I froze, completely.
The creature's amber eyes didn't blink once. They just stayed locked on me and made me nervous. It was heavy and aware like it had been waiting for this one moment since before I was even born. My chest hurt from breathing too fast, I wanted to look away, but I couldn't.
Kael's hand clamped down on my shoulder. His voice dropped into that sharp, urgent whisper he only uses when things are about to go very wrong.
"Elara!!! don't panic, and whatever you do… don't fight it."
"Don't fight it?" My voice jumped. "Kael, it's huge, it's glowing, it can kill me in literally one second."
"If you stay calm, it won't."
"Calm?" I almost yelled. "How do you expect me to be calm when THAT is staring at me like I'm dinner and destiny at the same time?"
Victor slammed his staff against the ground. The whole hallway trembled. His face didn't move an inch as he said, "You belong to her now."
Her?
My eyes flicked to him.
His tone dropped colder. "The guardian reacts to blood. Elara Fynn, your presence tied it to you, whether you wanted that or not."
Behind Kael, Riven let out a low, guttural growl. Half wolf, half man, fully ready to rip something apart.
"Don't touch her," he warned.
I was scared and confused at the same time. My legs started shaking as I couldn't contain what was happening.
"Why me?" I whispered. "Why now?"
Victor didn't soften, he never does. "The ritual wasn't finished, you interrupted it. That is why it bows to you instead of obeying me. You have claimed it."
"Claimed it?" My heartbeat throbbed against my ribs.
"Yes," Kael said. His fingers dug slightly into my arm. "It's reacting to your bloodline, that's why it hesitated earlier."
I stepped back by instinct.
The creature stepped with me, same pace, same quiet focus, like we were connected by an invisible thread.
I grabbed Kael's sleeve without thinking. "It's… alive," I whispered. "Like alive-alive. It can think. It's choosing."
"It does choose," Victor said, walking closer. "And it chose you, that wasn't supposed to happen until you were ready."
Ready for what?
I was barely ready for breakfast most days.
The guardian: half wolf, half nightmare bowed again, this time deeper like I mattered, like I meant something.
Kael glanced at me. His eyes were sharp and scared, which made everything worse.
"Elara, listen. Follow my voice, don't fight it or…"
A loud crash echoed through the hall, I jumped in fear as my heart skipped.
Riven barked sharply, his claws scraping the stone.
The creature started reacting again, becoming unstable as usual. Its muscles were coiling underneath shifting fur.
My stomach dropped. "Is it going to attack?"
"No." Kael's jaw was tight. "It's testing you, it wants to see if you can control your fear."
Control my fear?
My entire body was afraid.
Victor's voice sliced through the air. "Step forward, Elara. Take command. If you don't, the guardian will be lost."
Command it?
Because of how heavy everything was to me, I couldn't utter a single word. My mouth opened, but nothing came out.
Kael lowered himself next to me and held my hand, warm and steady.
"You can do this and I'm here with you, just breathe."
Breathing was suddenly the hardest thing in the world.
The guardian's amber eyes stared at me, its body gave off hot air and I just wanted to run and hide. But Kael held my hand and kept me steady.
I swallowed hard and stepped forward.
"I… command you. Stop."
The guardian froze completely.
Its claws dug lightly into the stone and watched me with this terrifying patience.
"Stop and obey me," I said, my voice trembling and shaky.
Kael squeezed my hand. "Good, keep going."
The guardian lowered its head again. A low sound vibrated in its chest; not anger, not submission. It felt like something old.
My heart pounded in my ears so loudly I barely heard the scream.
A sharp, high voice cut through the hall, and it could be only one person: Selene.
She was on the balcony above us running, laughing, terrified, wild.
"Elara!" she shouted. "You didn't think I'd let you have all the fun, did you?"
The guardian growled, snapping its attention toward her.
Kael cursed. "Selene, what the hell…."
Victor lifted his staff, glowing brighter. "Catch her." Riven obeyed and went for Selene, as she was disrupting what needed to be done.
The guardian swung its head back to me and bowed again, its whole body went tight like it was ready for a fight.
"Control it, Elara!" Kael shouted. "Do it now!"
I wasn't trained for this nor was I chosen. My stubbornness led me into something I don't understand.
I was just me: curious, reckless, scared, stubborn.
Then Victor's voice cracked through the hall, furious: "You will pay for interfering!"
This statement made the guardian roar angrily at him, loud enough to shake dust from the ceiling.
Kael grabbed me and yanked me behind a pillar as the red symbols flared violently.
"This is insane," I hissed through clenched teeth.
Kael brushed my hair from my face, I was breathing unevenly. "Welcome to your inheritance."
The guardian slammed into Victor, sending his staff spinning, this made it spark shoot across the floor.
Selene sprinted down toward us, laughing and screaming all at once.
" Oh gosh" " Elara!!!!" She screamed my name.
And in that chaos, I realized something painfully clear: Nothing in my life was ever going to be normal again.