The ancient door creaked louder this time, the sound dragging across the library like a scream through silence. Elara turned instantly, her heart thudding in her ears. Lucien's body tensed beside her, one hand slowly reaching toward the satchel slung over his shoulder—a satchel that always seemed heavier than just books.
"Elara, don't move," he whispered.
The candlelight flickered violently. The temperature dropped.
Then… a voice.
"Elara…"
It was not human. It wasn't entirely inhuman either—it slithered through the air like smoke, like memory. It wrapped itself around her name, as if tasting it.
Elara stepped back instinctively. "Who… who said that?"
Lucien's face was pale. "It's the Veil," he murmured. "It's trying to breach. This library sits on one of its oldest cracks."
Another step. Another creak.
From the shadows emerged a figure cloaked in deep violet mist, its face obscured, its presence bending the light around it. Elara's breath hitched, and the pendant on her neck grew hot against her skin.
"I told you," the voice said again. "The girl remembers. The blood wakes."
Lucien stood in front of Elara now, shielding her with his body. "She's not ready. Leave her alone."
The figure tilted its head. "She was born ready."
And then—it vanished. The cold disappeared in a snap, and the candles steadied.
Elara stood frozen. "What was that?"
Lucien turned to face her, every part of him rigid with fear. "A Whisper. A creature from beyond the Veil. They don't come through unless the boundaries are already fractured."
"But why now?" Elara asked, her voice hoarse. "Why me?"
Lucien sighed. "Because something—or someone—is forcing the Veil open. And it's targeting you. They need you to finish the breach."
Elara gripped her pendant tighter. "Then we stop them."
A flicker of admiration passed through Lucien's eyes, but it was brief. "We'll need help. You'll need training. There are others—like you, with old bloodlines. They've stayed hidden. If we can find them, we might stand a chance."
Elara swallowed the rising panic. "Where do we start?"
Lucien opened the leather book once more and turned to a page marked with a symbol—a circle crossed with six blades. "There's a place deep in the Blackwood Forest. An old Warden sanctuary. If anyone survived the fall of the old bloodlines, they'll be there."
Suddenly, a sharp pain split through Elara's head. She clutched her temple, eyes wide as a vision clawed its way into her mind.
A burning forest.
A girl screaming.
A wolf with silver eyes.
And… the pendant—melting in her hand.
"Elara?" Lucien's voice snapped her back.
She gasped. "I saw something. Something bad. I think someone's trying to stop us before we even begin."
Lucien looked at her for a long moment, then nodded. "Then we move tonight."