The explosion hit before I could finish choosing.
Bright, violent, and unrestrained, the blast shook the entire cave. Dust rained from the ceiling as the world around us trembled like it had been struck by lightning.
Owain didn't hesitate—he shoved me to the floor and covered my body with his own, muscles tensing as stones fell around us.
"Get down!" he barked.
I didn't have a choice; I was pinned under him, breath locked in my throat, the air vibrating with magic that didn't belong to any of the four males fighting for me.
Through the blinding white light, a figure stepped into the cave entrance.
Tall. Beautiful. Glowing like moonlit metal.
Silver hair tied back sharply. Cloak whipping from the force of his own power.
Not Gerrin.
Another elf.
He held out a hand.
"Human," he said, voice echoing unnaturally. "You are coming with me."
Owain snarled, shifting partially—his claws digging into the ground beside my head.
"You touch her," he growled, "and I'll tear out your spine."
The new elf tilted his head as if Owain were an annoying wind gust instead of a deadly werewolf Captain.
"You wolves," he murmured. "All bark. No understanding."
He spread his fingers.
Magic exploded.
Owain was blasted backward, thrown off me like he weighed nothing. He hit the cave wall with a brutal impact and slid down, dazed.
"Owain!" I screamed.
But before I could move to him, the elf snapped his fingers, and a ribbon of shimmering blue mana wrapped around my waist, pinning my arms to my sides.
"What—HEY—stop—!" My feet lifted off the ground.
The elf looked at me with a cold, clinical detachment.
"You disrupt balance," he said. "You destabilize the ley lines. You are a threat."
Yllas surged forward with frost blasting around him. "Release her—NOW."
Helion vanished and reappeared behind the elf, claws elongated.
Gerrin's markings flared bright, mana crackling around him.
But the intruder didn't seem concerned.
He raised two fingers.
The mana binding me tightened.
The cave floor shattered beneath us as the elf yanked me toward him with invisible force.
I twisted, struggling. "Let me GO!"
"No," he said. "Your existence requires containment."
Containment? I wasn't a biohazard!
Yllas swung an arm, unleashing a wave of frostfire so cold the air cracked. The elf flicked his wrist; the spell dissolved like it was smoke.
Gerrin lunged. "Darian, stop this insanity!"
Darian.
The intruding elf didn't even glance his way.
"You should have secured her when you had the chance," Darian replied. "I will not let the Highborn fight over a dangerous anomaly."
"I'm not an anomaly!" I shouted.
"You are," Darian said simply.
Owain staggered upright, fury burning in his eyes. "PUT HER DOWN!"
He sprinted toward us—
—and slammed face-first into a barrier.
He rebounded, tumbling back with a sharp grunt.
The barrier glowed pale blue, forming a dome around Darian and me.
Helion attacked an instant later; his claws scraped something invisible, sparks flying. "His shields are too dense!" he hissed.
Gerrin moved next, furious. "Darian, you don't understand what she is—"
"I understand perfectly," Darian snapped back. "A reappearance of a species that should not exist. A destabilizing force. A disruption."
Yllas roared, shifting partially, wings snapping open as frost spiraled violently around him.
"You will release her," he growled.
Darian didn't blink.
He simply raised his hand toward the cave ceiling.
Magic flared.
A bright tear of white light opened above us—spiraling, twisting, humming with raw arcane energy.
Gerrin's face paled. "Darian, NO!"
Helion cursed under his breath. "He's opening a portal!"
Owain roared, claws scraping the ground in desperation. "KANAH!"
Darian pulled me upward with the mana ribbon.
"Your presence in this region is too dangerous," he said coldly, "so I am relocating you."
"TO WHERE?!" I yelled.
"Sylvarin," he answered. "Where you will be contained."
I struggled, but the ribbon tightened like steel.
Gerrin slammed his palm against the barrier, magic crackling. "You're making a mistake, Darian! You cannot isolate a human—her aura—"
"I CAN," Darian barked. "And I WILL."
The portal pulsed.
The world blurred.
The last thing I saw was all four of them lunging at Darian—Owain with teeth bared, Yllas with frostfire blazing, Gerrin reaching for me, Helion flickering from shadow to shadow—
Then the portal swallowed me whole.
Sylvarin Dominion — Unknown Location
The landing wasn't gentle.
I was thrown to the ground with enough force to knock the air from my lungs. My vision spun. The ribbon binding me dissolved in sparks of blue light, leaving my arms free—but shaky.
I sucked in a breath and forced myself upright.
And froze.
The world around me was nothing like the forest.
The trees here were impossibly tall—hundreds of feet high—glowing faintly silver. Their trunks were smooth, bark etched with swirling patterns. Soft white lights drifted through the air like floating pollen. The ground beneath me was covered in pale moss that glowed whenever I moved.
The air tasted different—cool, clean, almost sweet.
If the forest was wild and dangerous, this place was… eerie. Beautiful. Too perfect.
And standing only a few feet away, watching me like a scientist observing a specimen—
Darian.
He flicked a speck of dust off his sleeve. "You're surprisingly resilient for a human."
"For being kidnapped?" I snapped, struggling to stand. "Feels great, thanks."
He ignored my sarcasm and reached out.
I flinched back.
His expression didn't change. "You will not survive long if you continue reacting like prey."
"I'm reacting like a person!" I shot back. "Who was dragged through a—whatever portal thing—and brought to a place she doesn't know!"
"Reaction confirmed," he murmured softly. "Instinctive panic. Fear-driven reasoning. Predictable."
Predictable?
"I'm going to punch you," I warned.
"You wouldn't reach me," Darian replied calmly. "My shields are active."
"Then I'll try."
Before I could grab a rock and test that theory, a second elf stepped out from behind one of the glowing trees.
