Isla's POV
"Don't even think about it," Kael said, blocking my path to the door.
"She's going to kill innocent people!" I tried to push past him. "Because of me!"
"That's exactly what she wants—to draw you out where you're vulnerable." His silver eyes blazed. "It's a trap, Isla."
Another explosion rocked the building. Through the window, I saw the dark witch destroy a second structure. People ran screaming through the streets.
"I can't just hide while people die!" Tears burned my eyes. "This is my fault!"
"No." Kael grabbed my shoulders, forcing me to look at him. "This is their fault. Whoever sent that witch, whoever killed your parents—they're responsible. Not you. Never you."
"Guardian!" A voice called from outside. One of the guards burst in, his face pale. "The witch demands the Veilweaver. She says she'll stop if the girl surrenders."
"Tell her to go back to whatever hole she crawled from," Kael said coldly.
"But sir, the civilians—"
"Will be evacuated. Send word to Captain Theron. I want the Guard mobilized and the district cleared. Now."
The guard hesitated, looking at me with something like pity, then ran.
I pulled away from Kael. "You can't just ignore this!"
"I'm not ignoring it. I'm protecting you while others handle the threat." He moved toward the door. "Stay here. Lock the door behind me. Don't open it for anyone except me or Elder Seraphine."
"Where are you going?"
"To kill a witch." His voice was ice-cold. "She wants to threaten my Court? Threaten you? She'll learn that was a mistake."
He left before I could argue.
I stood alone in the apartment, listening to the chaos outside. More screams. More explosions. All because of me.
Your mother would be proud, the note had said. But how could she be proud? I'd been in this realm for less than a day and already people were dying.
I looked at the glowing symbols on my skin—my mother's legacy. My curse.
"What were you thinking?" I whispered to the memory of a mother I barely remembered. "Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you prepare me?"
A soft knock at the door made me jump.
"Child, it's Seraphine. Let me in."
I opened the door. The Elder swept inside, her face grave. "We need to talk. Now. Before more blood is spilled."
"Is Kael—"
"The Guardian is fine. He's fought worse than one dark witch." She guided me to sit. "But this attack proves what I feared. Someone wants you badly enough to risk open assault on the Lunar Court. That's unprecedented."
"The note said those who killed my mother want 'their property' back." My hands shook. "What does that mean? How can I be property?"
Seraphine's expression turned sad. "Your mother didn't just leave the Lunar Court for love, Isla. She was running. From people who wanted to use her power for darkness."
My heart sank. "Who?"
"A group called the Shadowsworn. They're dark mages who believe the Veil should be destroyed completely, allowing our worlds to merge. Chaos and darkness would reign, but they would become gods in the resulting world." She took my hands. "Your mother discovered their plans twenty-six years ago. She exposed them, had several members executed. But their leader escaped. And he swore revenge."
"He killed her," I whispered.
"Yes. But not right away. He waited. Watched. Your mother went into hiding in the human realm, married your father, had you. For twenty years, she kept you hidden, kept your power suppressed with protective charms. She hoped your bloodline had skipped you."
"But it didn't."
"No. And six years ago, when you turned twenty, the charms began to weaken. Your power started to wake up, slowly. The Shadowsworn sensed it. They found your parents and killed them before they could warn you or strengthen the protections."
I felt sick. "They've been watching me for six years? Waiting?"
"Not just watching. Manipulating." Seraphine's voice turned hard. "Child, do you really think it was coincidence that the forbidden scroll appeared in your workplace? That the storage room was mysteriously unlocked? That you, specifically, found it?"
The truth hit me like a physical blow. "They planted it. They wanted me to awaken."
"Yes. A Veilweaver with no training, no protection, no knowledge of what she is—that's easy to capture and control. They probably have people in the human realm, people close to you, ensuring you stayed weak and isolated until the time was right."
Victoria. The thought crashed through me. My stepmother had always been cruel, but what if it was more than that? What if she'd been placed in my life deliberately?
"My stepmother," I breathed. "She married my father right before he died. She took everything, made sure I had nothing, kept me poor and alone—"
"Making you desperate," Seraphine finished grimly. "Easy to manipulate when the time came. I'm sorry, child. But yes, I believe your stepmother is Shadowsworn. Possibly your former fiancé as well."
Marcus. Using me, stealing my research, breaking me down. All part of a plan.
Rage burned through my chest, hot and fierce. "They destroyed my life. For years. Just to make me weak enough to control?"
"Yes." Seraphine squeezed my hands. "But their plan failed. You're here now, under our protection. We can train you, teach you to defend yourself. You're not their property, Isla. You're your own person."
"Then why is that witch out there demanding I surrender?"
