It was morning when Rowena sat on her bed, staring at a book.
It was an unusual book. Not only because she had found it hidden in the attic, but because it was extremely old. The cover was so decayed that it was impossible to read the title.
Rowena was too absorbed to hear her mother calling her for breakfast, so her brother barged into her room, giving her barely half a second to shove the book under her bed cover.
"Can't you knock before barging into my room?!" Rowena snapped.
Her brother was too busy looking around her room to answer.
"Darion! Why haven't you finished your breakfast?" their mother shouted from downstairs. "Come down here right this second—and call Rowena too!"
"Okay! I'm coming, Mom!" Rowena shouted back.
Darion started leaving the room and yelled, "Mom, Rowena said she's not gonna come!"
"I did not!" Rowena shouted after him.
"Can you close the door when you're going?!" she added, even more annoyed.
Before heading downstairs, Rowena sneaked one last glance at the book hidden beneath her bed.
At the breakfast table, she noticed her mother raising a hand toward Darion, clearly about to scold him. Rowena had to bite her lip to stop herself from laughing—but Darion saw her.
"Mom! Rowena's laughing at me!" he complained.
Rowena instantly looked innocent when her mother turned around. As soon as her mom looked away, she stuck her tongue out at Darion, who glared back at her.
Breakfast passed unusually slowly for Rowena. Every bite felt like torture, knowing the strange book was waiting upstairs.
"You're awfully quiet today," her mother said, narrowing her eyes.
"Just tired," Rowena replied quickly, avoiding eye contact.
Darion smirked. "She's hiding something."
"Am not."
"Are too."
"Enough," their mother interrupted. "Both of you. Darion, you're helping me clean the storage room today."
Darion groaned. "That's not fair!"
Rowena's heart jumped. The storage room was right beneath the attic.
"And Rowena," her mother added, "you're not allowed in the attic anymore. It's dangerous."
Rowena froze. "W-What? Why?"
"The beams are old. I don't want you getting hurt."
Rowena nodded, forcing a calm expression—but inside, panic twisted in her chest.
Too late, she thought.
That night, when the house finally fell silent, Rowena slipped out of bed. Moonlight spilled across the floor as she reached under it and pulled out the book.
The moment her fingers touched the cover, the pages began to flip on their own.
Symbols glowed faintly—circles intertwined with strange markings.
Seven of them.
And at the center of the page, written in ink darker than the rest, were the words:
"The Rings have awakened."
The book lay open on Rowena's bed, its pages humming softly, as if it were breathing.
"This is impossible," she whispered.
As her fingers brushed the page, the symbols began to glow brighter. One circle pulsed—stronger than the others.
The ink slowly rearranged itself.
Rowena Sinclair.
Her breath caught.
"That's… my name."
The air in the room grew warm. A strange pressure settled against her chest—not painful, but heavy, like something ancient had recognized her.
Beneath her name, new words appeared:
Bearer by blood. Bound by birth.
"Rowena?" Darion's voice came from the doorway. "Why is your room glowing?"
"Get out!" she hissed.
But it was too late.
Darion stepped closer, and the moment he touched the edge of the book, a second ring flared to life—sharper, louder.
The glow snapped toward him like a thread pulling tight.
Darion yanked his hand back. "What did I just touch?!"
The book flipped violently.
Darion Sinclair.
Bound by blood. Divided by fate.
Rowena stared at him.
"You're… you're part of this too."
"What are guys doing at this time it's 2 in the morning?!"they heard their mom scream from the end of the hall
"Go. Now," their mother said, pointing down the hallway.
Darion sighed dramatically. "I was literally doing nothing."
"You were glowing," she snapped.
"I can't help that," he muttered as he walked past Rowena.
As he reached his room, he leaned closer to her and whispered, "If I wake up possessed, I'm blaming you."
Rowena snorted. "Please. You're not important enough to possess."
Darion scoffed and shut his door—louder than necessary.
Rowena was feeling very sleepy but she couldn't wait for tomorrow to go to school which was weird because she hated school but she wanted to tell her best friends all about this
After a long night it was finally time for Rowena to go to school
After Rowena and Darion got kissed goodbye from their mom Rowena whispered to Darion "meet me and my friends in that alley near our school at lunchtime "
"Ok then ,but you better not do an ancient ritual to call ,I don't know mummies?"
