back to him. "Tell me honestly, how long did you expect that device to hold once she touched a relay node that predates their council?"
Silence answered her question and the girl gritted her teeth.
She felt it then, a subtle shift beneath her skin, not pain, not freedom, but alignment. The limiter still held, but something inside it had learned her shape. It no longer felt like a cage. It felt like a negotiation.
The whisper stirred again, not coaxing, nor was it urgent, but curious, brushing against her awareness like fingers testing the edge of a blade.
"What am I?" she asked softly, the question slipping out before fear could stop it.
Neither answered immediately.
Then the woman straightened, her expression changing, not mocking or indulgent, but reverent in a way that sent a chill through her spine. "You're not an anomaly," she said. "You're not a resource. You're a convergence. Old systems recognize you because you were never meant to fit neatly inside new ones, meaning the ones that were created as of late."
The man exhaled slowly, as though conceding a truth he despised. "If she stays here," he said, "the balance shifts."
"Good," the woman replied. "It's already cracking either way."
She turned back to her and extended a hand, palm open, not commanding, not pleading. "You can return to Selene's protection, her walls, her rules. Or you can stay with me and learn more than you ever could, because the secrets within these walls, will not come to you easily."
Her pulse thundered as the choice unfurled before her, she lowered her gaze, knowing that the path behind her was no longer safe. The one ahead promised answers, but despite that, she knew it may be more costly.
Something inside her leaned forward eagerly and that was when the chamber trembled.
The runes flared violently, violet light snapping to white-hot brilliance as space itself tore open near the far wall. Power crashed into the room like a blade through glass, precise, furious, and utterly familiar.
Selene stepped through the rupture, her eyes cold and glowing.
Her presence hit like a drawn sword, cold and absolute, authority flooding the chamber in a way that made even the runes recoil. Her eyes locked instantly onto the girl, relief flashing for half a heartbeat before it hardened into something far deadlier.
"Step away from her," Selene said, her voice calm and lethal.
The woman laughed softly, withdrawing her hand but not retreating. "Still so dramatic, sister, it is good to see you."
Steel rang as Selene's weapon manifested in her grip, arcane sigils crawling along its length. "You had no right."
"I had every right," the woman replied. "You are hiding something."
The air between them tightened, power grinding against power, old blood and older magic straining the chamber's limits. The man retreated instinctively, pressing himself against the wall to keep out of sight and the girl's eyes narrowed when she saw that.
She stood between them, heart racing, instincts screaming to get out of there, while her limiter burned as if caught between two opposing forces.
Selene's gaze flicked to her, sharp as though she was searching for something. "Did she harm you?"
"No," she answered honestly, even as energy crackled across her skin. "But she told me things you didn't."
That hurt landed visibly, she could see the way Selene stiffened.
The woman's smile widened. "Careful, Selene. She's already choosing."
Selene's grip on her blade tightened as the runes howled and the chamber still shuddered from the last attack. The girl glanced down at the limiter, eyes widening as she realized Selene had tracked her through it. That realization sparked a question—what did Selene know that would drive her to such lengths for someone she barely knew?