CHAPTER SIX:The Voice Within
875 Words
Liranae didn't sleep.
Not even for a minute.
The moment she closed her eyes, she could hear things she had never heard before.
Footsteps.
Whispers.
The beating of hearts behind closed doors.
Even the wind outside seemed louder than it had ever been.
She sat on the edge of her bed, staring at the darkness.
Something was changing.
She could feel it.
Her body felt warmer, stronger.
Her senses were sharper.
And beneath everything was that strange energy that seemed to be waiting for something.
Liranae touched the silver mark on her neck.
The moment her fingers brushed it, pain shot through her body.
She gasped and fell against the bed.
Images flashed through her mind.
A forest.
A woman running.
Blood covering her hands.
A silver wolf standing beneath a red moon.
Then a voice.
Find him.
Liranae's eyes snapped open.
Her breathing was heavy.
She looked around the room.
Nobody was there.
Yet she knew what she had heard.
A voice.
For the first time in her life, she had heard a voice inside her head.
Her own voice.
Or something that sounded like it.
She covered her mouth instinctively.
A tear slipped down her cheek.
She had spent her entire life wondering what it would feel like to speak.
And now the first words she had ever heard from herself weren't really words at all.
They were a warning.
A knock sounded at the door.
Liranae jumped.
Before she could move, the door opened.
Kaelan stepped inside.
His eyes immediately found her.
“What happened?”
Liranae pointed toward her neck.
Kaelan's expression changed.
“The mark?”
She nodded.
He approached cautiously.
“Did it hurt?”
She nodded again.
“What did you see?”
Liranae grabbed a notebook from her desk.
She quickly drew the forest.
Then the wolf.
Then the red moon.
Kaelan stared at the drawings.
“Where did you see this?”
Liranae pointed toward her head.
His face became serious.
“You saw it in your mind.”
She nodded.
Kaelan was silent.
Then he whispered, “The awakening is progressing faster than I expected.”
Liranae frowned.
She wrote quickly.
What is happening to me?
Kaelan read the words.
“I don't know everything.”
She stared at him.
“But I know enough to tell you this.”
He sat across from her.
“Your ability isn't ordinary healing.”
Liranae's eyes narrowed.
Kaelan continued.
“You didn't simply heal that girl. You transferred your energy into her body.”
He paused.
“That means your power can potentially do much more.”
Liranae looked down at her hands.
She didn't know whether to be excited or afraid.
“What if I can't control it?”
Kaelan's gaze softened.
“You will.”
Liranae looked up.
“How can you be so sure?”
She froze.
The words had come from her mind.
But they had also appeared on the page beneath her hand.
She stared at the sentence.
Kaelan stared too.
For a moment, neither of them moved.
Then Kaelan slowly looked into her eyes.
“You just spoke.”
Liranae's heart stopped.
She touched her throat.
Nothing.
No sound.
She tried again.
“Ho…”
Only a broken whisper escaped.
Her eyes filled with tears.
Kaelan stood immediately.
“Don't force it.”
Liranae shook her head.
She tried again.
“Ka…”
Her voice disappeared.
She covered her mouth.
Kaelan gently caught her wrist.
“Liranae.”
She looked at him.
“You don't have to prove anything.”
Something inside her broke.
For years, she had dreamed of speaking.
She had imagined telling people to stop mocking her.
Imagined saying her own name.
Imagined what it would feel like to hear someone say, I understand you.
Now, when the possibility was finally within reach, she was terrified.
Kaelan released her wrist.
“Your voice may return.”
Liranae looked at him hopefully.
“But not because you force it.”
He glanced at the silver mark.
“Your body is changing. Your abilities are awakening. Your voice may be connected to that transformation.”
Liranae wiped away her tears.
Then she noticed something.
Kaelan was staring at her.
Not at her power.
Not at the mark.
At her.
“What?”
He looked away.
“Nothing.”
Liranae didn't believe him.
Before she could question him, a loud alarm suddenly rang through the academy.
Kaelan immediately stood.
His expression hardened.
“That isn't the emergency alarm.”
Liranae looked toward the window.
Outside, the academy's protective barrier was glowing red.
Students were running through the courtyard.
Then the lights went out.
Darkness swallowed the academy.
A howl echoed from beyond the walls.
Kaelan stepped in front of Liranae.
“Stay behind me.”
Liranae grabbed his sleeve.
He looked back.
She pointed toward the window.
Something was standing outside.
A tall figure.
Watching them.
Even from this distance, Liranae could feel its presence.
The silver mark on her neck suddenly burned.
The figure raised one hand.
The academy barrier shattered.
Kaelan's eyes widened.
“Run.”
Liranae didn't move.
The figure smiled.
And somehow, even from across the courtyard, Liranae knew one terrifying thing.
It had come for her.
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