60

The room felt heavier with every passing second, the air thick with unspoken words and unacknowledged tension. I stood there, feeling like an outsider in a strange land, surrounded by people who seemed to know more than I did—people who seemed to understand the stakes of the battle we were all about to face.

The woman, who had introduced herself as Selene, kept her gaze fixed on me, as if she were trying to read my every thought. I shifted uncomfortably under her scrutiny, but I didn’t dare look away. Dante had said they were allies, but how could I trust them when I barely trusted him?

"We have little time," Selene said, breaking the silence. "The threat is closing in faster than we anticipated."

I could see the urgency in her eyes. She wasn’t playing games. This was real, and whatever we were up against, it was coming for us.

Dante, standing beside me, had his jaw clenched. He was visibly tense, his gaze never leaving Selene. "How much longer do we have?" he asked.

Selene hesitated for a moment before answering. "It could be days, or it could be hours. His forces are already in motion."

The gravity of her words hit me like a punch to the stomach. His forces. The same enemy Dante had been warning me about. But who was this "him"? And what kind of power did he wield?

"I don’t understand," I said, my voice shaky despite my best effort to remain calm. "Who is he? What do we need to do?"

Selene exchanged a brief look with the others before turning her attention back to me. "His name is Valerian," she said. "He’s a tyrant, someone who believes that he has the right to control everything—everyone. And he’s coming for you, Aurora."

My heart skipped a beat at the mention of my name. Coming for me? But why? I wasn’t anyone special, not really. Just an ordinary girl caught up in something I couldn’t control.

"You see," Dante added, his voice low, "Valerian knows what you are. He knows what you can do."

I turned to him, my pulse quickening. "What do you mean? What am I? What can I do?"

Dante didn’t answer right away. Instead, he stepped closer, his hand resting on my shoulder, grounding me in the moment. "You’re the key to everything, Aurora. You’re the one who can stop him. But you have to learn how to use your power. Fast."

I felt my breath catch in my throat. Power? What power? He couldn’t be serious. I had never felt anything special inside me. No powers, no abilities—nothing that could help us in this war.

Selene spoke again, her voice softer now. "We’ve been training for years, preparing for this moment. But we need you to understand that this isn’t just about survival. This is about saving everyone. You’re more than just a pawn in this war. You’re the catalyst for everything. You can stop Valerian’s reign before it even begins."

I couldn’t process what she was saying. A part of me wanted to argue, to say that they were wrong, that I wasn’t some hero destined to save the world. But another part of me knew that they were right. Something inside me had been awakened—something I couldn’t explain.

"How do I learn?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper. "How do I control whatever this is inside me?"

Selene smiled faintly, a touch of sympathy in her expression. "That’s what we’re here for. We’ll teach you, but you have to trust us. Trust yourself."

I nodded slowly, uncertainty still gnawing at my insides. I wanted to trust them, I did. But I wasn’t sure I was ready to take on this responsibility, this weight that seemed to have fallen on my shoulders out of nowhere. The pressure was overwhelming, but I knew I didn’t have a choice. Not anymore.

The room grew quiet again as the others exchanged glances. I could feel the tension building, the urgency in the air as they prepared for what was coming. Time was running out, and every second that passed brought us closer to the storm.

"How do we prepare for him?" I asked, trying to focus on something—anything—that could help me make sense of this.

Selene’s expression hardened. "You have to train. You have to understand what Valerian is capable of, and what he’s willing to do to get what he wants."

I swallowed hard. "What is he after? Why me?"

Dante answered this time, his voice tense. "He wants to control you, Aurora. He thinks that if he can harness your power, he can use it to reshape the world in his image. He’s obsessed with power, and he’ll stop at nothing to get it."

My mind was spinning. Power? What power could I possibly have that was worth taking?

"You’re the one thing standing between him and his ultimate goal," Selene continued, her voice steady. "That’s why he’s after you. That’s why we need to make sure you’re ready."

I looked at Dante, the weight of his words sinking in. He was looking at me with something I couldn’t quite place—something that felt like guilt, like he knew the cost of all this.

"We’ll help you," he said softly. "We’ll train you. We’ll teach you everything you need to know."

But something in his eyes told me that even he didn’t fully understand what I was capable of—or what the consequences of all this would be.