جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 20

Aurenya’s POVThe darkness stayed.No fire. No light. Just breathing.Mine came too fast.The cabin felt smaller without sight—walls closing in, shadows pressing too close. Somewhere near me, Arinya shifted. I heard the scrape of her shoe against the floorboards.“Mama?”“I’m here,” I said quickly.My voice sounded thin.Rhydan’s hand stayed locked around my arm, steady and warm, like he expected me to collapse again.Outside, nothing moved.That was worse.The Shadow Wolves should’ve attacked already.They should’ve torn through the doorway the second the lights went out.But they didn’t.They were waiting.And I knew exactly who they were waiting for.A pulse rolled through my chest.Sharp enough to steal my breath.I grabbed Rhydan’s arm instinctively.He felt it immediately.“You okay?”“No.”Honest. Automatic.Another pulse followed.Lower this time.Deeper.Like something shifting under my ribs.Draven’s voice came from somewhere ahead. “It’s getting stronger.”“Obviously,” Rhyd

Aurenya’s POVRun.The word didn’t feel like mine.It slammed through my mind like it had been there all along—waiting.My body reacted before I could think.I stumbled back, dragging Lyssara with me.Rhydan moved instantly, stepping in front of us.Kaelor shifted to the left, blocking the broken doorway.Draven didn’t move.He was watching the hooded figure.Still.Focused.Like he was trying to read something no one else could see.The forest went completely silent.Even the Shadow Wolves outside stopped pacing.Like whatever just arrived…changed the rules.The hooded figure took one slow step forward.Then another.No rush.No hesitation.Just certainty.And with every step—That pressure inside my chest tightened.Harder.Stronger.Pain laced through my ribs.I gritted my teeth.“What is that?” Rhydan growled.No one answered him.Because we didn’t know.The figure stopped just outside the broken doorway.Moonlight hit its hood.But still—No face.Just darkness underneath.Then

Aurenya’s POVThe sound wasn’t in my ears.It was inside my bones.A low, steady pulse—like something waking up after a long, forced sleep.I staggered back a step.Rhydan tightened his grip instantly. “Hey—stay with me.”“I am,” I said quickly.But I wasn’t sure if that was true anymore.The pulse came again.Deeper this time.More deliberate.Like it had noticed I was listening.Outside, the leader didn’t move.It just watched me.Patient.Almost… satisfied.Kaelor’s voice was tense now. “Something is changing.”Draven didn’t take his eyes off me. “It’s already changed.”My breath caught.“No,” I whispered. “It hasn’t.”But even as I said it—the floor beneath my feet responded.A faint tremor.Not physical at first.Energy.The cabin lights flickered weakly again, like they were struggling against something pressing in from all sides.Lyssara stepped closer to me, her small hand gripping my sleeve tighter.“It’s louder now,” she said softly.I looked down at her.“What is?”She hes

Aurenya’s POVI didn’t sleep again after that.Not properly.Every time I closed my eyes, it felt like something was waiting just behind them—patient, steady, like it knew I would eventually look inward again.So I stayed awake.Or tried to.The room was quieter now.Rhydan had left the edge of the bed at some point, moving to stand near the doorway instead. Kaelor hadn’t moved much at all—still by the window, still watching like he was waiting for something outside to become a problem.Draven was the only one who looked unchanged.Like nothing about this situation surprised him.Like he had already accepted the worst version of it.My fingers tightened slightly against the blanket.“…How long was I out?” I asked.Rhydan answered first. “A few hours.”That short?It didn’t feel like a few hours.It felt like I had been pulled out of time and dropped back in.I pushed myself up slowly, ignoring the mild dizziness this time.No one stopped me.That alone told me they were watching me di

Aurenya’s POVThe silence after Draven’s last words didn’t fade.It stayed.Heavy. Pressing. Alive in a way silence shouldn’t be.I sat there, staring at nothing in particular, while everything inside me tried to reorganize itself around information I didn’t ask for.Incomplete.Sealed.Split.None of it felt real.And yet my body reacted like it was remembering something my mind refused to hold.Rhydan moved first, breaking the stillness.“We’re not doing the call tonight,” he said firmly.Kaelor exhaled slowly. “We don’t have control over that decision anymore.”Rhydan shot him a look. “We always have control.”Draven’s voice cut in, calm but final. “Not over this.”That shut the room down again.I hated how easily he did that.Like facts were weapons and he didn’t bother raising his voice to use them.I pushed myself up slightly, ignoring the dizziness that followed. “Stop talking like I’m not here.”All three of them looked at me at once.Good.I needed that.“I don’t care what yo