Chapter 60 Chapter 60

Chapter 60 Chapter 60


Yulia

Rhys didn't say anything after that. He just watched me. Not the way he usually did during training, where he was looking for mistakes or weaknesses. 

This was different. He was studying me now like he was trying to understand something that didn't quite make sense.

Lucis hand was still on my arm. Firm. Grounding. Like he was making sure I didn't disappear again. 

I let out a breath trying to steady myself. The pressure was goneZ The memory of it lingered. That feeling… it hadn't been random. It hadn't been wild. It had responded, to me.

"We stop here" Luci said. It wasn't a suggestion. Rhys didn't argue this time. 

That alone told me how serious this had just become. I pulled my arm slightly, not enough to shake Luci off. But enough to remind him I was still in control of myself.

"I can keep going" I said. "No" he replied immediately. My gaze lifted to his. "You don't know that." "I know enough" he said. There was something in his voice that made me pause. It wasn't concern. It was something…. Controlled.

"You felt it too" I said quietly. He didn't answer right away. That was enough of an answer. Rhys stepped in before the silence stretched far. 

"This isn't something you push at once" he said. "Whatever that is inside you, it’s not reacting like any random power. It's aware." The word settled heavily. Aware. I didn't like how easily that fit.

"I didn't lose control" I said. "No" Rhys agreed". You almost crossed something." 

I frowned slightly. "Crossed what?" He didn't answer immediately which only made it worse. "A line we don't understand yet" he said finally. That wasn't reassuring.

I looked back at my hands flexing my fingers slightly. They looked the same. Nothing had changed on the outside.. I knew better now. 

"Then we figure it out" I said. Lucis grip tightened slightly. "Not today." I exhaled slowly. "You keep saying that like we have time." "We make time" he said. "That's not how this works" I replied.

The words came out quieter than I expected but they didn't lose their weight. Something is already happening. We all knew it. 

Before either of them could respond, a sudden ripple moved through the air. It was subtle.. I felt it immediately. So did Luci. 

His posture changed instantly his hand, dropping from my arm as his attention snapped toward the edge of the training grounds.

Rhys noticed it a second later. "What is it?" he asked. I didn't answer. Because I didn't know how to explain it. It felt like earlier. Not the pressure inside me. Something else. Something… similar. My chest tightened slightly.

"They're close" I said before I could stop myself. Both of them looked at me. 

"What?" Luci asked. I shook my head once trying to focus on the feeling. "I don't know " I said. 

"But it feels like—" I stopped. Because the feeling shifted. Sharpened. Like something brushing against the edge of my awareness.

Rhys turned toward the warriors still lingering at the end of the grounds. "Clear the area " he ordered immediately. They didn't hesitate this time. 

Whatever they saw in his expression was enough. They moved quickly, putting distance between themselves and us. Luci stepped slightly in front of me without thinking.

The air grew heavier. Not physically.. Something in it had changed. "You're sensing them" Rhys said slowly.

"I think so" I replied. That didn't make sense. They were gone. They had disappeared after the ritual. So why did it feel like— 

A sharp pulse hit my chest. Stronger than before. I sucked in a breath.

"Yulia" Luci said, turning slightly toward me. "They're not gone" I said. The words came out before I could stop them. Rhys expression hardened instantly. "Explain." "I can't" I said.

"I" Another pulse. This time it came with something. A direction.

My head turned slightly toward the forest beyond the pack grounds. "They're there" I said. Luci followed my gaze. 

The trees stood still. Nothing moved.. The feeling didn't fade. If anything it grew clearer. "They're watching" I added quietly.

Silence followed. Not disbelief. Not doubt. Just the kind of silence that came when something felt wrong. 

Rhys exhaled slowly. "If thats true then this isn't over." "No " Luci said. His voice was calm. Too calm. "It's not."

I could feel it now. Not just the presence. The connection. Faint.. Real. Like something had marked me.. Recognized  me. 

My fingers curled slightly at my sides. "They came for a reason" I said. "And now they know where to find you" Rhys added.

Luci didn't respond to that.. I felt the shift in him. Subtle. Dangerous. Like something in him had locked into place. "Then we don't wait for them to come back" he said. Rhys glanced at him. "You're thinking of going after them?" 

"I'm thinking of not letting this happen on our ground again " Luci replied.

That was worse. Because he meant it. "You don't even know what they are " I said. "I know enough " he said. The same words from earlier. 

This time they didn't sound reassuring. They sounded like a decision. I stepped forward slightly my gaze still fixed on the forest.

"That feeling… it’s not random " I said. 

"It's like they're… connected to whatever's inside me." Rhys didn't like that. I could see it immediately. 

"That makes you a target " he said. "I already was " I replied. No one argued that. Because it was true.

Luci turned toward me now. "Then we handle it carefully." "That's not what you were just thinking" I said. His gaze didn't shift. "Plans change" he replied. Not convincing…I let it go. For now.

Because something else mattered. The feeling hadn't left. If anything it had settled. 

Like whatever was there had realized I'd noticed it.. decided… to wait. A quiet breath left me as I finally looked away from the forest.

"This isn't, about the ritual anymore" I said. Rhys nodded once. "No." Luci didn't say anything.. I already knew. Whatever had started that night… wasn't finished with me yet.. Next time— it wasn't going to stay at a distance.