Chapter 8 They Are Already Here

Gina’s POV

Silence doesn’t feel like silence anymore.

Not after hearing those words.

They’re calling her name.

The warrior collapsed to the floor, blood pooling beneath him, his breath shallow and broken. No one moved at first. No one even seemed to understand what they had just heard.

Then panic exploded.

“No… no, that’s impossible!”

“Hundreds of creatures?”

“Calling her name?”

“That’s a trick this is her doing!”

The hall turned into chaos again, but I couldn’t hear most of it.

My body felt frozen.

My name.

They were calling my name.

Gabriel’s hand tightened around my waist instantly, pulling me slightly closer without even thinking. His body shielded mine completely now, like instinct had taken over thought.

“Stay behind me,” he said low.

I didn’t argue.

Not because I agreed.

Because something inside me… shifted at his touch.

The whispers in my head had gone quiet again.

But the silence felt worse.

Selene stepped forward slowly, her eyes fixed on the warrior.

“Where are they now?” she demanded.

The warrior coughed violently.

“Forest border… moving fast… too fast…”

His eyes flicked toward me again.

“They’re not attacking anything else… only moving inward…”

A cold wave ran through my body.

Only inward.

Only toward me.

Brennan suddenly shouted from the crowd again.

“She’s summoning them! That’s what she’s been doing all along!”

“No,” I whispered automatically, shaking my head.

But my voice sounded small.

Uncertain.

Even to me.

Gabriel turned his head slightly.

“Look at me,” he said quietly.

I did.

His silver eyes were steady.

Unshaken.

“Breathe,” he said.

I tried.

But my chest wouldn’t listen properly.

Because somewhere deep beneath the ground… I felt it again.

That pull.

That same presence from before.

But stronger now.

Closer.

Selene raised her hand sharply.

“Seal the hall.”

The elders moved instantly, warriors rushing to the doors.

But Gabriel’s voice cut through them.

“Too late.”

Everyone froze.

Even Selene turned toward him sharply.

“What do you mean?”

Gabriel didn’t answer immediately.

His eyes were fixed on something outside the hall.

Something only he could sense.

The ground trembled.

Soft at first.

Then stronger.

Dust fell from the ceiling beams.

People started backing away in panic.

“What is happening?” someone shouted.

The torches flickered violently.

Then

A sound.

Low.

Deep.

Like something enormous breathing beneath the earth.

My heart slammed against my ribs.

I knew that sound.

Somehow… I knew it.

Gabriel moved instantly, pulling me behind him fully now.

His voice dropped lower.

“Whatever is coming… it’s not stopping.”

Selene’s expression changed for the first time.

Not anger.

Not control.

Something closer to fear.

“No…” she whispered. “It should not be waking yet.”

That sentence hit me harder than anything else.

It should not be waking yet.

Meaning it already was.

The ground cracked slightly near the center of the hall.

People screamed and stumbled backward.

A thin black line spread across the stone floor like veins.

From the earth.

Something beneath us was breaking through.

Brennan fell back in terror.

“This is her!” he screamed. “She’s doing this!”

But I couldn’t even respond anymore.

Because the whispers returned.

Not in fragments.

Not distant.

All at once.

Open.

My vision blurred.

Pain exploded through my chest again, sharper than before.

I gasped.

Gabriel caught me immediately, one arm around my back now fully supporting me.

“Gina!”

I shook my head weakly.

“It hurts…”

“I know,” he said, voice tighter now.

But I could tell he didn’t actually understand.

Because even he was struggling to stand steady now.

The power in the hall… was rising.

Selene stepped back slowly.

“This is impossible…”

Gabriel looked at her sharply.

“What is she?”

Selene didn’t answer.

That silence was answer enough.

The cracks in the floor widened.

A low glow began leaking from beneath the stone.

Not fire.

Not light.

Something older.

Something alive.

The warrior who had collapsed earlier suddenly screamed again.

“They’re here!”

The doors behind us exploded open.

Night air rushed into the hall violently.

And then

I felt it.

Not just fear.

Not just presence.

Recognition.

Every creature outside stopped at the same time.

Like they had found what they were searching for.

Every head turned toward the hall.

Toward me.

Gabriel tightened his hold on me slightly.

And for the first time…

His voice was not calm.

It was dangerous.

“They’re not coming to destroy us,” he said slowly.

A pause.

Then the truth that made my blood run cold:

“They’re coming for her.”