Morning came quietly.
Too quietly.
Elara woke before her alarm, staring at the ceiling as if something had pulled her out of sleep.
Her hand moved automatically to the silver pendant resting against her chest.
Warm.
Again.
It had been doing that lately.
Not hot. Not burning. Just… warm. Like it had a heartbeat of its own.
"That's weird," she murmured.
She pushed the thought away and sat up. Sunlight slipped through the curtains, soft and ordinary.
Normal.
Everything looked normal.
But the strange feeling from last night still lingered in her chest, like a whisper she couldn't quite hear.
---
School was louder than usual.
Students filled the hallways, talking, laughing, complaining about homework.
Elara walked through them quietly.
Sometimes she felt like she didn't fully belong here. Like she was watching a world she was supposed to understand but didn't.
Her friend Maya waved from across the hall.
"Elara! You look like you didn't sleep!"
Elara forced a smile.
"I slept."
"Your face says otherwise."
Before she could answer, something strange happened.
Her pendant pulsed.
Once.
Her breath caught.
The noise of the hallway suddenly felt distant.
Like the world had stepped back.
And somewhere far away—
Someone was looking for her.
---
Far above the city.
Lucien stood in silence.
His golden eyes were closed again.
The bond flickered.
Faint.
But clearer now.
He could almost feel her presence through the Veil.
Alive.
Unaware.
Unprotected.
A dangerous combination.
Gamma watched him carefully.
"Do you see her?"
Lucien's eyes opened slowly.
"Yes."
"And?"
A small pause.
Then he spoke.
"She has no idea what she is."
Outside, the wind howled softly across the city.
And somewhere in the distance—
Something else had begun to move.
Something that had also felt the tear in the Veil.
And unlike Lucien—
It was not coming to protect her.