The worst part? She couldn't tell anyone. Especially not Cutie.
Every time she tried, something inside her chest choked the words back—something instinctive, refusing to let her speak.
So she stayed silent. Trained harder. Kept busy.
But the heat kept growing.
And Kaya knew she was running out of time.
And again something strange started happening.
The usual pain was still there—the heat burning in her chest every night—but now there was something else. Something that made no sense at all.
It happened one night when Kaya was lying on her bed, staring at the ceiling, unable to sleep because of the ache spreading through her ribs. She looked up at the stone above her and thought absently, 'I really want to touch it. Should I jump?'
But she didn't move.
She didn't have to.
Because suddenly—without warning, without effort—she started floating.
Rising.
