The clearing felt different now.
Alive.
Ava stood with her eyes closed, trying to follow Darius's instructions. He had told her to focus—not on fear, not on confusion—but on the energy moving inside her.
It wasn't easy.
Everything about this situation felt impossible.
"I don't feel anything," she said after a moment.
Darius circled her slowly.
"You're trying too hard to understand it," he said. "Stop thinking. Start feeling."
Ava exhaled slowly.
She focused on the warmth in her chest.
The faint pulse that had been there since the night of the rejection.
Gradually, the sensation grew stronger.
Her fingers tingled.
She raised her hand slightly.
Silver light flickered faintly around her palm.
Her eyes snapped open.
"I did that."
Darius nodded.
"Yes."
Ava stared at the light in disbelief.
"But I don't understand how—"
"You don't need to," he interrupted. "Not yet."
The light faded slowly.
Ava lowered her hand, her thoughts racing.
If this power was real… if what Darius said was true…
Then everything she thought she knew about herself was wrong.
And for the first time, she wondered—
Was she ever truly weak?