The storm had returned by the time Leira could think clearly again.
Rain pressed softly against the window, each drop sliding down the glass like a slow heartbeat. It sounded far away, muffled, as though it belonged to another world, one she wasn't part of anymore.
She sat curled up on the couch, her knees pulled close, staring at her arm. The faint glow beneath her skin had dimmed, but it was still there, steady and pulsing, refusing to die.
Kael stood near the window with his back to her, one hand resting on the frame. The flicker of lightning shined briefly across his face, outlining the sharp line of his jaw and the quiet tension in his posture. He hadn't said much since the light in her wrist faded. Every few minutes, he would glance at her, not to speak, just to make sure she was still there.
The silence stretched until it felt heavy enough to fill the room.
Finally, Leira broke it.
"You said something followed me," she said softly.
Kael didn't turn. His eyes stayed on the rain. "It won't stop until it finds you."
"Why me?" she asked. Her voice cracked a little, more from exhaustion than fear.
He hesitated, his gaze still distant. "Because of what you carry."
Leira frowned. "I don't carry anything."
That made him look at her. His eyes caught the dim light, unreadable, steady. "You carry a name."
"A name?" she repeated, confused. "You keep talking about this name thing. What does that even mean?"
Kael moved away from the window and sat across from her. The chair creaked under his weight, and for a moment, the room smelled faintly of wet wood and smoke.
"Names have power where I come from," he said quietly. "Some are keys. Some are doors. And some, like yours, are weapons."
Leira blinked, completely lost. "That doesn't make any type of sense. You're talking like this is some kind of twisted fairy tale."
"It's not a fairy tale," he said, his tone flat but calm. "It's older than that. Fairy tales came from truths people were too afraid to believe."
She wanted to laugh at that, but something in his expression stopped her. He wasn't joking.
Rain hissed against the glass. Somewhere outside, thunder rolled like a warning.
Kael leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees. "When the old world fell, it didn't disappear," he said. "It just hid. And it left pieces of itself behind; bloodlines, marks, echoes. Most of them never wake up. But you did."
Leira looked down at her wrist again. The faint light there flickered as if it had heard him. "So what? You're saying I'm some kind of ancient descendant?"
"In a way."
"Then who are you, Kael?"
His jaw tensed slightly at the question. For a long moment, he didn't answer. Then, quietly, he said, "Someone who shouldn't be here."
Before Leira could ask what that meant, the lights flickered once. Then again. The air grew cold enough to sting her skin.
"Kael?" she whispered.
He didn't reply. His eyes narrowed as he looked toward the door. The hum in the room deepened like static before lightning strikes.
"Stay behind me," he said sharply.
Leira's heartbeat quickened. She stood on shaky legs, gripping the edge of the couch. "What's happening?"
Kael moved quickly, reaching into his jacket. When he pulled out a curved blade, the metal caught the faint glow of her wrist. It shimmered faintly with an energy that didn't belong in this world.
"Kael, what are you…."
Before she could finish, the shadows near the door rippled, twisting as if alive.
Leira froze, her breath catching in her throat. The air itself seemed to breathe, each inhale darker than the last.
Kael's voice was steady, but lower now. "It found us."
Something stepped forward from the darkness. It was tall, wrongly tall, and its form shifted like smoke trying to hold a shape. There was no face, only an emptiness that reflected the faint light in her arm.
Leira's knees nearly gave out. "What the hell is that?"
"Not human," Kael muttered. "Not anymore."
Then it lunged.
Kael moved faster than she thought possible. His blade cut through the air with a soft hiss, meeting the creature mid-strike. The impact sent a jolt of light through the room. The thing shrieked, a sound like metal scraping glass, echoing in her skull.
Leira stumbled backward, her hand clutching her glowing wrist. The mark burned hotter now, reacting to the creature's presence.
"Leira!" Kael shouted, deflecting another hit. "Don't let it touch you!"
"I'm trying!" she cried, her voice breaking.
The creature's shadowy arm swung toward her. Kael tried to intercept, but before he could reach her, Leira's mark blazed with sudden light.
A wave of energy exploded from her hand. It hit the creature square in the chest and threw it across the room. The walls shook with the force.
When the light faded, the thing was gone, its body dissolving into black dust that vanished into the air.
Silence fell, thick and trembling.
Leira stood frozen, breathing fast, her entire arm glowing faintly again.
Kael lowered his blade slowly. His eyes stayed fixed on her, unreadable but filled with something close to disbelief. "You shouldn't have been able to do that," he said quietly.
Leira looked at her trembling hands. "I didn't mean to."
"What did you feel before it happened?"
She tried to think, tried to find words. "Like… something was burning inside me. Like it was angry."
Kael's jaw clenched. "Then we don't have much time."
Leira's pulse raced. "Time for what?"
He turned toward the window again, scanning the darkness beyond. The rain had turned violent, slashing against the glass in furious waves. "Until the rest of them find you."
"The rest?" she repeated, moving closer. "You mean there's more of those things?"
His silence was answer enough.
A flash of lightning lit the world outside. In the brief light, Leira saw it, shapes moving along the road, slow and heavy, crawling through the fog.
Her breath caught. "They're already here, aren't they?"
Kael didn't look at her. He just nodded once. "Yes."
Leira's chest tightened. "What do they want from me?"
"Not what," he said softly. "Who. They want the name you carry."
Her voice trembled. "My name is Leira Vance."
Kael turned to face her then, eyes dark and calm like the storm outside. "Not that one."
Leira swallowed hard, confusion twisting in her chest. "Then what name?"
He took a step closer, his voice quiet but heavy with something ancient. "Your true name. The one that was taken from you before you were born."
She shook her head slowly, unable to speak.
Kael's hand tightened around his weapon as thunder rumbled again. "Until you remember it," he said, "you'll never be safe."
Leira stared at him, the glow beneath her skin pulsing faintly, almost like it could hear every word.
"And if I do remember?" she asked quietly.
His eyes met hers, and for the first time, she saw fear in them. "Then everything that's been asleep will wake up."
The wind outside howled, rattling the windows. Somewhere far away, something cried out, high and sharp, like the sky itself had split open.
Kael didn't move. Neither did she.
The storm had finally come for her.