Rain lashed Mexico City. The streets reflected the lights and chaos of market stalls glimmering under the storm, street food and wet soil mixed, filling my lungs. My heart pounded fast in my chest, graffiti decorating the alley while I tried not to fall over some trash. My sneakers were completely soaked. It wasn't the first time I'd felt something odd—a strange tingling under my skin—but tonight it was stronger, as if something deep inside me was desperate to break free, and it was painful.
"Alina, wait!" Kael's voice cut through the city's roar. He was always near me—in class, at training with our parents… everywhere. Sometimes only the bathroom or my bedroom let me clear my thoughts. He was more than my cousin; he was my best friend, a bit too protective for reasons I couldn't understand, though I'd grown used to it. But tonight, I'd reached my limit. I knew he was lying to me, keeping a lot of secrets from me. I turned, my hair plastered to my forehead, my eyes probably reddened from crying, and saw him running toward me, his jacket and brunette hair drenched. "Why are you running? You're not ready."
"Ready for what?" I snapped, frustrated. Kael always avoided my questions about things like what happened this afternoon, as if I were naive or stupid, only changing the subject to keep me close to him. In the distance, sirens blended with the city's clamor. News of a girl in China, Yuè, daughter of a tycoon from the powerful Tianfeng Corporation, trapped after a whirlwind tore through a market, had been echoing through the streets for hours. Rumors whispered of impossible winds in a bustling city. He panicked when we heard about it and didn't let me go outside our home, driving me crazy for freedom and answers he was avoiding telling me.
The air shifted abruptly. An electric hum tore through the silence that had settled between the one I thought was my best friend and me. Then, a figure emerged from nowhere about two meters away—tall, imposing, with intense golden eyes visible even in the dim light. A sword of shadows materialized in his hand. "At last, I've found you. It's you," he said, a hidden hint of mocking and realization in his tone, his deep voice sending a chill through my body. He looked at me as if I were the final piece of a puzzle. Kael stepped between us, tense, ready to protect me like he always did. From one of his pockets, Kael drew a gleaming dagger, gripping it tightly in his right hand. At that moment, something inside me tore—I felt suffocating pain surge through my body, and my hands suddenly felt warm. A raindrop that fell on my palm glowed, suspended, as if responding to my soul.
I stepped backward, scared, trembling while my mind filled with questions… What was happening to me and that drop of water? Who is he? His voice sounds familiar to me. Why does Kael seem to know the purpose of why he's here? And how is it possible Kael isn't surprised by this?
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Alina didn't know it, but the universe was hunting her, and they had already found her.
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© NATLAR, 2025