My heart beat twice.
Once as Aurora.
And once as… whatever else was inside me.
I didn’t know how I knew it.
But I felt it.
Like something beneath the surface had stirred.
Not loud.
Not angry.
Just… alert.
The wind quieted.
The trees stood still.
Even the birds seemed to pause, like the world was waiting for me to move.
But I couldn’t.
I stood frozen at the tree line, staring into the forest like it had called my name.
No voice.
No sound.
Just the pull again.
And something new—something heavier.
A flutter low in my chest that wasn’t fear… but something close to recognition.
I don’t know how long I stood there.
Maybe a minute.
Maybe an hour.
But it wasn’t until someone moved behind me that I snapped out of it.
Footsteps.
Steady.
Intentional.
I turned qu
