The candlelight in the apartment flickered not with wind, but with anticipation. The walls, lined with protective sigils and layered enchantments, felt like they were humming. Magic, long dormant, now pulsed through every surface—alive, watchful, and bracing for what was coming. Elizabeth stood in the center of the living room, a ring of spellwork glowing faintly beneath her bare feet. Her breathing was steady, but her soul? Her soul felt like it was on fire. “Again,” Lilith said gently, perched on the windowsill with her grimoire resting open on her knees. Elizabeth exhaled slowly, lifting her palms. A soft ribbon of violet flame spiraled upward from her fingers, dancing in the air like a serpent. It hovered, held in place by sheer will—controlled, focused. Then it flickered. Cracked. And snapped, surging outwards with a shockwave that scattered pages and blew the candles out all at once. Elizabeth stumbled back, bracing against the wall, heart hammering in her chest. “Damn it—” Lilith slid off the sill and caught her gently. “No. That was more stable than yesterday. You held it. You shaped it.” Elizabeth rubbed her eyes. “But I didn’t command it. It doesn’t feel like mine.” “It’s not meant to feel like ownership,” Lilith said. “It’s trust. You're carrying centuries of dormant power. You’re not controlling it—you’re aligning with it.”
A quiet knock sounded from the doorway. Nicholas leaned against the frame, his coat slung over his shoulder, the silver hilt of his dagger gleaming in the candlelight. “We’ll need more than alignment if Adrian’s ready.” “He’s not just ready,” Lilith said, tone sharpening. “He’s moving.” Elizabeth looked up sharply. “What do you mean?” Lilith shut her grimoire with a loud snap. “The runes around the city’s edge flared red earlier. Faint, but not subtle. That means the boundary’s weakening. Adrian isn’t waiting anymore. He’s forcing the gate open from the inside.” Nicholas stepped inside fully, dropping his coat over the back of a chair. “We don’t know what he’s using to do it. But if the veil thins, it could fracture—and not just our world. Every realm tied to the old bloodlines could unravel.” Elizabeth pressed her hand to her charm bracelet. One of the silver runes, previously dormant, was now faintly glowing—spiraling.
A new mark. “Then we go tonight,” she said quietly. “Before the gate chooses to open on its own.” Nicholas nodded. “We’re with you. All the way.” Lilith moved into action, retrieving spell kits and protective relics, her voice taking command. “We need to gather everything: cloaking charms, grounding talismans, mirror wards in case he tries to use memory magic again. This isn't a duel—it's a breach.” Elizabeth moved with purpose, filling her satchel with stones etched in salt-lines, vials of moonwater, and an obsidian pendant shaped like an eye. They worked in coordinated silence for the next hour. The usual banter was gone. What remained was the weight of knowing: this wasn’t the end of the beginning anymore. It was the beginning of the reckoning. When the trio stepped outside, the city was asleep. Or at least, it pretended to be. Streetlamps buzzed. A breeze stirred the dying leaves on the pavement. But Elizabeth could feel it—every shadow was listening. As they neared the outer wards, the world began to shift. The buildings around them grew older, less defined—edges softening like paint running in the rain. The veil between worlds thinned with every step. At the threshold of the sanctuary grove, Elizabeth paused. The stones were already glowing.
The gate pulsed with deep, ancient energy. Not like before. This time it wasn’t simply a doorway. It was alive. And waiting. Lilith traced her fingers across a hovering sigil. “This wasn’t built by Adrian. Not entirely. Some of these marks—these belong to the old covens.” Nicholas narrowed his eyes. “You’re saying he’s not just using dark magic. He’s twisting bloodbound history.” Elizabeth moved forward until the gate’s edge pulsed against her aura. It recognized her. Like a key turning in a lock. A shudder passed through her spine, her power rising unbidden. Magic pooled beneath her skin—not chaotic this time, but vast, steady. Ready. “I can’t stop it,” she whispered. “Not all of it. But I can shape it now. I can feel how it wants to move.” Nicholas stood beside her. “Then guide it. Don’t fight it.” Lilith placed a protective charm in Elizabeth’s hand. “And don’t forget who you are—no matter what you see when we cross.”
The veil began to shimmer—no longer resisting. The gate was opening. Not to Adrian’s realm. To a place older. A memory made real. Elizabeth turned to face her friends, her found family, her fiercest allies. “I love you both,” she said. Lilith gave a shaky laugh. “If you die, I’m dragging your ghost back by the hair.” Nicholas leaned in, pressing his forehead to hers. “No matter what happens—we end this together.” And then— She stepped through9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPQf5yeFl7F
