The storm that had begun at dusk had not yet passed. Rain lashed against the Sanctuary's barrier like claws, a frenzy of cold needles angry at being denied entry. Inside, however, silence reigned—heavy, suffocating, thick with questions no one dared to ask aloud.
Elara sat at the edge of the narrow cot they had given her. Her fingers twisted in the sheet, restless, betraying everything she tried to hide. She was exhausted, yet the moment she closed her eyes, she saw Lucien's face—the fear in his eyes, the desperation, the breaking.
And underneath all of that…
The truth he almost said.
His real name.
His real origin.
His real curse.
He had almost told her everything.
Almost.
Her heart ached from the weight of it. She had felt his emotions through the bond—sharp, frantic, unrestrained—but now he had locked them away again, walls rising faster than she could lower hers.
"They won't hurt him," she whispered to herself for the fiftieth time. "They can't."
But the Sanctuary was unpredictable. Elias had said she was safe here, but Lucien?
Lucien was the very creature they had been created to fight.
The door creaked open.
Elara lifted her head instantly.
Elias stepped inside, his expression shadowed but gentle. "You should rest."
"I can't." Her voice cracked as she stood. "Elias, I felt him breaking. He didn't mean to use the bond. It was instinct—he was scared. You know what they'll do if they think he's a threat."
Elias exhaled slowly. "Elara… he is a threat. Even if he doesn't want to be."
"Not to me." She stepped closer. "Never to me."
He hesitated—not because he doubted her, but because he doubted everything else.
"The Elders want to question him," Elias finally admitted. "They sensed a surge of dark magic in the forest. They think he triggered it."
"He didn't," she snapped. "I did."
Elias blinked. "What?"
Elara swallowed. "My powers… something inside me reacted when Lucien panicked. It was like… something ancient woke up."
He stared at her, stunned. "Elara—why didn't you say this sooner?"
Because I was scared. Because I don't understand myself. Because every day I feel something inside me growing stronger, and I don't know if I can control it.
Instead she said, "Because I don't want them to use it as another reason to hurt him."
Elias paced, running a hand through his hair. "Letting a vampire inside our walls was already dangerous. But if the Elders believe he triggered an awakening in you… they'll want to separate you. Permanently."
Elara felt her knees weaken.
Permanently.
The word tasted like ashes.
"No," she whispered. "They can't. I won't let them."
Elias placed a hand on her shoulder. "Then you need to be honest—with me, and with them. What exactly did you feel?"
She closed her eyes.
And she remembered.
Lucien's voice cracking as he begged her not to leave him.
His darkness curling around her, not to harm—but to shield.
Her heart racing, her power surging, mixing with his…
And then that whisper—
A whisper not from him, but from somewhere deeper.
Elara… rise.
She shivered.
"I don't know what it was," she confessed softly. "But it felt old. Like I'm not just a healer. Like there's something else inside me."
Elias's face turned pale. "I was afraid of that."
"What does that mean?" she demanded.
He hesitated… then whispered the words she had always feared.
"Elara… you might not be entirely human."
Her breath caught.
"What?"
Elias motioned for her to sit, but she remained frozen.
"There were records," he continued carefully. "The Riverborn were said to be descendants of a powerful ancient bloodline—something beyond magic, beyond healing. Something the Elders feared. But every generation after the War was believed to be diluted. Harmless. Until now."
"That doesn't make sense," Elara rasped. "My parents—they were ordinary."
Elias shook his head. "Your foster parents, Elara."
Her heart slammed. "My what?"
He nodded slowly. "You were found at the riverbank as a child. Wrapped in cloth marked with an ancient sigil. The Sanctuary elders decided it was safer if you grew up believing you were normal."
Normal.
A lie.
Her entire life had been wrapped in silence and secrets.
It felt like the floor tilted beneath her feet.
She sat down abruptly, hands trembling. "Why didn't anyone tell me?"
"Because we never saw signs of the ancient lineage in you," Elias said gently. "Until Lucien touched your blood."
Her head whipped up. "What?"
"The night he saved you. Your blood interacted with his. That's when the elders first noticed… something awakening."
Everything flashed in her mind—
Lucien collapsing after tasting her blood.
The glowing pulse under her skin.
The bond forming, stronger than anything a human should carry.
"Elara," Elias said, voice softening even more, "I think your bond with Lucien didn't just happen. I think it was predestined. Written long before either of you was born."
She felt a tear slide down her cheek.
If that was true, then everything—every moment of fear, every pull toward him, every impossible connection—
None of it was an accident.
Before she could speak, a sudden gust of cold ripped through the room, snuffing the candle flame and plunging them into darkness.
Elias stiffened. "What was that?"
Elara's heart pounded. The air shimmered with a strange hum—familiar, electric.
And then, unmistakably—
Lucien's voice echoed in her mind.
Elara… they're coming for you.
Her breath hitched. "Lucien?"
Elias grabbed her arm. "How are you hearing him? The bond should be blocked inside the eastern wing."
"I—don't know." She clutched her chest as the voice pulsed through her mind, stronger, frantic. "Something's wrong. He's scared."
A second whisper cracked through her skull, raw with anger.
They want your power. They want to break us. Don't trust the Elders. Don't trust—
His voice abruptly cut off.
"Elara?" Elias asked urgently.
She gasped. "Something silenced him."
Lightning flashed outside, illuminating the entire Sanctuary for a heartbeat—just long enough for Elara to see a shadow moving across the courtyard.
A group of Elders.
Headed toward the holding chamber.
Headed toward Lucien.
"No," she breathed. "I have to get to him. Now."
Elias blocked the door. "Elara, you can't just run after him—"
"He's alone!" she shouted. "He thinks they're coming for me. Elias, please—let me go to him."
Elias looked torn, conflict raging behind his eyes.
Finally, he whispered, "I'll help you."
Relief flooded her—but before she could thank him, another presence filled the doorway.
A tall figure in silver robes.
An Elder.
But not just any Elder.
Elder Marcellus.
The man who had been against Lucien from the beginning.
"Going somewhere, child?" Marcellus's voice was soft, but cold enough to freeze blood.
Elara clenched her fists.
He smiled thinly. "You should not concern yourself with the vampire. The questioning will be brief."
"He's not dangerous," she said, stepping forward.
"That is not for you to decide." Marcellus's gaze drifted to her chest—right where her power stirred. "Especially not when your own nature is… unstable."
Elias stiffened. "Marcellus, let us pass."
"I'm afraid I can't do that," the Elder murmured. "The girl is to be taken to the Inner Hall for evaluation. Immediately."
Elara's pulse thundered. "I'm not going anywhere without Lucien."
Marcellus tilted his head slightly.
"Then you leave us no choice."
With a flick of his hand, the air thickened. A binding spell surged toward her—silver ropes of light—but before it could touch her…
Something inside her snapped.
A force burst outward from her chest, shattering the spell midair.
The shockwave shook the walls, cracking stone.
Elias stumbled back, eyes wide.
Marcellus paled.
And Elara…
Elara stood glowing—her skin lit with ancient golden fire.
Her breath trembled.
"What… what did I just do?"
Marcellus stared at her, horrified and fascinated. "Gods above… the prophecy was real."
"What prophecy?" she demanded.
But he didn't answer.
Instead, he whispered four words that changed everything—
"You are the Awakener."