Chapter 117: Whispers in the Dark

The war room looked different at night.

Not physically, of course — the same heavy oak table, the same tall shelves of dusty books, the same map of old territories hanging crooked on the far wall. But with the lamps turned low, shadows seemed to lean in from the corners, like they were listening. And maybe they were.

We sat around the table again, but this time the mood was much worse than before. Tired eyes, hunched shoulders, coffee that had gone cold and bitter hours ago. The bag still sat in the center, untouched, but it felt like it was breathing.

Ethan broke the silence first. “Okay. Here’s the plan. Controlled. Step by step. We don’t jump to conclusions, we don’t push her limits. We just… observe.”

Elena raised her eyebrows. “Observe? Like a science fair experiment? What’s your hypothesis, Einstein — that she sprouts horns, or that she starts floating?”

Ethan ignored her. “First, Roxanne touches the ring. No wearing, no long contact at all. Just touch. We monitor her pulse, her eyes, her energy output—”

“Energy output?” Elena interrupted again. “She’s not a power grid, Ethan.”

“Actually, she kind of is,” he shot back. “Her hybrid physiology already makes her unstable compared to us. If the ring amplifies that…” He trailed off, shaking his head.

Echo leaned forward. “If it goes wrong, we need a fail-safe.”

Everyone looked at her.

“What kind of fail-safe?” Aidan asked, his voice low.

“The kind that cuts the connection before it roots too deep. If the ring latches on, we can’t just peel it off like tape. It’ll dig. We need to be ready to sever it.”

“And by sever,” Elena said slowly, “you mean—”

“Yes,” Echo said. “Exactly that.”

The silence that followed was heavy.

Aidan’s hand balled into a fist on the table. “No. We’re not even saying that word.”

“It’s not about what you want to hear,” Echo replied evenly. “It’s about what happens if we aren’t prepared. You think Selene will stop at tempting her? No. She’ll drag Roxanne under if she can. And we need to be ready to pull her back, even if it means pain.”

“Enough.” My voice cracked louder than I expected, but it shut them up. My chest felt tight, my throat raw. “You don’t get to talk about me like I’m already lost. I’m still here. I’m still me.”

For a moment, nobody moved. Then Aidan reached out, brushing his knuckles against mine. “She’s right here. And she’s not going anywhere.”

“Fine,” Elena muttered. “But if she starts glowing in ancient Latin, I’m out the door.”

That earned the smallest laugh from Mara, curled in her chair. “At least you’d be predictable for once.”

Ethan pushed his glasses higher. “All right. Enough stalling. Roxanne, are you ready?”

I stared at the bag.

The whisper was already there, faint and sharp, like a thread tugging at my skin.

I nodded once. “Let’s do it.”

\---

Ethan unzipped the bag slowly, like he was disarming a bomb. The ring inside looked smaller than I remembered. A simple band of dull silver, etched with runes so fine they almost looked like scratches. But the way the light bent around it… it made my stomach churn.

“Just touch,” Ethan reminded me. “Two seconds. No more.”

I reached out. My fingers trembled, but I forced them steady. The moment my skin brushed the metal, the world tilted.

Not violently. Not like an explosion. More like falling into a dream.

Voices whispered at the edges of my mind, overlapping, familiar and strange. I couldn’t make out the words, but I felt the weight of them pressing into me.

“Roxanne?” Aidan’s voice. Sharp. Close.

I blinked. The war room swam back into focus.

“I’m fine,” I whispered. But my voice didn’t sound like mine. It was layered, faintly doubled.

Everyone froze.

“Pulse?” Ethan barked.

“Elevated,” Rhea said, reading the monitor clipped to my wrist. Her hands shook, but her voice stayed calm. “Not dangerous. Yet.”

“Her eyes,” Elena whispered. “Look at her eyes.”

I glanced at the reflection in the darkened window.

My eyes weren’t just glowing. They were gold, threaded with lines of silver, like cracks in glass.

The voices in my head sharpened. One cut through the rest, clearer, colder. You are mine.

I yanked my hand back from the ring. The whispers stopped instantly. My chest heaved, and I realized I’d been holding my breath.

Ethan zipped the bag shut in one motion, like the ring might leap out.

“What did you hear?” Echo asked quietly.

I swallowed hard. “Not words. Not at first. Just… pressure. Like someone trying to fit into my skin. But then… one voice.”

Aidan leaned closer. “What did it say?”

I hesitated. His eyes burned into mine, steady, demanding. Finally, I whispered: “It said I’m theirs.”

The silence after that felt like the whole house had stopped breathing.

“Okay,” Elena said finally, her voice shaky but too loud. “That’s it. Experiment over. Pack it up, lock it down, bury it under concrete and holy water. We’re not doing that again.”

But Ethan didn’t answer. He was staring at the bag, his expression unreadable.

“Ethan,” Aidan snapped. “Don’t even think about it.”

Ethan looked up, his eyes sharp behind his glasses. “We can’t stop here. That was just touch. If it speaks to her that quickly, then Selene already has the advantage. We need to know what happens when it goes further.”

Aidan slammed his fist on the table. “Absolutely not.”

And just like that, the war room cracked open into chaos again — voices rising, tempers flaring, my own head still buzzing with echoes of that damn whisper.

Because the truth was… part of me agreed with Ethan.

If the ring could reach me in seconds, what would happen if I resisted it longer? Would I break? Or would I understand it enough to turn it against Selene?

The question burned in my chest.

And worse — I wanted the answer.