Green fire blossomed outward from Emerald like a blooming star silent at first, then roaring with a force that sent the trees trembling and the ground cracking beneath her feet. The air thickened, electrified, alive.
Sara, Sam, and Noah staggered back, shielding their eyes from the blinding glow.
The Sentinel stopped mid-strike.
The Wraithbound froze mid-lunge.
Every creature of magic in the clearing seemed to bow to the sudden shift in power.
The storm had awakened.
Emerald's hair lifted, weightless in the swirling green current. Veins of light streaked across her skin like lightning under glass. She felt every heartbeat reverberate through the forest.
But she also felt something else.
A presence.
A thread.
A connection pulling tight between her and the world she had glimpsed only minutes ago the obsidian chamber, the crystal walls, Kaela's cold smile.
The old magic.
It surged inside her like a tidal wave, hungry and ancient, eager to finish what her aunt had started.
"No," Emerald whispered, fighting against the rising tide. "You don't control me."
But the magic didn't listen.
It answered.
The Sentinel spoke first, voice reverent and alarmed. "Your Majesty, you must contain yourself."
"Don't call me that," Emerald hissed. The green fire around her flared. "I'm not your queen."
"You carry the throne's true blood," the Sentinel said. "Whether you accept it or not, your awakening has already begun.."
The Wraithbound screeched and launched forward, seizing the moment of distraction.
Emerald reacted without thinking.
She lifted her hand.
The Wraithbound froze mid-air caught as though invisible fingers gripped its entire body. The green light around Emerald condensed, sharp and bright, wrapping around the creature like chains.
Sara gasped. "Emerald, how are you?"
"I...I don't know!" Emerald cried, her voice strained. "I can't stop it!"
The Wraithbound writhed, its form glitching like an error in reality, but Emerald's magic held firm.
Too firm.
A cracking sound echoed like ice splitting across a lake.
Noah's eyes widened. "Emerald, stop! You're crushing it!"
"I'm not trying to!" she choked. "I can't control..."
A pulse of green energy jerked from her chest, through her arm, into the Wraithbound.
The creature splintered like glass.
Shattered.
Vanished.
The clearing fell silent.
Sara covered her mouth, trembling. "Emerald… you killed it."
Emerald collapsed to her knees, the magic around her flickering violently.
"I didn't mean to," she whispered, voice small. "I didn't want to."
Sam dropped beside her, pulling her close despite the residual heat of the magic. "Em, hey. Look at me. Look at me." She grabbed her face gently. "That thing was trying to murder us. You did what you had to."
"No," Emerald said, shaking her head. Tears stung her eyes. "No, you don't understand. This wasn't self-defense. This was the magic making the choice for me."
The Sentinel took a step forward. "You wield the bloodline's power for the first time. It is natural..."
Emerald snapped her head up, fury sparking. "Don't you dare call this natural!"
The Sentinel paused, bowing its head slightly. "Forgive me, Your High. Emerald."
Noah moved protectively in front of her. "Stop calling her that."
The Sentinel's burning white eyes turned to him. "You stand between the heir and her guard?"
"I stand between her and anything that wants to drag her back to a world she's terrified of," Noah said sharply. "Including you."
Sam rose as well, blade drawn. "He's not wrong."
Sara stepped beside them. "We're not letting you take her."
The Sentinel regarded them three humans shaking, exhausted, terrified, but still forming a wall in front of Emerald.
"Loyalty," the Sentinel murmured. "Uncommon among mortals."
Noah tightened his jaw. "Get used to it."
Emerald tried to stand. Sara moved instantly to help her.
The storm inside Emerald was fading, but the aftermath left her drained like every bone was filled with molten metal cooling too slowly.
"We need answers," Emerald whispered, looking at the Sentinel. "Why send you? Why now?"
"Because," the Sentinel said, straightening, "your aunt commanded it. She felt your power rip through the realms. She believes you are unstable. Dangerous. Vulnerable."
Emerald laughed weakly. "She's not wrong."
The Sentinel continued, "Her instruction was simple: retrieve you before the other clans do."
Noah frowned. "Other clans?"
Emerald's stomach twisted. "Hunters. Wraithbound. And worse. If the old bloodline truly wakes… it could spark a civil war."
Sam muttered, "Oh perfect. A magical civil war. Just what we needed."
Sara rubbed Emerald's back. "What do you want to do?"
Emerald looked at her friends at their fear, their courage, their stubborn refusal to let her face any of this alone.
Then she looked at the Sentinel.
"I'm not going with you."
The Sentinel's armor pulsed with white fire. "If you refuse, they will come for you. More hunters. More beasts. More.."
"Let them," Emerald said softly.
Everyone stared at her.
Sam whispered, "Emerald… are you sure?"
"No." Emerald swallowed. "But running hasn't protected us. Hiding hasn't helped. Whatever this power is… whatever I'm becoming… I need to face it on my own terms."
The Sentinel's voice deepened. "Your aunt will not allow this disobedience."
Emerald straightened, green light flickering faintly beneath her skin. "She doesn't get to decide that anymore."
The Sentinel tilted its head slowly. "Then you leave me no choice."
It raised its hand.
Noah stepped between them.
"Don't you touch her."
The Sentinel paused its glowing eyes shifting back to Emerald.
"Then… I will follow you."
Emerald blinked. "What?"
"It is my duty to guard the heir. If you will not return home, then I must keep you alive until you do."
Sam groaned. "So you're just… joining us?"
The Sentinel bowed. "I am bound to her bloodline. Her will is mine to obey."
Emerald stared at the towering armored figure.
Then at her friends.
Then at the smoking wreck of Sam's car.
And the forest pressed in, quiet and watching.
"We still need a plan," Noah said.
"We need safety," Sara added.
"We need answers," Sam muttered.
Emerald nodded, feeling the old magic thrum softly under her skin, no longer a storm, but a warning.
"We're going to the cabin," she said. "We'll regroup. Figure out what Kaela wants. And find out what's waking inside me."
The Sentinel stepped aside, motioning for them to lead the way.
Emerald took a shaky breath.
"Alright," she said. "Let's move."
But as they headed into the trees, a faint shimmer flickered across the sky green and gold, like a distant aurora.
Emerald stopped walking.
Sara whispered, "What is that…?"
Emerald's heart sank.
She knew.
It was a beacon.
Someone, somewhere was calling her power.
Calling her.
"Kaela's not the only one who felt me awaken," Emerald murmured.
Noah muttered, "Is that… bad?"
Emerald answered without looking away from the sky.
"It means the realms know I'm alive."