The Breaking Point
1036 Words
The walk back to camp—
Felt longer than it should have.
No one spoke.
Not me.
Not Taika.
Not Kael.
But the silence—
Was louder than anything.
Heavy.
Unavoidable.
The moment we stepped into camp—
Everyone looked up.
They could tell.
Something had happened.
“…What is it?” Solren asked immediately.
His eyes moved between us.
Sharp.
Calculating.
“…We had company,” Kael answered before I could speak.
Of course he did.
“…Wolf clan,” he added.
The air shifted instantly.
Danger.
“…Are you certain?” Eryndor asked.
“…Gravity manipulation,” Kael said. “I’m very certain.”
Silence.
Thick.
“…And?” Solren pressed.
Kael’s gaze slid toward me.
“…And it seems we’re more interesting than we thought.”
My chest tightened.
Here we go.
“…Explain,” Solren said.
This time—
It wasn’t a request.
It was a command.
“…I don’t know what you want me to say,” I muttered.
“The truth,” Kael replied instantly.
“…I am telling the truth.”
“No, you’re avoiding it.”
“…You’re assuming things.”
“…Then deny it.”
I froze.
“…Deny what?”
“That the power we saw earlier—”
He stepped closer.
“—was yours.”
Silence.
Everyone was watching now.
Taika shifted slightly in front of me.
“…That’s enough,” he said.
“…Is it?” Kael challenged.
“Yes.”
“No.”
“…You’re pushing too far.”
“…And you’re protecting her too much.”
My chest tightened.
Stop it.
“I said it’s enough.”
The ground beneath us trembled slightly.
All of them noticed.
Of course they did.
“…There,” Kael said quietly.
“…You still want to deny it?”
My breathing grew uneven.
Control it.
“I don’t—”
CRACK—
The earth split slightly under my feet.
I flinched.
“…I didn’t—”
“You did,” Kael said.
“I didn’t mean to!”
The words slipped out.
Too fast.
Too honest.
Silence.
Dead silence.
“…So you admit it,” Kael said softly.
My eyes widened.
No.
“…That’s not what I—”
“Then what is it?”
“I don’t know!”
And that—
Was the truth.
“…Luna.”
Eryndor’s voice.
Gentle.
“…Look at me.”
I didn’t want to.
But I did.
“…You’re scared,” he said.
“…I’m not.”
“…You are.”
“…I said I’m not!”
The ground shook again.
Stronger.
Unstable.
Everything around us trembled.
“…Luna, stop!” Taika warned.
“I CAN’T!”
The pressure surged again—
Too much.
Too overwhelming.
“…Everyone back,” Solren ordered.
But no one moved far.
They were watching.
Still watching.
And that—
That made it worse.
“Why are you all looking at me like that?!”
I snapped.
“…Because we don’t understand,” Aeris said.
“…Then stop trying to!”
“We can’t.”
“…Why not?!”
“Because you’re part of this,” Solren answered firmly.
“…I didn’t ask to be!”
Silence.
That hit harder than anything else.
You didn’t.
But you are.
“…I don’t even understand what’s happening to me,” I said, my voice shaking now.
“And you expect me to explain it to you?!”
No one answered.
Because they couldn’t.
“…You’re not alone in this.”
Taika again.
Always him.
“…Stop saying that.”
“…It’s true.”
“…It’s not.”
“…It is.”
“…You don’t understand.”
“…Then help me understand.”
I froze.
“…I can’t.”
“…Why?”
Because I’m not who you think I am.
Because I used to be—
Something else.
Someone else.
Don’t say it.
“I just can’t,” I muttered instead.
Kael exhaled slowly.
“…Then we have a problem.”
“…You have a problem,” Taika shot back.
“No—we all do.”
He looked around.
“…Unknown power. Unstable reactions. And now the Wolf clan is involved.”
Silence.
“…That’s not something we can ignore.”
He wasn’t wrong.
And that was the worst part.
“…Then what do you suggest?” Aeris asked.
“…We watch her.”
My chest tightened.
“…Excuse me?”
“…Until we understand what she is and what she can do.”
“I’m not some kind of threat!”
“…You might be.”
That—
That hurt more than it should have.
“…No.”
Taika’s voice.
Firm.
Unyielding.
“…We’re not doing that.”
“…You don’t get to decide that alone.”
“…And you don’t get to treat her like an enemy.”
“…I’m treating her like a risk.”
“…She’s not.”
“…You don’t know that.”
“I do.”
Silence.
Heavy.
“…You trust her that much?” Kael asked.
“…Yes.”
I froze.
“…Why?” Kael pressed.
Taika didn’t hesitate.
“…Because she hasn’t run.”
My breath caught.
“…Even when she clearly wants to.”
Silence.
And for some reason—
That hit deeper than anything else.
“…Fine,” Solren said finally.
Everyone turned to him
.
“…We won’t treat her as an enemy.”
I exhaled.
“…But,” he continued.
Of course there was a but.
“…We cannot ignore what we’ve seen.”
My chest tightened again.
“…So until we understand this—”
His gaze met mine.
“…you stay where we can see you.”
Not a prisoner.
But not free either.
“…That’s not fair,” I muttered.
“…Neither is the situation,” he replied.
Silence.
I looked away.
“…Fine.”
Because what choice did I have?
That night—
I didn’t sit with them.
I didn’t speak.
I didn’t even try.
Because everything felt—
Different now.
Broken.
This is bad.
“…Yeah.”
You’re losing them.
“…I never had them.”
But even as I said it—
I knew.
That wasn’t entirely true anymore.
And maybe—
That was the real problem.
- Writer
