The cave breathes like a wounded animal.
The walls vibrate under Dravik's heavy footsteps.
Sahr slips into the shadows like a dangerous thought.
And Kael, standing before Lunaya, trembles... not with fear.
No.
With an instinct that struggles not to explode.
Lunaya feels her heart pounding against her ribs.
Her breath becomes short.
Her skin heats up, tingles, her Resonance stirs, responding to the rising tension.
Dravik is the first to cross the entrance.
The flames on his scales light up the cave with a deep red glow.
"Step aside, wolf. She must come."
Kael growls, his eyes turning a wild gold.
"Over my dead body."
Sahr sighs from the shadows, an amused smile stretching his feline lips.
"He's so dramatic."
Is he afraid you'll eat her, Dravik?
"I'm not eating her," the draconic replies with a growl.
"I'm taking her."
Lunaya feels an icy shiver run down her spine.
Kael explodes:
"SHE IS NOT A PRIZE TO BE SHARED!"
Sahr turns to him, his golden eyes shining with a feline gleam.
"That's exactly why you lose.
You confuse instinct with possession."
"And you?" Kael spits.
What do you want from her?
Sahr tilts his head, his dark locks falling over his eyes.
"The truth."
Silence falls.
Even Dravik seems surprised.
"What?" sneers the dragon. Since when do Felids seek the truth?"
"Since your power-mad Resonant nearly devastated our world," whispers Sahr.
Lunaya clenches her fists.
"Tell me what you want.
Say it directly."
The three turn to her.
Kael, tense.
Dravik, burning.
Sahr, unfathomable.
She feels her power quiver in her chest.
"You've come for me... why?"
Dravik takes a step.
The rock cracks under his weight.
"Because your power awakens mine, human.
I have never felt it before.
And I want to understand why."
Kael turns to her, raw panic in his eyes.
"He wants to use you. He wants to force you to..."
"I have never forced anyone," growls Dravik. "I take what answers my call."
"It's the same thing!" Kael shouts.
Sahr raises a hand, calm as a sharpened blade.
"Let her speak."
Lunaya takes a deep breath.
Her throat tightens.
But she lifts her chin.
"I won't go with any of you until I understand what I am.
What I do.
What I might become."
Sahr murmurs:
"Wise."
Dravik narrows his eyes.
"Reckless."
Kael shakes his head in despair.
"Lunaya..."
She turns to him gently.
"I need to know, Kael."
He closes his eyes.
His chest heaves.
As if every word from Dravik and Sahr is tearing him apart.
"Very well," says Dravik, crossing his arms.
"So we're talking about the prophecy."
"And the First Resonant's mistake," adds Sahr.
Kael jumps up:
"No! Lunaya doesn't need to know."
"She MUST know," Sahr cuts in sharply. "Or she'll repeat the same catastrophe."
Lunaya turned pale.
"What... did she do?"
A terrible silence fell.
Dravik stepped forward first, his immense shadow covering the fresco.
"She bound our three instincts together."
Kael looked away.
Sahr sat down on a rock, his tail slowly beating the air.
"The First Resonant did not control her emotions.
Her fear...
Her anger...
Her desire..."
He looks her straight in the eye.
"They started a war between our clans."
Dravik adds, his voice heavy:
"A war that killed a king."
The word "king" hits Lunaya like a blow.
The prophecy.
"The human will bring down a king."
She steps back, her breathing shaky.
"You think it's... me?"
Dravik stares at her intensely.
"I think... you're more dangerous than she is."
Sahr smiles softly.
"And that you could save this world...
or destroy it."
Kael clenches his jaw.
"She won't hurt anyone.
I'll stop her."
"You don't have the strength," Sahr contradicts him.
"Neither do you, nor I.
Nor the dragon."
Dravik steps forward, so close that Lunaya can feel the heat emanating from his scaly skin.
"She alone decides.
She."
A vibrant silence.
A palpable tension.
Lunaya feels her heart skip a beat.
An overwhelming weight.
A truth too heavy to bear.
Then
A heartbeat.
Not hers.
A powerful breath pulses from her chest.
A gentle wave.
Involuntary.
The three beasts freeze.
Kael breathes more slowly.
Dravik frowns, surprised.
Sahr... smiles again, as if he finally sees something he's been waiting for.
"There," he whispers.
His power changes.
Dravik takes half a step back.
"It's... different. Not like the First."
Kael blinks.
For the first time, he doesn't look terrified.
"Lunaya... was that you?"
She swallows, still shaken.
"I... I think so."
Sahr stands up, suddenly serious.
"Then it's time to make a decision."
Dravik growls,
"Which one?"
Sahr steps forward, his eyes fixed on Lunaya.
"The Resonant cannot remain in the custody of a single clan.
Nor of a single instinct.
Nor of a single male."
Dravik crosses his arms.
"What do you suggest, feline?"
Sahr smiles.
A smile that changes everything.
"The three of us will keep her."
The cave explodes in icy silence.
Kael screams:
"NEVER!"
Dravik growls, his wings vibrating.
"Out of the question!"
Lunaya remains frozen.
The world is turning upside down around her.
Sahr, unperturbed, whispers:
"If she is destined to unleash three instincts...
Then we will have to bear them.
Together."
He fixes his golden eyes on her.
"And you, Lunaya...
you'll have to learn to bear with us too."
The prophecy breathes behind them.
A crack appears in the ancient fresco.
As if something had just begun.
Or had just collapsed.