This one was different.
Relaxed posture. Pale green eyes. A smirk that immediately irritated me.
Gerrin.
"How dramatic of you," he said to Darian. "Teleporting her like a stolen artifact."
Darian stiffened. "She is a danger to—"
"No," Gerrin cut in sharply. "You are a danger, Darian. Acting without the Court's approval? Bringing a destabilizing human into Sylvarin territory without a Council mandate?"
Darian's jaw tightened. "You were too slow to act."
"No," Gerrin replied. "I was choosing not to kidnap her."
Their standoff felt ancient, layered with centuries of rivalry and resentment.
Darian turned his sharp gaze to me again. "The human's aura is active. Her resonance warps local mana threads. She must be contained before—"
"She is not a weapon," Gerrin snapped.
"And she is not your pet," Darian hissed.
Gerrin's eyes flicked to me.
"So," he said calmly, "did they hurt you? Throw you? Freeze you? Touch you without permission?"
I blinked. "Uh… they didn't hurt me exactly, but—"
"Then allow me to apologize on Sylvarin's behalf."
He bowed slightly.
A formal gesture.
A respectful one.
Darian scoffed through his teeth. "She does not require apologies. She requires containment."
"Stop saying containment!" I snapped.
Both elves looked at me.
Gerrin stepped closer. Carefully. Slowly.
"Kanah," he said, testing my name for the first time. "I need you to listen. You cannot be here. Not like this. Darian bringing you into Sylvarin without stabilizing your aura is dangerous."
"I'm not dangerous—"
"You are," Darian said flatly.
Gerrin shot him a look but didn't deny it. "Not intentionally," he added to me. "But your presence is affecting the mana around us. Can you feel the tingling?"
I realized then that the air around me actually did feel… weird. Like static. Like the moment before a thunderstorm. The hair on my arms stood up.
"Your aura is resonating," Gerrin said. "And that is bad."
"For who?" I whispered.
"For everyone."
The ground trembled lightly.
Darian stepped back. "The dragons will trace her magic. Wolves will track her scent. Leopards will find her warmth. You brought a destabilizing force into this world."
Gerrin shot him another glare. "Don't exaggerate."
"I am not exaggerating," Darian spat. "Look at the trees."
Gerrin turned—and stopped.
My mouth dropped slightly.
The glowing trees nearest to me were flickering—dim to bright, bright to dim—like my presence was confusing their light.
He inhaled slowly. "She's affecting their mana flow."
Darian folded his arms triumphantly. "As I said."
Gerrin looked… conflicted. Concerned. Troubled.
I swallowed hard. "What does that mean?"
Gerrin met my eyes. "It means your aura is… waking up."
"Waking up? From what?"
"Centuries of suppression," he said softly. "Your people's magic was sealed away. Buried. But now that you're here, the seal is cracking."
"What seal?"
"Not just the rift," he said quietly. "The seal on your kind."
My stomach twisted.
"You're saying humans have magic?"
"Yes," Gerrin answered.
"No," Darian said at the same time.
Gerrin shot him a look. "Do not lie."
"It is not magic," Darian insisted. "It is an anomaly."
Gerrin ignored him.
He stepped closer to me—close enough that I could see faint energy drifting from his fingertips like smoke.
"May I?" he asked.
"May you what?" I asked suspiciously.
"Check your aura."
"No touching," I warned.
He smiled faintly. "It will not require touching."
He raised his hand, hovering it near my cheek—but not touching.
Static crackled in the air.
My skin tingled.
Mana markings flickered across Gerrin's arm, reacting instantly.
He inhaled sharply.
Darian stiffened. "What do you see?"
Gerrin's voice was low. Almost reverent.
"She's carrying a human rune."
Darian's expression tightened. "Impossible."
"No," Gerrin murmured. "It's real."
"A rune?" I asked. "Like… a magic symbol?"
"Yes," Gerrin said. "Inside you."
"Its location?" Darian snapped.
Gerrin's eyes lowered to my chest. "Over her heart."
I froze.
"What does that mean?" I whispered.
Gerrin didn't answer immediately.
He exhaled slowly, eyes meeting mine.
"It means you aren't just any human, Kanah. You're connected to something ancient. Something powerful. Something dangerous." His voice softened. "Something the Beast King would kill to possess."
My stomach dropped.
Before I could respond, the forest behind us exploded.
A gust of freezing wind sliced through the air.
Frost spiraled across the ground.
A roar echoed—deep and furious.
Yllas.
He crashed into the clearing in full dragon form, wings spread wide.
Owain burst through the fog a moment later, half-shifted and panting, claws digging into the glowing moss.
Helion stepped out from a shadow, eyes glowing faintly.
All three locked onto me instantly.
All three looked murderous.
Darian's eyes widened. "They tracked her?! Already?!"
Gerrin cursed under his breath. "They're coming for her."
Owain's voice was a snarl.
"KANAH!"
Yllas's roar shook the air.
Helion tilted his head calmly. "This will be fun."
Darian stepped in front of me, magic flaring. "She stays here."
Owain bared his teeth.
"The hell she does."
Yllas landed hard enough to crack the earth.
"Human—come to me."
"Over my corpse," Owain growled.
Gerrin grabbed my wrist. "We need to move. Now."
Darian raised both hands, ready to blast everyone.
Owain charged.
Yllas roared.
Helion vanished.
Gerrin pulled me into a tight circle of shimmering light.
Darian shouted, "GERRIN—DON'T—"
Too late.
Gerrin slammed his hand to the ground.
A flash of blue light erupted around us.
The last thing I heard was the combined roar of a dragon and a wolf clashing with the force of a meteor—
Then the world vanished in another burst of arcane light.