The tunnel could no longer hold it.
Cracks spread like veins across the concrete walls. The emergency lights flickered violently, some bursting completely as sparks rained down.
The air was too heavy.
Too charged.
Too alive.
Emily stood at the center of it all.
Breathing slowly.
But everything inside her was anything but calm.
Power pulsed through her veins like something newly awakened—wild, ancient, and dangerously aware.
"If you touch him again…"
Her voice echoed unnaturally.
"…I will end you."
The words didn't sound like a threat.
They sounded like a promise.
Lucien watched her with a quiet, unsettling fascination.
Like a scientist observing the success of an experiment.
Like a man who had waited years for this exact moment.
"There it is," he said softly.
"That power… it finally chose you."
Emily's fingers curled.
"No."
Her voice shook slightly.
"I chose it."
Lucien's smile deepened.
"You think there's a difference?"
Before she could respond—