"Shut up this isn't a joke "said Rowena
"Ok ,fine" Darion said before he departed to his class with his 12 grade friends and Rowena went with her friends
"Liora,Alden, I have something important to tell you"Rowena told them
"Like you think anything you say can't be important "said Alden
"I've told my brother to meet us in lunch break in that alley I have to tell you a lot of stuff then"
" why can't you tell us now?" Asked liora
"Because my brother also has to be there "
"Ok,fine"
The bell rang then the friends departed to their class
It was lunch time when the 4 of them met in the alley
Rowena took out the book
Rowena's hands shook as she opened the book.
"You have to promise you won't freak out," she said.
"That depends," one of her best friends replied. "Is this about the glowing attic again?"
"No," Rowena said quietly. "It's about me. And Darion."
She placed the book on the floor between them.
"I didn't choose this," Rowena continued. "But it chose us."
The moment the book touched the ground, it opened by itself.
Two faint rings appeared—one on each side of the page.
Her friends froze.
The symbols shimmered, unsure… as if waiting.
"Nothing's happening," one of them whispered.
Then the page changed.
Not by blood.
But by bond.
A soft warmth wrapped around the room.
One friend gasped as a thin line of light wrapped briefly around their wrist, then vanished.
The other felt a steady pulse in their chest—calm, grounding.
Rowena stared, heart racing.
"It chose you," she said. "Both of you."
One of the rings flickered-just for a moment- before steadying again
"Wait, but what are the rings?" Asked liora
Rowena hesitated.
She looked at Darion.
Darion shrugged. "We're not experts."
Rowena took a breath. "We don't know everything," she said. "We barely know anything."
Alden frowned. "Then how do you know they're called Rings?"
Rowena opened the book again.
The symbols rearranged themselves slowly, as if responding to the question.
Seven circles formed across the page. Each one was different.
"The book calls them Rings," Rowena said. "Seven of them. Spread across the world."
"And they're not jewelry," Darion added. "They don't just sit on your finger."
Liora crossed her arms. "Then what are they?"
"Powers," Rowena said quietly. "Or… pieces of something bigger."
The page darkened around one symbol—jagged, sharp.
Darion swallowed. "They change things. People too."
Alden glanced at his hand. "So you're saying this just—picked us?"
Rowena nodded. "I think it chooses based on who you are. Or who you'll become."
Rowena's hand hovered above the page. The jagged Ring pulsed, not with light, but with a quiet hum, almost like it was breathing. She felt it in her chest, tugging, whispering.
"We can't just leave it," she said, though her voice shook.
Darion leaned back. "Or… we could," he muttered, eyes flicking nervously around the room. "What if it's dangerous? What if it chooses… wrong?"
Liora scowled. "Wrong? It's already chosen us. Can't you feel it?" She stretched her hand toward the page, but hesitated, her fingers hovering over the glowing symbol.
Alden's brow furrowed. "Wait. Why us? We're not… special. Why not someone else?"
Rowena swallowed. "I don't know. Maybe that's the point. Maybe it sees something in us that… we can't even see in ourselves yet."
For a long moment, no one spoke. The room felt smaller, heavier, as if the air itself was waiting for them to decide. The symbols pulsed again, softly this time, a gentle heartbeat, but enough to make their stomachs twist.
Finally, Rowena closed the book with a sharp snap. "We need to understand it first," she said. "We can't just rush off blindly."
Darion ran a hand through his hair. "Fine. But how do we… understand it? It's like it's alive. I can feel it watching me."
The group moved closer to the window. Outside, the first snow of the season fell, tiny flakes drifting down like silent watchers. The Ring's pulse seemed to echo in the quiet, whispering promises they didn't understand.
And as they watched, a shadow flickered beyond the trees. Just a glimpse, but enough to make Rowena's heart skip. Someone else was moving, someone who might already know the Ring's secret…
They heard the bell ring and hurried off to their class
"Come to my house today,ok?"Rowena told Liora and Alden and they agreed without any hesitation
Rowena's mom was waiting at the door for her like everyday
"How was school today darling " asked Rowena's mom "like always,boring" Rowena answered "and mom liora and Alden are going to come later ,ok?,is that fine with you ? "
"Yes, of course it's fine honey ,but make sure to do your homework otherwise it won't be the first time your teacher has called me"