UNTIL THE END OF ME

CHAPTER FIVE

As the light from the stone circle dimmed, Olivia stood slowly, the air still humming with power. Her body felt… different. Not changed exactly, but unlocked. Like a door in her soul had been kicked wide open.

Liam watched her carefully. “You okay?”

She nodded. “Yeah. Just… trying not to panic.”

“Good,” he said. “Because I don’t think we’re alone anymore.”

A loud crack split the silence—wood splintering, followed by a low growl that didn’t sound even remotely human.

Olivia’s head snapped toward the greenhouse doors. A shadow slithered across the moonlight—fast, low, wrong.

Liam moved first, shielding her. “We need to leave.”

“But—”

“Now.”

They sprinted for the far exit, boots crunching across broken glass and moss. But just as they reached the rusted side door, it blew inward, hurled off its hinges like paper.

A creature stood there—tall, skeletal, and lurching with too many joints. Its body was black, veined with glowing silver cracks like lightning buried under obsidian skin. Where its eyes should be were burning hollows, and its mouth stretched impossibly wide, full of smoke and whispering voices.

It wasn’t like the cloaked figure in the café.

This one was made for destruction.

“Back,” Liam ordered, shoving her behind him. His tattoos flared again—gold light climbing his arms like vines.

The creature shrieked.

And then it moved.

Liam raised his hands. A ripple of power burst from his chest, flinging the creature back—but it rolled, twisted, landed on all fours, and lunged again.

Too fast.

Olivia acted on instinct.

She raised her palm—and flame erupted from her fingers, wild and untamed. It struck the creature square in the chest, sending it skidding back with a roar of pain.

Liam’s eyes went wide. “You remembered how to use it.”

“I didn’t try,” she breathed. “It just happened.”

The creature screeched again—louder this time—and two more shadows slithered in through the shattered windows. Smaller, quicker. Their bodies shifted constantly, never staying one shape for long.

“They sent hunters,” Liam growled. “They know you're waking up.”

“What do we do?”

He grabbed her hand. “Run.”

They fled into the woods beyond the greenhouse. The trees were thick, roots gnarled and rising like ribs from the earth. But the shadows followed, bounding through the dark, clawed limbs reaching through branches.

One of the smaller creatures got ahead—leapt from a tree, slashing toward Olivia.

She ducked. The pendant pulsed.

And time slowed.

She turned mid-fall, flames trailing her fingers—and she hurled fire at the beast, pure and white-hot. It screeched and vanished into smoke.

Liam reached her, breathless. “That wasn’t beginner’s luck.”

“I think,” she gasped, “I’m done pretending to be normal.”

He grinned, fierce and proud.

Then—

The large hunter burst through the trees again, its body crackling with power now, feeding off the darkness. It opened its mouth, and a hundred whispering voices escaped at once.

“You are ours.”

Liam stepped forward. “Like hell.”

He thrust out both hands. A golden shockwave exploded from his chest, slamming into the creature and hurling it backward into a tree with enough force to crack its spine.

The forest quieted.

Smoke curled through the underbrush.

And then… nothing.

Olivia panted. “Are they dead?”

“For now,” Liam said. “But they’ll be back. Stronger. That one was testing you. They’re trying to see how much you remember—how much power you’ve regained.”

Olivia looked down at her trembling hands. “They know I’m waking up.”

“Yes,” Liam said. “And that means others will come next. Not just shadows.”

She turned to him slowly. “Who?”

He hesitated. “The ones who cursed us. The ones who feared what you were.”

Lightning flashed on the horizon. A storm was coming.

And this time, Olivia knew—

She wouldn’t run from it.

The storm broke overhead just as Olivia and Liam reached the edge of the abandoned train yard. Rusted metal and weeds surrounded them, hulking cars and graffiti-covered walls hiding whatever secrets still lingered.

“This is the place?” Olivia asked, dripping wet beneath her hood.

Liam nodded. “If she’s still alive, she’ll be here.”

“Who is she?”

“A Watcher. Name’s Ayanda. She remembers more than either of us—and she never forgets a soul she’s seen before.”

“Watcher sounds... ominous.”

Liam gave a grim smile. “Because it is.”

They ducked beneath twisted chain-link fencing, weaving through overturned rail cars. Lightning cracked above them. Olivia’s pulse picked up—not out of fear, but anticipation. Her powers still simmered beneath her skin like a newly lit fuse.

They reached the old control tower—half-buried in vines and rust. A door stood crooked on its hinges.

Liam knocked once. Then twice.

Then he whispered something Olivia couldn’t hear—words not in English. Not in any language she knew.

The door creaked open on its own.

Inside, a fire burned low in a metal drum. A woman sat in the corner, cloaked in layers of scarves and silver jewelry, eyes reflecting the flames. Her gaze flicked up—sharp, ancient.

“You brought her,” she said, voice deep, lyrical.

Liam stepped forward. “She’s waking up. We need your help.”

Ayanda’s eyes landed on Olivia, narrowing.

“You’re different this time.”

“You remember me?” Olivia asked, stepping forward.

Ayanda tilted her head. “I remember all your faces. The girl of flame. The cursed star.”

