The storm had passed, but the silence it left behind felt louder than thunder.
Elian sat on the edge of her bed at the inn, still in wet clothes, her coat abandoned on the floor beside her boots. The room felt too small and too quiet. Every tick of the clock pressed on her like a weight.
She hasn't spoken since they brought her back. No cuffs just silence.
They didn't even blindfold her when they led her away from the cathedral, through the ruined streets and smoke-drenched air. No one laid a hand on her, no threats and no interrogations.
They only stared at her.
Seraphina's device buzzed as they walked, scanning her like she was a question they couldn't answer. Cass muttered curses under his breath, blade still slick with blood. Lucien stayed silent, unreadable, his coat still pristine despite the chaos.
It was Lucien who had told them to let her go.
Not because she was innocent.
Not because she was safe.
But because something had changed and none of them knew what to do about it.
She pressed a towel against the side of her face. There was a little scratch on her face that she didn't notice before, thin and stinging.
Her reflection in the mirror didn't look like her anymore.
It wasn't anything obvious. No glowing eyes, no cracks in her skin, no ancient symbols burned into her neck.
But she felt it.
Something was watching from the inside.
Not Damian, not even Nyra.
Something older, and hungrier was watching.
Maybe that's why the Order didn't touch her. Maybe they knew what it was and were afraid.
A soft hesitant knock came at the door.
Elian tensed. "Who is it?"
"It's just me." Seraphina said tiredly.
Less clipped than usual.
Elian opened the door slowly.
Seraphina stood there in a hoodie, damp curls tucked behind her ears, the faint glow of her tech holster dimmed.
"You didn't run," she said.
"Was I supposed to?"
Seraphina smiled faintly. "You were meant to."
They stood in silence a moment longer before Elian stepped aside.
"Come in."
Seraphina walked in. She didn't sit. She just looked around and touched nothing.
"Elian," she began, "do you know why we didn't take you in?"
"No." Elian replied, with a bit of curiosity in her voice.
"You bonded with something forbidden or someone. That is enough reason why we should take you out from this world."
Elian felt her pulse stutter. "Then why didn't you?"
Seraphina studied her for a while. "Because when Damian stood in front of you, there was a shield. It protected you from everyone around. You weren't just the reason he was free, you were the reason he could stay."
"You're saying I'm the threat?."
"I'm saying… we don't understand what you are anymore." She glanced toward the window. "Lucien thinks it's smarter to watch. For now."
"And Cass?"
"Cass wants to end it. End you." She didn't say it with malice just fact.
"But you don't," Elian said quietly.
Seraphina shrugged. "I don't know what I want anymore." She turned to leave, then paused. "Just… be careful whatever woke up in that cathedral, it's not done and neither are we."
With that she left, the door clicked shut behind her.
Elian sat down on the edge of the bed again, her fingers were trembling.
She didn't feel like a monster, she didn't feel powerful, she just felt lost.
And yet...
In the space between heartbeats, she could still hear his voice.
"I won't let them hurt you ever again."
She closed her eyes.
The Order hadn't just spared her.
They were letting her ripen.
And somewhere, in the deep dark of the world, Damian was watching too and waiting.....