The Midnight Key

The screams surrounded them.

They didn't come from a single direction but from everywhere at once, as if the very air itself was wailing.

Rene clenched her teeth, gripping Rena protectively. The baby remained calm, her silver eyes unblinking.

Lucien moved first. "We need to go. Now."

Nyra spun around, sword drawn. "Go where? There's nothing here."

She was right.

The mist thickened, curling unnaturally. The sky above was cracked, streaked with silver veins, and the ground beneath their feet felt wrong.

And then, the whispers returned.

"She was never meant to wake."

"Unravel the key. Close the door."

"Before it is too late."

Adrian and Adriel exchanged a glance, their silver eyes flickering. Their magic pulsed in response to the voices, sharp and icy, but it did nothing to silence them.

Kieran exhaled. "Okay. I'd love to pretend I didn't just hear that, but I think we should all admit we're a little bit doomed."

Then, Selene's voice rang out—everywhere and nowhere.

"You are standing in the world that should not exist."

A flicker of movement.

A shadow.

Lucien's blade whipped out, slicing through the air. The moment the steel cut, the mist rippled, as if something unseen had been disturbed.

And Rene felt it.

Something was watching them.

Not just one thing.

Many.

Rena lifted her gaze toward the sky.

"This place remembers me."

A cold chill ran through Rene's body.

Selene's voice responded, sharp and distant.

"Of course it does. You were made here."

Silence.

Lucien stiffened. "What?"

Selene's laughter was soft, almost amused. "Did you think she was simply… born? A child of fate? A mistake?"

Rene's breath caught in her throat.

"No, dear sister." Selene's voice was colder now. "Rena was not born. She was created."

The world shattered.

And then—they came.

To be continued...