HIGH SCHOOL RETURN OF EMILY

CHAPTER NINE GO BACK EMILY

Emily watched in horror as the once-fearless woman thrashed, her arrogance swallowed by desperation.

*“You *dare* speak His name with mockery in my realm?”* Bael’s voice was no longer loud—it was low and lethal, the kind of calm before a devastating strike.

*“You forget your place, Havana.”*

Havana’s legs buckled as she dropped to her knees, gasping and clawing at the invisible force around her throat. She tried to speak, to fight back, but no sound came.

Lucian stood silently beside them—still, expressionless… but unmoving.

Emily could barely process it all. She didn’t understand what the “mark” was, or why they were talking about God, or why she was here—but one thing was clear:

*She wasn’t just another soul.*

And now… *everyone* knew it.

Just as Havana’s body began to tremble violently—her breaths growing shallow, her hands limp against her strangled throat—*Lucian suddenly stepped forward*.

*"Please, Lord Bael,"* he called out, his voice unusually urgent. *"Spare her. Havana didn’t understand what she was doing. She wasn’t aware of the girl’s mark. Please… grant her mercy, just this once."*

The room fell silent.

Bael's eyes, still burning with rage, locked on Lucian for a moment. Then, slowly, he released his invisible grip.

Havana collapsed to the ground beside Emily, coughing and gasping as air surged back into her lungs. For the first time, the fierce second-in-command looked *afraid*. Her entire body shook, her head lowered—not in defiance, but in shame.

*Bael's voice rumbled low, like the churning of a mountain.*

*"You have disrespected me, Havana… and worse—you’ve disrespected *God*."*

He stepped forward, towering over them both.

*"This girl… this human… is marked. Chosen. A beloved of the Divine."*

*"Her presence here was a mistake. A violation."*

Emily stared up at him, still overwhelmed. She didn’t feel powerful, or chosen. She felt broken. Small.