Chapter One Hundred & Seventeen

Chapter One Hundred & Seventeen
Nora's P.O.V

Jenna sighed, dragging a hand through her hair like she already knew where this was going.

“About me going back to school,” she said flatly.

“Yes.”

“I just got here.”

“And now you’re leaving,” I said.

She stared at me.

“You don’t ease into things, do you?”

“No.”

Killian set his coffee down, stepping in without interrupting the tone.

“You leave today,” he said. “With protection.”

Jenna looked between both of us, then leaned back in her chair.

“Of course I do,” she muttered.

Her eyes flicked to Leo then back to me.

“Let me guess,” she added. “This is the part where you tell me I’m a target now.”

I didn’t soften it.

“You are.”

Silence stretched for half a second.

Then she nodded once.

“Okay,” she said.

Just like that.

Killian’s brow shifted slightly.

Mine did too.

“That was easy,” I said.

She shrugged, reaching for her coffee.

“Not really,” she replied. “I just saw enough last night to know I’m not arguing a losing battle.”

Smart.

“I’m not hiding,” she added, more serious now. “But I’m also not stupid.”

Killian watched her for a second longer, something quieter passing between them.

“You won’t be alone,” he said.

“I figured.”

I stepped in again, grounding it.

“You’ll have guards,” I said. “Not obvious. But they’re there. Always.”

Jenna nodded.

“Fine.”

Her eyes flicked to Leo again.

“Do I get one of you as a bodyguard?” she asked, half-joking.

Leo didn’t even blink.

“No.”

She smirked.

“Worth a shot.”

Killian slid the file across the table toward me.

“Pier fourteen,” he said. “Preliminary intel.”

I picked it up, flipping it open, scanning quickly.

Movement logs.

Shipping patterns.

Security rotations.

Good.

“They’re there,” I said.

Killian nodded once.

Leo stepped closer beside me, glancing over my shoulder.

“When do we move?” he asked.

I closed the file.

“Soon.”

Jenna set her fork down again, watching all of us now.

“Right,” she said slowly. “So I leave for college while you three go start a war.”

I looked at her.

“Yes.”

She huffed a breath.

“Cool. Cool.”

Then she pointed her fork at me.

“You better not die while I’m gone.”

A small smile pulled at my mouth.

“Not planning on it.”

She narrowed her eyes.

“Good.”

Because beneath the sarcasm—

She meant it.

And so did I.

A guard stepped into the doorway, posture sharp.

“Black car entering the front drive,” he said. “I believe it’s your brother and Amelia.”

Relief hit faster than I expected.

I smiled. “Yeah. That’s them.”

Jenna’s head snapped up instantly. “Oh—Nick.” She pointed her fork at me like she’d just connected something. “Your twin, right?”

“Yeah.”

Her eyes lit with curiosity, already piecing things together. “Does he have the whole green fire thing too?” she added, gesturing vaguely toward me.

I huffed a quiet laugh. “No. That’s just me.”

“Huh,” she said, like she was slightly disappointed. “And Amelia—I remember her. She helped me out senior year.” Jenna laughed softly, shaking her head. “Didn’t expect her to walk into… all of this.”

I glanced toward the front of the house, already feeling it—the shift.

Nick.

“They’re here,” I said, more to myself than anyone else.

Leo straightened slightly beside me, all ease gone, replaced with focus.

Jenna stood, brushing her hands off on her jeans. “Well,” she said, “this should be interesting.”

Killian moved first.

“Let’s not have this conversation in the driveway,” he said. “Bring them in.”

The guard nodded and stepped back out.

I didn’t wait.

I was already moving.

Leo fell into step beside me instantly.

And as we stepped into the hall—

The front doors opened.

Amelia came bursting in like she owned the place.

The doors had barely opened before she was already inside, energy loud, familiar, grounding in a way nothing else had been since last night.

“There she is—”

She saw me and didn’t hesitate.

“Nora!”

She crossed the distance in seconds and pulled me into a hug, tight, real—no hesitation, no questions first. Just her.

I laughed, wrapping my arms around her.

“Hey.”

She pulled back just enough to look at me, hands still on my shoulders, eyes scanning like she was taking inventory.

“You look good,” she said. Then her expression shifted slightly. “But… something’s different.”

Of course she noticed.

She always did.

Before I could answer—

“Nora.”

Nick.

I turned, and that steadiness hit instantly.

He didn’t rush me like Amelia did. Didn’t fill the space.

He just walked up, pulled me into a hug, and held on.

“You good?” he asked quietly.

“I’m good,” I said. “You?”

He pulled back, eyes searching mine—really searching this time.

“Depends,” he said. “What happened?”

Straight to it.

No dancing around.

Leo stepped further into view behind me, and Nick’s gaze flicked to him, then to Killian across the room.

Amelia, of course, had already moved on.

“Hi, Leo,” she said like she’d known him forever, dropping onto the arm of a chair like she was settling in. “Still intense. Love that.”

Leo gave her a small nod.

“Amelia.”

That was as much as she was getting.

Jenna leaned against the table, watching all of this like it was the best show she’d ever walked into.

“Okay,” she said, pointing between all of us. “So this is the famous brother.”

Nick smirked slightly. “Depends who you ask.”

“And Amelia,” Jenna added. “I remember you.”

Amelia lit up. “Senior year! Yeah, you were getting cornered behind the gym.”

Jenna groaned. “Don’t remind me.”

Killian stepped in then, grounding the room.

Everyone was in one place now.

No more delays.

Nick crossed his arms, looking back at me.

“So,” he said. “What changed?”

I exhaled slowly, stepping forward just enough to hold the room without raising my voice.

“Last night,” I said, “the estate was attacked.”

Nick’s expression hardened instantly.

“By who?” he asked.

“An organization,” I said. “Old. Controlled. They’ve been watching things like Leo… like everything connected to this world.”

“And now they’re watching you,” Amelia said.

Smart.

“Yeah,” I replied.

Nick’s eyes narrowed. “Why?”

This was the part.

The part they didn’t know.

I held his gaze.

“You remember how I told you I might not be human?” I said, quieter now. “Well… I’m not.”

Silence.

“I’ve been… changing,” I continued. “Power’s been building. I can control it—but it’s new. Stronger than anything we’ve seen before.”

But I could see it—him recalculating everything.

“What kind of power?” he asked.

I didn’t answer right away.

I lifted my hand.

Just slightly.

The air shifted.

Then green flame flickered to life in my palm.

Amelia’s eyes widened.

“Okay,” she breathed. “That’s new.”

Nick didn’t look surprised.

He looked focused.

“How far can you push that?” he asked.

“Far enough,” I said.

Jenna muttered under her breath, “Understatement of the year.”

Nick didn’t interrupt.

He stepped closer instead, studying it.

“Does it burn you?” he asked.

I shook my head.

“No.”

“Can it burn us?” Amelia added quickly.

I glanced at her.

“If I want it to.”

The flame pulsed once, reacting to the shift in the room, then steadied again—contained, controlled, exactly where I kept it.