Sarina POV
I woke up to my phone vibrating like it was panicking.
Notifications stacked over each other—Instagram, news apps, messages, missed calls. My screen glowed too bright for early morning, and before I even unlocked it, I already knew.
The world had found us.
No—
the world had found Lumina.
I scrolled.
Big mistake.
Videos played automatically. Blurry clips, slowed down, zoomed in, paused at the exact moment light exploded from my back. Headlines screamed in bold letters:
WHO ARE THEY?
POWERED HUMANS CAUGHT FIGHTING MONSTERS
ARE THEY EVEN HUMAN?
WHY NOW? WHY HERE?
Comments flooded faster than I could read.
She's an angel.
She's a weapon.
They caused the monsters.
They're saving us.
Government experiment.
Aliens.
Fake.
My chest tightened.
They were talking about me.
About my light.
My wings.
My existence.
I locked my phone and pressed it against my heart, trying to breathe. Light flickered under my skin, reacting to my fear like it always did now.
"I didn't choose this," I whispered to the empty room.
A knock came at my door—but it didn't wait for an answer.
Luna stepped in.
Behind her, two familiar faces peeked around the doorframe.
Aria and Evan.
My stomach dropped.
Aria rushed in first, eyes shining with a mix of excitement and fear. "It's true, isn't it?"
Evan followed more slowly, clutching the door. "You're… Lumina?"
I sat up so fast the blanket slid off me.
"You saw?" My voice came out shaky.
Luna closed the door behind her. "They saw the light last night. You couldn't have hidden it."
I looked at my siblings—my little sister, my little brother—seeing the truth written all over their faces.
Aria stepped closer. "Why is everyone talking about you? Why are there monsters? Are you hurt?"
Evan's voice was quieter. "Are they going to take you away?"
That question hurt the most.
I pulled them into a hug, holding them tighter than I ever had before. "No. No one's taking me anywhere. I promise."
"But how?" Aria asked. "How are you glowing on the internet?"
I laughed weakly. "That's… a long story."
Luna rested a hand on my shoulder. "Tell them what you can. They deserve that much."
I nodded, took a breath, and said the words that still felt unreal.
"I'm Lumina. I don't know why I was chosen. I only know monsters started appearing… and my powers woke up to stop them."
Evan looked up at me. "So you're a superhero?"
I smiled sadly. "I'm still just your sister."
Sirens echoed somewhere far away. The world outside was loud—too loud for secrets like mine.
And yet… inside this room, I felt seen.
By the time Luna left, my phone was vibrating again.
At school, it was worse.
People whispered. Phones were hidden behind books. Every laugh felt suspicious. Every sudden noise made my heart jump.
They didn't know it was me.
But they were close.
All day, I felt like glass—one wrong move and everything would shatter.
When the final bell rang, relief washed over me like air after drowning.
I walked home with the boys like always.
Jordan joked about memes. Leo talked about how news channels were contradicting each other. Ethan stayed alert, scanning the streets like he expected something to jump out.
Lukas walked beside me.
"You okay?" he asked quietly.
I nodded. "Yeah. Just tired."
Another lie.
The closer we got to my street, the heavier my chest felt. My power stirred, restless, warning me.
Something was wrong.
The air changed.
I stopped walking.
The streetlights flickered.
A deep, unnatural growl rolled through the road, vibrating in my bones.
"What was that?" Jordan asked.
The ground cracked.
From the shadows ahead, it stepped out—tall, twisted, wrong. Its eyes burned with something dark and hungry.
Leo whispered, "That's a monster."
My heart slammed.
Not here.
Not with them.
Light surged inside me, begging to be released.
The monster roared.
Lukas looked at me—and in that moment, I knew.
Everything was about to change.