I woke to the distant wail of ambulances and the rumble of heavy trucks. For a moment, I didn't know where I was. Then the familiar lines of my bedroom ceiling came into focus. My limbs felt heavy, but I pushed myself upright.
On the balcony, framed by the early morning light, stood my father. His shoulders were tense as he stared out over the wreckage below..the remnants of last night's battle. He looked worlds away, lost in thoughts he wasn't ready to voice.
I approached quietly, touching his arm. He jolted, turning sharply before relief softened his expression.
"Dad… how long was I out?" My voice trembled despite my best effort.
"Just a day, my darling," he said gently. "The doctor said you need rest. Go back to bed."
Rest? How was I supposed to rest when a supernatural creature had sworn to kill me? When the name Skaiheda still echoed in my skull like a curse?
I bolted out of the room.
"Quest!" Dad called, hurrying after me. "Come back to bed!"
But I was already racing toward the ballroom, the center of political meetings, ceremonies, and today, apparently, secrets.
The moment I stepped inside, every conversation stopped. Xander, Zane, and several rulers and officials from neighboring kingdoms turned toward me. Their expressions ranged from shock to concern.
Xander stepped forward first, his voice soft. "Are you alright? You hit your head pretty badly."
Zane's jaw tightened as he looked me over, worry flickering across his face despite all the times he'd loudly sworn he hated me.
I stumbled back, raising my hands defensively. "Stay the hell away from me."
A murmur rippled through the room.
"Someone-anyone- explain to me what's going on!" My voice cracked under the weight of confusion and fear. "One minute there's a barrier that none of you are supposed to cross, then suddenly you're fighting for us? And now you're all acting like long lost brothers! I'm... I'm going to lose my mind. Please. Just tell me the truth."
By the time I finished, I was breathless.
Zane muttered something under his breath, clearly annoyed.
But Xander raised his hands calmly. "You deserve an explanation. Come with us."
With dozens of eyes following us, he and Zane guided me to a smaller, private chamber. They sat me down, and for a moment the room was painfully silent.
Then Xander began.
"Yes, there was a barrier," he said. "And it kept our worlds apart for centuries. But it's broken now." His expression darkened. "While humans lived in peace, our world descended into war. Magicians against Humtiles. Vampires against werewolves. Chaos consuming everything."
Zane crossed his arms. "And during that war, powerful relics were uncovered including the rings that let us shift at will, not just during the full moon."
Xander nodded. "The final battle damaged the barrier. It's been weakening ever since. That's why Zane and I could cross… and why the vampires could too. If nothing is done, the barrier will collapse completely."
"In six months give or take," Zane added, his tone grim.
My throat tightened. Six months before every creature dangerous or not was unleashed into the human world.
Xander continued, his voice softer. "There's a prophecy. About a girl who will bring peace between humans and supernaturals. 'She will hold the power of all.'"
Zane scoffed. "Even the Elders think it's ridiculous."
Xander ignored him. "But our territory is being targeted because of it. The vampires believe the girl is hiding among us that she poses a threat to their rule. That's why we need your help. And your kingdom's."
He looked into my eyes then deeply, intently. Light poured in through the window, catching the gold in his hair, making his blue eyes almost unnaturally bright. For a heartbeat, I forgot how to breathe.
Zane made a sound of irritation behind him.
"I need time," I whispered, standing abruptly. "I can't… process all of this right now."
I didn't wait for their response. I left the room as fast as my legs could carry me.
All I wanted desperately was for life to return to normal.
I stayed home for a week, trying to rest even though sleep refused to come. Eventually, when the nightmares faded just enough, I returned to school and pretended the world wasn't about to fall apart.
It had been a week and a few days since the attack, and I was seated in the back of my classroom, writing quietly in my diary. Life had returned to its usual rhythm at least on the surface. I hadn't seen Xander or Zane since the day they told me everything. Part of me was relieved; I wasn't ready to face either of them, not with the weight of the prophecy lingering over my head.
So I tried to enjoy the time I had with Trish and Brent, to pretend I was just another girl with normal problems. But something had been happening to me, something I could no longer ignore.
The nightmares had stopped, but in their place came piercing headaches sharp, dizzying flashes that made the world tilt. And whenever they hit, I could suddenly hear things far away… things no human should hear.
That was how I learned that Mr. Akon, our chemistry teacher, was having an affair with Mrs. Paula from the music department despite having a pregnant wife at home. Their whispered argument behind the closed storeroom door had hit me like a broadcast through speakers. I had doubled over, gripping my head, the sound too clear, too vivid.
I hadn't told anyone. I didn't want to believe something inside me was changing. But each day, the headaches grew stronger… and the sounds grew louder.
Trish asked if I was okay more than once, worry deepening in her eyes, but I brushed it off as stress. I couldn't explain what I didn't understand.
By noon, the pain had become unbearable. I skipped the rest of school and went straight home, desperate for quiet, for darkness, for anything that would stop the ringing in my ears.
But the moment I stepped into my room, I froze.
Zane was standing by my window.
He hadn't been there when I left that morning. He hadn't been anywhere near me in over a week. Yet there he was, arms crossed, eyes trained on me with an intensity that made my pulse stumble.
For a long moment, he didn't speak. Then, in a low voice edged with something like concern, he said,
"It's started happening… hasn't it?"
I stared at him, stunned, my breath caught somewhere between denial and fear. But I didn't answer. I simply walked past him, the silence between us thick and heavy, and sat down on my bed because deep down, I already knew exactly what he meant.
"Quest, I'm talking to you," Zane snapped, anger rising in his voice.
"Why do you care what's happening to me?" I shot back, wiping my eyes. "I thought you hated me."
"I don't hate you, Q," he said, confusion flickering across his face. "I just… blamed you for what was happening in our territory. Didn't you listen to what Xander explained last week?"
I pushed myself off the bed and walked straight toward him. For a moment, his breath caught. He looked at me the same way he had when I staked the vampire stunned, shaken, like he was seeing and feeling something he didn't understand. The same way Xander looked at me too.
Then he blinked, snapping out of it, and his expression hardened with purpose.
"No more wasting time," he said quietly. "You're in transition. And you're going to need someone who knows what they're doing. That's why I'm here."
His words hit me like a punch to the chest.
Transition?
"To what?" I demanded.
"You triggered a curse by killing a human. A human alone can trigger it… but you killed a vampire, and somehow you still activated it. That means you're not just a werewolf. You're something else too."
My knees nearly gave out.
Me? A werewolf? Something else? Why?
It couldn't be true. It couldn't.
My vision blurred. Rage and fear churned in my chest until I couldn't take it anymore. I turned and ran out of my room, out of the palace, ignoring Zane's voice calling after me. I warned him not to follow, screaming the words through tears.
I didn't stop running until the palace walls were far behind me.
When I reached the lake, I collapsed at the edge of the water, the world spinning around me. Sobs tore out of my chest as I buried my face in my hands.
"Why me?" I whispered into the night. "Why always me?"