That night, sleep arrived slowly for Ayla. The emotions of the day lingered around her like mist, but when slumber finally took hold, it pulled her back to a long-buried memory.

The screeching of tires. Blinding headlights. Her mother’s frantic voice calling out her name. She sat in the back seat, clutching a toy tightly in her small hands. Then came the impact. Metal contorted. Glass shattered. She caught a glimpse of a boy’s face through the window, familiar yet unclear.

Ayla shot awake, her heart racing, breath coming in sharp gasps. The room was dark, but her thoughts sparkled brighter than before.

“I remember,” she murmured. “I was there... and so was he.”

When her mom recounted the Accident, Ayla recalled her mentioning a scroll her dad had left with them before exiting the car to confront the Assassins. She shut her eyes, trying desperately to remember the dream she had just experienced, wondering if the scroll appeared in the car; she could not recall.

The moment she arrived at school, she sought out Kai before classes began, but he had not yet made it. During lunch break, she finally had a chance to speak with him. Lana and Jace exchanged glances between Kai and Ayla, noticing their unusual quietness.

"Why is it so awkward between you two? Did something happen?" Lana inquired.

Jace grinned knowingly, as if he was already aware of the situation between them.

Kai eventually ended the silence, turning to Ayla as if he wanted to say something but struggled to find the right words.

“I’d like to take you somewhere after school, if that’s alright with you.”

Ayla nodded, smiling back at him.

The next day after school, Kai awaited her at the school gate, casually leaning against his bike with one hand in his pocket. His eyes brightened when he spotted Ayla.

“You have a bike?” She exclaimed, clearly taken aback.

“Yes, I do,” he answered with a grin.

“Come with me,” he said, extending his hand with a gentle smile. “There’s a place I want to show you.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Where to?”

“You’ll see,” he responded cryptically, handing her a helmet.

Curiosity pulled at her, and before she knew it, she was climbing onto the bike behind him. They journeyed in silence, the wind whipping by, the world blurring until they arrived at the entrance to a secluded trail leading into a tranquil forest.

Ayla frowned. “This place seems familiar…”

Kai glanced back at her, his expression inscrutable. “It should be.”

He then guided her toward a clearing, and just past it stood a cozy-looking house nestled among the trees.

“This is my home,” he said simply.

“You brought me to your house?” She looked both puzzled and intrigued.

He smiled, took the helmet from her arms, and ushered her inside.

As Ayla stepped into Kai’s home, a sense of warmth and familiarity enveloped her like a soft wave. Kai’s parents, Mr. Lucian Reyes and Mrs. Maris Reyes, paused for a moment, then their faces lit up with joy as they rushed to embrace her.

“Ayla,” Kai’s mother murmured, holding her close, “you look just like your mother.”

His father beamed proudly. “You have no idea how long we’ve been waiting to see you again.”

"We've missed you dearly."

They inquired about her powers, how much she had progressed, and the extent of her abilities. Ayla lowered her gaze. “I’ve hardly trained. I only discovered them a few weeks ago.”

A heavy quiet settled over the area....

"I knew your mother would do her utmost to keep it a secret," Kai's mother remarked.

Kai tenderly took her hand. “Follow me.”

He guided her to a concealed training area within the woods, an open space bordered by stone and trees. There, they encountered Scott, one of the clan's most formidable instructors. He regarded Ayla with skepticism. “You? You possess the Aelira blood?”

Scott evaluated her strength, agility, and elemental control. Ayla gave it her all, but her strikes were weak, her movements uncoordinated, and her energy flickered instead of flaring brightly.

When the results were posted, her name appeared near the very bottom.

Faces turned. Whispers started.

Ayla clenched her fists.

She had never felt so powerless.

Yet something within her—something ancient—was beginning to stir.

To uplift her spirits and demonstrate her capabilities, Mr. and Mrs. Reyes chose to organize a friendly competition among the young wolves and extended an open challenge of skill, instinct, and raw power.

Kai stood beside her, whispering, “Don’t aim for victory. Just trust yourself.”

The initial rounds were challenging; Ayla struggled to keep pace with the others. The young wolves seemed nearly stronger than her, leaving her disappointed that she couldn’t outperform the youngest contenders, despite her responsibility to bring balance to the world and protect the Aelira clan. Nevertheless, she refused to give up.

