LOGINBefore I could answer, something shifted in front of us in a way that made the space feel occupied instead of empty, and I said, “It’s not choosing between people, it’s choosing what holds when everything else breaks.”Ryan frowned slightly, his hand still firm around mine. “That still sounds like a choice to me.”“It is,” Ethan said, stepping closer with a steadier tone that didn’t quite hide the tension underneath. “Just not the kind you’re thinking.”Ryan didn’t look at him. “Then explain it in a way that actually makes sense.”“It’s not deciding who she wants,” Ethan said. “It’s deciding what she is.”Ryan went quiet for a second, then said, “That’s worse.”I felt it again, stronger now, not just inside me but in front of me, like something that had been waiting finally stopped hiding, and I said, “It’s not just a presence anymore, it’s here.”Ryan’s grip tightened immediately. “Define ‘here’ before you do anything else.”“I don’t need to move,” I said. “It already reached me.”So
The words didn’t feel like a guess, they felt exact, like something already confirmed inside me.Ryan didn’t speak immediately, his hand still holding mine, his thumb pressing slightly like he needed to be sure I was still there, and then he said, “Us as in all of us, or us as in you and me, because those are two very different situations.”“I don’t think it’s about all of us,” I said. “It feels specific.”“That’s not better,” Ryan said quietly. “That just narrows it down in a way I don’t like.”Ethan stepped closer without interrupting, his voice steady. “Then it’s reacting to a bond.”Ryan glanced at him. “Say that again in a way that actually helps.”“It’s not just her,” Ethan said. “Something about who she’s connected to matters.”Ryan frowned. “Connected how.”Ethan didn’t answer directly, his gaze shifting briefly between us before settling again. “You’re already part of it.”Ryan went still for a second. “No, don’t do that, don’t drag me into something without explaining it.”“
“It’s not here, it’s further ahead,” I said, not slowing. “This spot isn’t it.”Ryan kept pace beside me, his breathing uneven like he wanted to stop me but knew it wouldn’t work. “Further where, because we already crossed out and that was already pushing it, we don’t just keep walking into something we don’t understand.”“I know where it is,” I said. “I just can’t explain it.”“That’s exactly the problem,” he said. “You’re moving like you’ve done this before and you haven’t.”“I haven’t,” I said. “It just feels familiar.”Ethan’s voice came from behind, steady but closer now. “Keep moving, hesitation will only break the alignment.”Ryan glanced back briefly. “You always say things like that like it’s simple, it’s not simple.”“It’s not simple,” Ethan said. “It’s already happening.”I slowed just a little. “It’s close.”Ryan looked ahead again. “I still don’t see anything, and that’s really starting to bother me.”“You won’t,” I said. “Not yet.”“Yeah, that answer again,” he muttered.
Ryan’s grip tightened fast. “No, no— it spoke again, didn’t it, I can see it on your face, what did it say this time.”I exhaled slowly. “It said… I took my time.”“That’s not better,” Ryan said under his breath. “That sounds like it’s been waiting, like this isn’t new to it.”“It isn’t,” Ethan said quietly.Ryan turned. “You keep saying things like that like they’re obvious, they’re not, so say it properly.”Ethan didn’t answer him. “Is it closer now.”“Yes,” I said. “Not just closer… it feels like I’m already inside it.”Ryan shook his head. “No, we’re not doing that, we don’t go further, we stop right here.”“I can’t stop here,” I said.“You keep saying that,” Ryan said, stepping in front of me now. “Then say something different, say you won’t move, just once.”I looked at him.“I can’t promise that.”Ryan let out a quiet breath, frustrated but softer now. “Yeah… figured you’d say that.”“It’s not about leaving you behind,” I said. “It just… doesn’t feel like something I’m allowed
“You heard that too, right… tell me I’m not the only one,” Ryan said, his voice low but unsteady. “Because that didn’t come from anywhere normal.”I didn’t answer immediately, my focus still caught on it, that voice, too clear, too close, and I said, “It wasn’t outside… it was inside, like it knew exactly where to reach.”Ryan swore under his breath. “Yeah, no, I don’t like that, I don’t like anything about that, voices in your head don’t just happen.”“It wasn’t random,” I said. “It knew me.”“That’s worse,” Ryan said quickly. “That’s so much worse.”Ethan stepped closer this time, not holding distance anymore. “What exactly did it say.”I swallowed slightly. “It said… I’m late.”Ryan let out a sharp breath. “Late for what, that’s— no, that implies timing, like something’s already been waiting.”“It has,” Ethan said quietly.Ryan turned to him immediately. “Don’t do that, don’t say things like that and stop, finish it.”Ethan didn’t look away from me. “If it spoke, then the connectio
“It’s not fading,” I said, my voice low, “it’s getting clearer, like it knows exactly where it wants me to go.”Ryan’s grip tightened slightly as he said, “Go where, because you’re not just walking out of here after everything that just happened, that’s not happening.”“I’m not trying to walk out,” I said, “but it’s not staying still, it’s pulling in one direction now.”“That’s exactly why we don’t follow it, because now it knows where it wants you and I don’t trust that,” Ryan said, shaking his head. “You don’t just trust something like this.”“I know what manipulation feels like and this isn’t that, it’s not forcing me,” I said. “It’s not pushing, it’s just there, waiting.”“That doesn’t make it safe, it just makes it harder to fight and I don’t like anything that feels this convincing,” Ryan said. “That’s how people get pulled in without realizing it.”Ethan’s voice came quieter. “Where exactly do you feel it, don’t just say outside, point it out.”I glanced at him. “You already kn
The crowd gasped as my skin burned and my vision blurred.“Her mark is glowing,” someone said. “That’s not normal.”“What is happening to you?” Ryan asked, stepping closer. His voice dropped like he already knew this wasn’t something simple.“I don’t know and you don’t get to ask me anything,” I sa
Evening settled slowly over the pack, the movement thinning but never fully stopping, and Ryan glanced around before saying, “Something’s off again, it’s quieter but not in a calm way, more like everyone’s waiting for something.”“I feel it too,” I said, “it’s heavier now, like the air changed and
Everything stayed still for a second too long after the surge, then movement returned in a different way. “They’re not even hiding it now, they’re just… watching you like it’s decided.” Ryan said.“I didn’t do that on purpose,” I said, my voice tighter than before, “I didn’t even know that was goi
“We’re leaving,” I said. “Right now.”“You’re not going anywhere,” a voice cut in.I didn’t need to turn. “Of course you’d show up now.”“Step away from her,” Ryan said.“No,” Ethan replied. “You don’t give me orders.”“I wasn’t talking to you,” Ryan said. “I was talking to her.”“I heard you,” I s







