The Awakened Storm**
### **1. The Glass Basin**
The crater was no longer stone.
It had been *melted* smooth, its surface reflecting the sky like a dark mirror. Mikey stood at its center, his hands still outstretched, his fingers smoking. The air around him *hummed*, charged with an energy that made Zelene’s teeth ache.
Damian grabbed her arm before she could step forward. **“Don’t.”** His voice was low, wary. **“Look at his eyes.”**
Zelene did.
Mikey’s irises were *gone*, replaced by twin pools of swirling darkness, crackling with arcs of blue lightning. When he blinked, the shadows *licked* at his lashes like living things.
**“Mikey?”** Zelene called, her voice barely above a whisper.
He turned his head—too slow, too *deliberate*—and when his lips parted, the voice
