chapter seven : through the veil
231 Words
The room twisted.
Walls groaned. The air thickened into fog, and the shadows no longer stayed on the floor. They moved—slithering like living smoke, their whispers sharp and unintelligible. Lila’s pulse raced as she clutched the back of Cassian’s shirt.
He raised his hand, and the temperature dropped instantly. Ice spread across the floor, halting the shadows mid-creep. The hiss they released sounded almost... angry.
“They can’t cross fully,” he said, his voice low. “Not yet. But the veil is weakening faster than I expected.”
Lila’s mark burned hotter in response. “What are they?”
“Lost souls twisted by darkness,” Cassian replied. “Drawn to power. Drawn to you.”
A piercing scream erupted as one shadow lunged forward. Instinctively, Lila threw up her hands. A wave of orange light exploded from her palms, slicing through the air like fire wrapped in lightning.
The shadow vanished.
She gasped, staring at her hands. “What was that?”
Cassian turned to her slowly, eyes wide with something close to awe. “That… was your first flame.”
Before she could speak, the shadows recoiled, slinking back into the cracks they came from. The room slowly returned to normal.
But nothing would ever be normal again.
Cassian looked at her, his voice firm.
“They know you’re awake now. There’s no turning back.”
- Writer
