Chapter 19 – The Awakening
POV: Seren Thorne
The world was spinning.
I couldn't breathe. I couldn't move. The darkness swallowed everything, and for a moment, I thought I had been lost entirely.
But then, I felt it—the pulsing warmth of Kael's presence, his voice calling to me through the blackness. It was faint at first, like a whisper in a storm, but it grew stronger, cutting through the haze that clouded my thoughts.
"Seren," his voice was urgent, filled with worry. "You have to wake up. You have to fight. We need you."
I tried to respond, to find my voice, but the darkness held me down, crushing me. Every instinct in me screamed to give in to the pull of the void, to surrender. But Kael's words were a lifeline, and I clung to them, grasping desperately for something solid, something real.
"I'm here," I whispered, my voice hoarse, barely audible.
Suddenly, light flooded the world, and I was jolted back into consciousness. I gasped for air, the world around me shifting as the weight of power pressed against my chest. I was standing again, my body alive with energy I didn't fully understand.
The room was still there—the Heartstone pulsing ominously on its pedestal, its light now brighter than ever before, bathing everything in an eerie glow. But something had changed. The man who had threatened us was no longer standing in the center of the room. Instead, he was crumpled on the floor, his body twitching unnaturally, as though the very ground beneath him had rejected his existence.
I looked around, trying to understand what had just happened. My head throbbed, but I could feel the energy—my energy—coursing through me. I had done this. Somehow, I had done this.
Kael was there, his eyes wide with a mix of relief and awe. "Seren," he breathed, his voice low. "You did it."
I turned toward him, confusion still clouding my thoughts. "What did I do? What happened?"
The pack was slowly regaining their footing, shaking off the paralysis the man had inflicted on them. They were all looking at me as though I had just stepped out of a dream, as though I had changed somehow.
"You stopped him," Kael said, taking a step closer. "You awakened the power inside the Heartstone. You used it."
I looked at the stone, its once steady glow now pulsing erratically. The man who had been the source of so much terror was still on the ground, his body twitching, his eyes wide in horror. But there was something else there now—something darker, a reflection of the power that had surged from me.
"What is this?" I whispered, unable to take my eyes off the Heartstone.
"The Heartstone is an ancient artifact," Kael said softly. "It holds the power to open gateways, to awaken old forces that should never be disturbed. But when you called upon it, you tapped into that power. You're the one who unlocked it, Seren. You're the one who defeated him."
I shook my head, still in disbelief. "I didn't mean to do this. I don't even know how I did it."
"You didn't mean to," Kael said, his voice full of reassurance, "but you did it. And we're alive because of it."
I glanced back at the fallen man. "Is he…?"
"Dead?" Kael finished for me. "No. But he's not going to be a problem anymore. You broke his hold on us, Seren. You're stronger than you think."
I wanted to believe him. I did. But there was something inside me—something dark—still pulling at the edges of my consciousness. The power inside me had been unleashed, but I had no idea what its full extent was. I had only just scratched the surface.
"Seren," Kael said softly, stepping closer. "You're not alone in this. Whatever comes next, we'll face it together."
I nodded, though a heavy weight still settled in my chest. The Heartstone pulsed again, its light flickering. It was far from over.