Olivia flinched. “What does that mean?”

But Ayanda wasn’t looking at her anymore.

She was looking at the glowing pendant around Olivia’s neck.

“She broke the first seal,” she murmured.

Liam tensed. “Already?”

Ayanda stood, her bangles jangling. “Then you don’t have time. You’ll need the others.”

“Others?”

“The ones who survived the last war. The ones who swore never to interfere again.”

Olivia frowned. “So, wait. There are more like us?”

Ayanda smiled—a sad, secret smile.

“There were always more. They just forgot.”

Ayanda’s fire flickered like a heartbeat, steady and unwavering, casting dancing shadows on the walls of the tower. Olivia’s boots crunched against the dirt floor as she followed Liam deeper into the dimly lit space.

Ayanda sat cross-legged in front of the fire, her silver bangles clinking softly as she adjusted a scarf over her shoulders. Her eyes, ancient and knowing, flicked to Olivia without hesitation.

“You’ve come at last,” she said in a voice that resonated like thunder across still water. “The girl of flame. The one who burns yet does not fall.”

Olivia’s breath caught in her throat. The words struck something deep within her, a memory that didn’t belong to her—a past life where she was the flame, where fire didn’t scare her, it sang to her.

“You remember me,” Olivia said, her voice a little breathless. “How?”

Ayanda’s smile was both a blessing and a curse, a curve of mystery. “I remember every face you’ve worn. Every life you’ve lived. And I remember the fire in your hands.”

Liam stepped forward, urgency in his posture. “We need your help. She’s waking up, Ayanda. The seals are breaking.”

Ayanda’s eyes narrowed, as if reading the weight of Liam’s words. She reached for a bundle of old cloth beside her, unwrapping it to reveal an ancient scroll, its edges frayed and worn.

“I can see it in her eyes,” Ayanda said, unrolling the scroll with practiced grace. The symbols on the parchment seemed to shift and move beneath Olivia’s gaze, like they were alive. “The past is stirring within you, Olivia. You must remember more—before it’s too late.”

Olivia’s fingers twitched, her pulse quickening. “What am I supposed to remember?”

Ayanda didn’t answer right away. She glanced down at the scroll, then back at Olivia, her expression grave.

“Everything. You will remember the fire. The destruction. The curse.”

A chill ran down Olivia’s spine. She looked at Liam, unsure, but he only nodded—his face a mask of calm urgency.

“There’s someone else we need to find,” Liam said, his voice low.

Ayanda stood fluidly, the firelight making her silver jewelry glimmer like stardust. “I will take you to him,” she said. “But be warned: He does not speak the way we do.”

“What do you mean?” Olivia asked, frowning.

Ayanda gestured toward the far corner of the room, where a figure stood half-hidden in the shadows.

Olivia froze. The boy was small, his skin pale, almost translucent beneath the light. His hair, black as midnight, framed his face in sharp angles. But what caught her attention were his eyes—silver, shining like twin moons in the darkness.

He didn’t speak.

Instead, he simply watched.

Liam gave a slight nod toward the boy. “This is him. The one who remembers everything you’ve forgotten.”

Olivia’s throat went dry. “Who is he?”

Ayanda’s gaze softened. “His name is Zuberi, though he has not spoken since the last life. He remembers you—your every choice, every mistake, every victory. But his memories are not for the living to hear, unless you’re ready.”

Zuberi took a small step forward, his silver eyes locking with Olivia’s. There was something ancient and sad in them, something that made her stomach tighten. He reached into the folds of his coat and pulled out a small, weathered book, its cover adorned with symbols she didn’t recognize.

He held it out to her—silent, waiting.

Liam’s voice was soft, almost a whisper. “Zuberi speaks in dreams. When he gives you the book, you’ll understand.”

Olivia glanced between Ayanda and Zuberi, confusion clouding her thoughts. She reached out, fingers trembling as she took the book from the boy’s outstretched hands.

The moment her fingers brushed the worn cover, the world shifted. The firelight warped, flickering like it was caught in a windstorm. A pulse of heat surged through Olivia’s body—and then—

She was standing in the middle of a great hall. The walls were made of glass, stretching high into the sky. The ground beneath her feet was cold, smooth, like polished stone.

A voice echoed in her mind—Zuberi’s voice, though he hadn’t spoken a word.

The flames are yours to control. You always have the power. Don’t be afraid to use it.

She looked around, searching for the source of the voice. But the room was empty, save for the faint outlines of shadows creeping along the walls.

A flicker of movement caught her eye.

A woman—her—stood at the far end of the hall. She had fire in her hands, fire that danced and leaped like a living thing. The woman’s eyes were full of fire, too—burning with a fierce light.

Olivia stepped forward, reaching out.

But the vision faded.

And she was back in the dark room with Ayanda and Zuberi.

Her heart was pounding in her chest. She opened her eyes, her hands shaking as she clutched the book to her chest.

“I saw it,” she whispered. “I saw myself… with fire.”

Ayanda’s eyes softened, and Zuberi nodded slowly, though he never spoke. The silence between them stretched thick, heavy with meaning.

“You must remember, Olivia,” Ayanda said. “And when you do, you will be ready.”