Nova stumbled through the underbrush, her breath coming in ragged gasps. The forest around her whispered secrets through rustling leaves and creaking branches. Each step she took echoed like a drumbeat in her ears, but she didn't dare stop. Not now. Not when she could still feel the burn of eyes watching her.
Behind her, the memory of the cloaked figure in the alley haunted her. She had escaped… barely. But questions still clawed at her mind—who was that? Why had they spoken her name as if it were sacred… or cursed?
The moon filtered through the tree canopy in splintered shafts, illuminating a worn trail up ahead. She followed it blindly, her instincts guiding her deeper into the unknown. Somewhere inside, she knew she wasn't lost. Something—or someone—was calling to her.
"Nova…"
She halted. That voice.
It wasn't the first time she'd heard it. It came in her dreams, in moments when the silence stretched too long. It was a man's voice, low, gravelly, with an almost soothing edge to it. But this time, it wasn't in her mind.
"Who's there?" she called out, her voice shaking.
Silence answered her.
Nova's fingers curled tighter around the old medallion she had retrieved from the attic. Its heat pulsed stronger now, synchronized with the wild rhythm of her heart. She took a step forward.
Branches shifted up ahead, and a silhouette emerged from the shadows—tall, lean, dressed in black. His eyes glowed faintly in the moonlight, silver and stormy.
"You've come," he said, his voice matching the one in her head.
Nova stepped back, heart hammering. "Who are you?"
"My name is Kael," he said. "And I've been waiting for you, Nova Rae."
She froze. "How do you know my name?"
Kael stepped closer, the shadows clinging to him like loyal companions. "Because our fates are bound. You carry the mark… and they'll be coming for you soon."
Nova's pulse spiked. "You mean the Council?"
"No," Kael replied, his tone darkening. "Something far worse."
He reached into his coat and pulled out a parchment—old, brittle, and inked with ancient runes. Nova's gaze drifted to the center. It was a sketch… of her.
"I don't understand," she whispered.
"You were never meant to be ordinary," Kael said. "You are the key to ending what began centuries ago."
The weight of his words crashed into her like a tidal wave. Nova had always sensed there was more to her life—more to the dreams, the shadows, the flickers of memories she couldn't explain. But hearing it confirmed by a stranger, a man who spoke like he'd walked through time itself, was almost too much.
"I'm not ready for this," she murmured.
"You don't have a choice."
Suddenly, a howl pierced the night. It was long, guttural, and too close.
Kael's eyes snapped toward the treeline. "They've found you. We have to move."
Nova hesitated. "Why should I trust you?"
Kael's gaze softened. "Because I'm the only one who won't use you."
That was enough for now.
Nova nodded, and together, they vanished into the shadows.