"Because they're desperate. Kael brought you here too soon, before they could capture you. Now you're protected by the most powerful Guardian in existence and the entire Lunar Court. Their window of opportunity is closing." Seraphine stood. "That witch isn't here to capture you. She's here to kill you. If the Shadowsworn can't control you, they'll eliminate you so you can't stop their plans."
Another explosion shook the building, closer this time.
"The Guardian is taking too long," Seraphine muttered. She moved to the window. Her face went pale. "Oh no."
"What? What's wrong?"
"It's not one witch. There are three. And they've summoned shadow creatures." She spun to face me. "We need to evacuate you now. This apartment isn't safe anymore."
As if to prove her point, the wall exploded inward.
A woman in black robes stepped through the hole, dark energy crackling around her hands. She was young, beautiful, and her smile was pure malice.
"Hello, little Veilweaver," she purred. "I've been looking everywhere for you."
Seraphine moved between us, her staff blazing to life. "You dare attack within the Court itself?"
"The Court is weak. The Guardian is distracted fighting my sisters. And you?" The witch laughed. "You're one Elder against my full power. You can't protect her and fight me at the same time."
"Watch me." Seraphine's staff erupted with silver light.
The two women collided in a blast of magic that shattered every window in the apartment. I was thrown backward, hitting the wall hard. My vision blurred.
Through the chaos, I saw them fighting—Seraphine's silver light against the witch's darkness. They were evenly matched, destroying the apartment around them.
The witch noticed me trying to crawl away. "Going somewhere?" She threw a bolt of dark energy.
Seraphine blocked it, but barely. "Isla, run!"
I scrambled to my feet and ran for the door. Behind me, the magical battle intensified. I burst into the hallway, not knowing where to go, only knowing I had to get away.
Guards lay unconscious in the corridor. The witch had taken them out before entering my room.
I ran toward the stairs, clutching the scroll that had started all of this. My only weapon. My only protection.
Footsteps echoed behind me—fast, getting closer.
"You can run, little Veilweaver, but this realm is full of our people!" the witch's voice called. "Your stepmother sends her regards, by the way. She's quite proud of how well she broke you."
I ran faster, taking stairs two at a time, my heart hammering.
I burst out into the street. People ran past me in panic. Buildings burned. Shadow creatures attacked anything that moved.
And standing in the center of it all, waiting like she knew I'd come, was another witch. This one was older, with white hair and eyes like black holes.
"There you are," she said calmly. "The child who killed my sister witches just by existing. Do you know how long we've planned for you? How many years we've invested?"
I backed up, but the third witch emerged from the building behind me, cutting off my escape. I was trapped between them.
"It's over," the white-haired witch said. "Your Guardian is occupied. The Elder is occupied. You're alone, untrained, and helpless. Just like we planned."
The symbols on my skin burned hot, responding to my fear. Silver light sparked around my hands.
"I'm not helpless," I said, trying to sound brave.
"No?" The witch smiled. "Then prove it. Show me your power, little Veilweaver. Show me if you're worth all this trouble."
Both witches raised their hands, dark energy building to deadly levels.
I held up the scroll, praying it would protect me again.
That's when I felt it—a surge of power from deep inside me, answering my desperate need. The symbols on my skin blazed like stars.
But this time, the power didn't stop. It kept growing, building, threatening to explode out of me uncontrolled.
"Oh," the white-haired witch breathed, and for the first time, she looked afraid. "Oh, that's not possible. She's barely awakened. She shouldn't have that much—"
The power exploded.
Silver light erupted from my body in a wave that swept across the entire district. I felt the Veil itself respond to me, bending, flexing like a living thing.
The witches screamed as the light hit them, burning through their dark magic.
But I couldn't stop it. The power kept pouring out, wild and dangerous. I was going to tear a hole in reality itself.
"ISLA, STOP!" Kael's voice cut through the chaos. He appeared beside me, bloody and battered from his fight. "You have to control it!"
"I can't!" I gasped. "It won't stop!"
"Then I'll help you." He grabbed my hand.
The moment our soul-bond activated, his control flooded through me, helping me rein in the wild magic. Together, we pushed the power back down, sealing it away.
The silver light faded. I collapsed, and Kael caught me.
The street was silent. The witches were gone—fled or destroyed, I didn't know. The shadow creatures had vanished. And everyone was staring at the crater I'd created in the center of the district.
"What did I do?" I whispered.
Kael looked at me with something like awe. "You nearly tore the Veil open. Your power—it's stronger than anyone suspected. Stronger than your mother's was."
Elder Seraphine limped over, her staff supporting her. She looked at the destruction, then at me.
"The Council needs to see this," she said quietly. "They thought you were dangerous before. But this? This changes everything. You're not just a Veilweaver, Isla."
"Then what am I?"
She met my eyes, and I saw fear there. "I don't know. But we need to find out before that power consumes you—or destroys us all."