The guardian slammed into Victor's staff again, sparks shooting everywhere like angry fireflies. Victor stumbled back, his cloak ripping at the hem. The air smelled burnt: stone, metal, old magic, all of it mixed into something sharp enough to sting my nose.
Selene skidded to my side, she was panting so hard, widening her eyes with panic and excitement at the same time.
"What did you do?" she demanded, grabbing my arm.
"Nothing! I swear, nothing! It bowed and then everything just exploded!"
"That is definitely not nothing," she said, staring at the creature. "You woke it."
Kael yanked me behind him like a shield, stepping in front of both of us as Victor raised his broken staff.
"Selene, move, now!!!."
"I am moving," she snapped. "Just not fast enough for whatever madness this is."
Riven lunged at the guardian, he was half shifted. But the creature tossed him aside like he weighed nothing, he hit the railing with a sickening thud and groaned.
The guardian growled, pacing between Victor and me like it was deciding who to tear apart first.
My throat tightened. "Kael!!!!, can you control it?"
"No." His voice sank, grave. "Only you can."
"Me? I just got here! I don't even know what it eats!"
"You," Selene muttered.
"Selene," Kael warned.
"What? It's true."
The guardian snarled again.
Victor lifted the half-destroyed staff to his chest. His eyes held this feverish, old hunger like he'd been waiting ages for this moment.
"The binding failed," he hissed. "She broke the order, take her to the sanctum. Now!!!."
Kael stepped in front of me, blocking Victor with his whole body.
"She is not going anywhere with you."
Victor didn't even blink. "You cannot protect her from her own blood."
Riven limped toward us again, still ready to fight. "We don't need your ancient speeches today."
Victor glared. "Stand down, beast."
"Make me."
Everything whirled too fast: voices overlapping, magic burning through the air, fear pressing into my ribs. I didn't know who to trust, Kael, Selene, Riven… or even myself. My hands were shaking, my heart was pounding too loud.
And then the guardian stopped pacing.
It turned… fully… toward me.
It bowed its head, slow and deliberate. Its eyes were pinned on mine: old, knowing, waiting, like it was expecting something from me.
Kael's voice softened, almost a whisper. "Elara!!!!!, talk to it."
"What am I supposed to say?" I whispered back. "Hello giant creature, thanks for not killing me yet?"
Selene rolled her eyes. "Say something before it decides you're a waste of time."
The creature nudged its head against my knee: gently, almost like a dog asking for direction. But this was heavier, hotter and older.
"Guardian… stand down. Please." It froze immediately when those words came out of my mouth. And then it moved back, slow and steady, listening to me.
Kael exhaled sharply, like he'd been holding his breath the whole time. "Good, keep going….."
Victor slammed his staff on the floor and that made the stone underneath crack.
"Enough! Bring her to the sanctum or I swear I will….."
The guardian roared again. It seemed it hated it when Victor talks to me in a harsh manner.
The roar wasn't just sound. It was ancient, bone-deep, a force that rattled the entire manor.
"We need to leave. Now." Selene said as she grabbed my hand tightly.
Kael nodded fast. "Riven west hall, guard her left."
Riven nodded but he had to shift fully into a wolf and that took him seconds. His eyes were glowing.
"Move"
Victor lunged. "If you run now, you doom your family!"
"You doomed them when you hid everything," Kael shot back.
Victor's expression twisted. "You dare..."
"Kael," I whispered, tugging at his sleeve. "We have to go."
Because the guardian wasn't calming anymore, it was shaking, vibrating with energy I didn't understand.
"Elara," Selene whispered, voice tiny. "It's waking the house."
"What?" I asked.
Kael didn't even look at me. "It means if we don't leave right now, Lunaris Manor will close around us."
We had no time to think, because the walls were groaning and the floor was trembling as well.
Red symbols crawled across the stones like living veins.
Victor screamed something in a language I have never heard before.
This made the guardian roar back louder.
Kael grabbed my hand. "Run!"
We sprinted: Selene at my side, Riven ahead. The hallway shook under our feet like the manor itself was breathing. Doors were slamming on their own and what even made my blood cold was the windows. It was getting dark.
Shadows stretched across the walls like hands reaching for us.
"Don't stop!" Kael yelled.
I didn't. I couldn't.
"The house is closing the old wing!" Selene shouted.
Riven barked, pointing toward the only open doorway.
Kael pushed me toward it. "Go!"
We burst through, and the door slammed behind us so hard, that made the floor vibrate.
The silence afterward felt thick.
I bent over, placing my hands on my knees, trying to catch my breath.
"Kael…" My voice cracked. "What is happening?"
He leaned against the wall, trying to breathe. "The guardian woke because of you, the manor woke because of it and Victor knows what that means."
"What does it mean?" My throat tightened. "What am I now?"
Selene's face softened in a way that scared me more than the roar.
"The guardian didn't bow to Victor."
Riven's glowing eyes stayed fixed on me.
Kael stepped closer, studying me like I was a problem he couldn't solve.
"It bowed to you."
He swallowed hard.
"And that means the ritual chooses you next."
"Next… for what?" I whispered.
No one spoke, Kael's silence said everything.