38

The morning was cold and still, the sky painted in muted shades of gray. Aria stood outside the safehouse, her breath curling into the crisp air as she braced herself for what was coming.

She was done running.

Done fearing what lurked inside her.

Now, she needed to understand it.

Lucian had been right.

Selene had been right.

The power inside her wasn’t something she could ignore—it was alive, waiting, shifting beneath her skin like a beast hungry to be unleashed.

And for the first time, she was ready to face it.

Behind her, footsteps crunched against the damp earth.

She didn’t have to turn to know who it was.

Lucian.

“You’re up early,” he murmured.

Aria smirked. “So are you.”

Lucian stepped beside her, his silver eyes flickering in the dim light. He studied her carefully, as if measuring her resolve.

“Are you ready?” he asked.

She nodded. “Yes.”

Lucian’s smirk was faint. “Good.”

He stepped back, rolling his shoulders. “Then let’s begin.”

The others were still asleep when Lucian led her deeper into the forest.

They moved in silence, the only sound the distant rustle of wind through the trees. The safehouse was well-hidden, but they needed space—privacy—for what was about to happen.

For Aria to push past her limits.

For her to learn what she truly was.

They stopped in a small clearing, the ground covered in frost, the air thick with quiet tension.

Lucian turned to her, his silver eyes unreadable.

“You’ve felt it before,” he said. “That moment when it takes over.”

Aria exhaled. “Yes.”

Lucian nodded. “And what happens right before it does?”

She hesitated. “It feels like… pressure. Like something is clawing its way to the surface.”

Lucian watched her carefully. “And what do you do?”

Aria clenched her fists. “I fight it.”

Lucian smirked. “That’s your mistake.”

Aria frowned. “What?”

Lucian took a slow step forward, the air shifting around him.

“You keep trying to control it by pushing it down,” he said. “But this isn’t something you can suppress, Aria. It isn’t something you can lock away.”

Aria swallowed hard. “Then what am I supposed to do?”

Lucian’s silver eyes gleamed.

“You let it in.”

A shiver ran down her spine.

Let it in.

Everything inside her rebelled against those words.

But wasn’t that what she had already been doing?

Hadn’t she spent her entire life fighting this?

Lucian must have seen the hesitation on her face because he sighed, rolling his shoulders. “We’ll start small.”

Aria exhaled. “Fine. What do I do?”

Lucian gestured to the space around them. “Close your eyes. Focus on the energy inside you.”

Aria hesitated for a second, then obeyed.

The world faded into darkness.

She felt the cold wind brushing against her skin, the distant hum of the forest.

And then—

She reached for it.

That thing inside her.

At first, there was nothing.

Just silence.

Then—heat.

Slow at first, then spreading.

A pulse beneath her skin.

Something ancient. Something waiting.

Her breathing quickened.

“Don’t fight it,” Lucian murmured. “Let it rise.”

Aria inhaled sharply.

The heat surged, coiling in her chest, pushing against her ribs. It wasn’t like before—it wasn’t violent or overwhelming.

It was power.

Hers.

And for the first time, she didn’t feel afraid.

She felt alive.

A gust of wind rippled through the clearing, strong enough to send the leaves scattering.

Lucian’s voice was low. “Good.”

Aria exhaled, slowly opening her eyes.

The world looked sharper.

Brighter.

Every sound was clearer. The heartbeat of a rabbit beneath the frozen earth. The rustling of distant trees. The faint shifting of Lucian’s stance.

She looked down at her hands.

Her fingertips were glowing faintly.

Not fire.

Not lightning.

Something else.

Something raw.

Lucian smirked. “Now you’re starting to get it.”

Aria’s breath was unsteady. “What… what is this?”

Lucian tilted his head. “Your birthright.”

Aria clenched her fists, the light flickering before vanishing. “How do I control it?”

Lucian studied her carefully.

“You stop fearing it.”

Aria inhaled sharply.

Was that what she had been doing all this time?

Fearing herself?

Lucian stepped back, motioning for her to follow. “Come on.”

She hesitated. “Where are we going?”

Lucian smirked. “You need to learn how to use it.”

A thrill of something sharp and dangerous coiled in her stomach.

She followed.

Because she was done being afraid.

Hours passed.

Lucian didn’t hold back.

He pushed her, forcing her to dig deeper, to pull that power forward without losing herself to it.

At first, it was a struggle.

The power came in surges, uncontrolled, wild.

But slowly, something shifted.

She was starting to feel it.

Not just as a weapon.

Not just as something inside her.

But as a part of her.

By the time they returned to the safehouse, the sky had darkened, the air thick with the scent of snow.

The others were waiting.

Sebastian leaned against the doorway, his green eyes scanning them both. “Well?”

Lucian smirked. “She’s learning.”

Sebastian’s gaze flicked to Aria. “And?”

She exhaled.

She didn’t answer right away.

Because she didn’t need to.

The air around her was charged, her body humming with the energy she had finally begun to understand.

Sebastian’s eyes narrowed slightly. “You’re different.”

Aria tilted her head. “Good.”

Dante raised a brow. “What exactly did you two do?”

Lucian’s smirk didn’t fade. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

Kai groaned. “I swear, if you turned her into a walking lightning bolt—”

Aria smirked. “Not yet.”

Sebastian sighed, rubbing his temples. “I hate all of you.”

Cassian chuckled. “You’ll live.”

Aria met Sebastian’s gaze. “We don’t have much time, do we?”

Sebastian exhaled. “No.”

The war was coming.

Selene wouldn’t sit back and wait forever.

And now that Aria was beginning to unlock what she truly was?

Selene would come for her.

But this time—

Aria would be ready.