Then came the final trial: "an energy test," a moment of silence where each participant would channel their inner power into the arena stone to see who could shatter it with a single blow. The young wolves gave strong performances, each impressive in their own right, but none managed to break the stone with one strike.

As Ayla approached, doubt began to creep in. The crowd fell silent. She placed her hand on the stone and closed her eyes…

At first, nothing occurred, and murmurs started among the crowd. Kai felt anxious, knowing that failing the contest against the young wolves would devastate Ayla’s fighting spirit, and he began to regret letting her take part in the competition in the first place.

Ayla focused entirely on the contest, blocking out the noise from the crowd, reminding herself that she was a princess, a leader, that she needed to be stronger than anyone else and prepare for the impending war. Just then, something snapped.

The ground shook beneath her. Everyone looked on in astonishment as radiant green light erupted from her palms, swirling like flames up her arms. The stone fractured beneath her touch, and a wave of shimmering energy radiated out in ripples. Leaves whirled, the wind roared, and the sky above appeared to pause.

Gasps filled the atmosphere.

Scott's eyes widened in shock. “Impossible….”

Kai beamed, his eyes filled with wonder. “She did it!”

Everyone remained in stunned silence.

Kai's parents exchanged glances, then looked back at Ayla...

Breathing heavily, Ayla stepped back, dazed but radiating energy as the stone, which had eluded destruction by anyone else, shattered into countless fragments.

In that instant, no one could dispute it any longer: the power of the Aelira was genuine, and it had selected her.

A mysterious figure observed her from afar...

As she turned to leave, she noticed someone watching from a distance, quite far away, yet her powers were clearly revealing themselves, allowing her to see that someone was gazing at her, though she could not see their face. Her attention was diverted when Kai took her hand to lead her out of the fighting arena.

A few hours later, she returned home and told her mom about her day, but her mom didn't seem pleased, only advising Ayla to steer clear of Kai's house. Ayla attempted to explain that Kai's place was her only option for training. The following day at school was uneventful, and the hours passed more quickly than she anticipated.

The bell had rung an hour earlier, yet the corridor still buzzed softly with the sounds of students leaving. Ayla lingered by the courtyard fountain, the water perfectly still like glass. Her reflection stared back at her, pale eyes and steady breath, but the atmosphere felt charged, as it always did when something was off.

"I didn’t expect you to still be here." The voice sliced through the quiet like a knife. Elias emerged from behind the column near the lockers, hands tucked into his pockets, his smirk sharp and perfect. "I should have gone home," Ayla mumbled to herself silently.

Her muscles tightened. "What do you want?" she asked. He tilted his head slightly, saying, "Just checking in. I heard you’ve been zoning out all day." Her stomach churned. "How is that any of your concern? You don’t know what you’re talking about."

"Oh, I think I do." He advanced slowly. "You’ve been hiding it. That thing inside you. The one that almost took my life last month. You’re not fooling anyone." She took a step back, clutching her books to her chest. "Leave me alone, Elias."

His grin broadened. "You think you can walk around acting normal? Powers like yours shouldn’t be kept secret. Sooner or later, everyone will find out." He leaned in closer, his voice dropping to a whisper. "They’ll all know eventually, so why not tell them now? A video of you would be magnificent, but we need to give you a little transformation."

A warmth rippled under her skin, faint yet radiant. "Stop." "Or what?" He brushed a strand of hair from her face mockingly. "You’ll make me vanish and…"

"Back off, Elias." Another voice interrupted. Kai was standing at the edge of the courtyard, hands in his hoodie pockets, relaxed posture but sharp gaze. His calm demeanor suggested trouble was near.

Elias’s smirk remained. "Oh, and the hero shows up. Be careful, Kai. You don’t know what you’re defending." Kai didn’t step closer; instead, he looked at Ayla. "Are you okay?" She nodded, even though her heart raced and her fingers tingled, the air around her seeming to warp.

Elias noticed it too; his grin faltered for the first time. "So I was right." Leaves lifted off the ground and began to swirl. A low hum resonated through the courtyard, like a heartbeat coming from below. Ayla’s eyes sparked with faint gold as the fountain water spiraled upward before crashing down.

Elias stumbled back, laughing. "So it’s true. The bloodline lives." Ayla's breath quickened; she was utterly stunned, and Kai looked both astonished and perplexed....