(Lisa's POV)
A figure stepped into the room, dressed in a long coat. The air felt heavier.
The door closed slowly behind her with a soft click that echoed through the study. The warm crackle of the fireplace suddenly seemed quieter, like even the flames were paying attention.
She stepped forward into the light.
Tall. Calm. Controlled.
Her dark coat brushed the floor as she moved, and silver stitching along the sleeves caught the firelight. Her eyes were sharp, almost glowing in the dim room, studying me with unsettling focus.
Like she had been searching for me for a very long time.
"Lisa," the stranger said, voice low. "I've been looking for you."
Something about the way she said my name made the strange hum inside my chest pulse again.
Alex immediately stepped forward, placing himself slightly between us.
Alex moved protectively. "Elena, what are you doing?"
Elena.
The name hit something deep in my mind, like a half-forgotten memory. I didn't know where I'd heard it before, but hearing it now made the energy inside me stir.
I felt a weird pull in my chest.
Not pain.
Recognition.
Elena's eyes flicked briefly toward Alex before returning to me.
"I'm here for the council," she said, eyes on me.
Council?
My brain struggled to keep up.
First shards, then luminae, then shifting realities. Now there was a council too?
David crossed his arms near the doorway, his expression tightening.
David frowned. "Elena, now's not the time."
She didn't even glance at him.
Elena ignored him, focusing on me. "Lisa, you have a choice. Come with me, or risk everything."
The words settled over the room like falling ash.
Come with her?
Where?
Why?
Susan stepped forward before I could respond.
Susan stepped up. "She's not going anywhere."
Her voice was firm, even though I could feel her hand trembling slightly in mine.
Elena's gaze shifted to her briefly.
Not annoyed.
Just… assessing.
Then she looked back at me.
Elena's gaze didn't waver. "This isn't a request. The council wants you, Lisa."
The council wants me.
The phrase made my stomach twist.
Alex stepped forward again, his tone sharp.
Alex intervened. "We'll protect her."
For the first time, something flickered in Elena's expression.
Not anger.
Something closer to concern.
A flicker in Elena's eyes. "The council won't like that."
The room fell silent again.
I could feel the tension between all of them—Alex, David, Elena—like invisible wires pulling tighter and tighter.
And in the center of it all…
Was me.
The humming inside my chest surged again.
Stronger this time.
The energy spread down my arms and into my hands, the same electric warmth I had felt earlier in the cafeteria.
Only now it was stronger.
Clearer.
Like something inside me was waking up.
The air in the room felt charged.
Even the flames in the fireplace flickered wildly for a moment.
I took a slow breath.
If the council knew about me…
Then they probably knew answers too.
Answers about the shard.
About my powers.
About why the world had literally bent around me earlier tonight.
The decision came out before I could overthink it.
"I'll go," I said, surprising everyone.
The silence that followed was immediate.
Susan turned toward me so fast her hair whipped across her shoulder.
Alex looked stunned.
David's expression hardened instantly.
David's face tightened. "Lisa, no."
His voice carried a warning I hadn't heard before.
But I had already made up my mind.
I looked at him, then at Alex.
Then back at Elena.
But I nodded. "I need answers."
Because I was done feeling like the only person in the room who didn't understand what was happening.
If there was a council that knew the truth…
I wanted to hear it.
Elena studied me for another long moment.
Then—
Elena smiled, just slightly. "Good choice."
Not a big smile.
Just enough to show approval.
She stepped closer and raised one hand slowly, palm facing me.
The strange humming energy in my chest responded instantly.
The room around us began to shift.
The bookshelves blurred.
The fireplace light stretched into glowing streaks.
Susan's voice echoed faintly.
"Lisa—wait—"
The floor beneath my feet felt like it vanished for a split second.
The world twisted like water swirling down a drain.
As I turned to leave, the room blurred...
Light flooded my vision.
The pressure in my chest built for one intense moment—
Then everything snapped back into focus.
When it cleared, I was standing somewhere completely different.
A vast chamber stretched out before me.
Tall marble columns rose toward a ceiling lost in shadows. Massive windows lined the walls, glowing faintly with moonlight. Strange symbols were carved into the floor in intricate circles that shimmered faintly.
Dozens of people stood around the hall.
All dressed in dark robes.
Watching me.
Every pair of eyes in the room turned toward me at once.
Some curious.
Some cautious.
Some… worried.
The weight of their attention made my heart race.
I slowly stepped forward, my footsteps echoing across the polished stone floor.
At the far end of the hall, a raised platform stood beneath an enormous glowing emblem that looked eerily similar to the symbol that had appeared on my palm earlier.
Several figures stood there, older than the others.
Waiting.
One woman stepped forward from the group.
Her silver hair was pulled back neatly, and the long robes she wore shimmered with faint golden patterns.
Her expression was calm.
Authoritative.
Powerful.
She studied me carefully before speaking.
And when she did, her voice carried easily across the entire hall.
"Lisa, welcome to the Luminae Council."