The warehouse was awake before dawn.
The recruits moved with purpose, carrying crates of supplies, reinforcing doors, and checking every weapon they had. Gone were the uncertain movements of beginners. Every task was carried out with confidence.
Emerald stood on the balcony overlooking the training floor. She watched silently as her friends prepared.
"We're ready," Sara said, joining her.
"That's what worries me," Emerald replied.
Sara followed her gaze. "You're thinking about your vision."
Emerald nodded.
"It felt too real."
Before Sara could answer, Noah hurried across the warehouse, a folded map clutched in his hand.
"We've got movement."
Everyone stopped.
Noah spread the map across a nearby table.
"One of our scouts spotted a convoy heading this way. Six black vehicles. No lights. They're staying off the main roads."
"How far?" Sam asked.
"Less than twenty miles."
A heavy silence settled over the room.
Lyra stepped closer, studying the map.
"That's hunter strategy," she said. "They'll surround us first. Then they'll cut off every escape route."
Kael crossed his arms.
"Can we outrun them?"
"No," Lyra answered. "Not all of us."
Emerald looked around the room.
"We're not running."
Several recruits exchanged nervous glances.
She stepped forward.
"We've spent weeks preparing for this day. If we keep retreating, innocent people will always be caught in the middle. We make our stand, but we do it on our terms."
Noah looked at the map again.
"The old railway tunnels."
Everyone turned toward him.
"They run beneath the city. We can move the recruits through them if the hunters break in."
Sara smiled.
"And if they don't know the tunnels exist..."
"We'll have the advantage," Emerald finished.
For the next several hours, the warehouse transformed into a fortress.
Barricades were built.
Emergency supplies were hidden beneath the floor.
Escape routes were marked.
Every recruit was assigned a partner.
As the preparations continued, Emerald slipped outside for a moment of quiet.
The morning air was cool.
She looked toward the horizon.
Her mark began to glow.
At first it was only a faint shimmer.
Then a pulse of emerald light spread across her arm.
The trees surrounding the warehouse rustled though there was no wind.
She closed her eyes.
For the first time, she didn't resist the power.
She welcomed it.
The earth beneath her feet answered.
Tiny green vines emerged through cracks in the pavement, curling around stones before retreating again.
Emerald stared at them in surprise.
"My powers..."
"They're returning."
A familiar voice echoed behind her.
She spun around.
Standing several feet away was an elderly woman wrapped in a weathered gray cloak.
Her silver hair flowed down her back, and her bright green eyes shimmered with ancient magic.
She carried no weapon.
Only a wooden staff carved with symbols Emerald had seen in her dreams.
"You know me?" Emerald asked cautiously.
The woman smiled gently.
"I knew your mother."
Emerald froze.
"My... mother?"
"I served your family long before your aunt betrayed the throne."
Tears welled in Emerald's eyes.
"I thought everyone who knew them was gone."
"So did your aunt."
The woman's expression darkened.
"Which is why she believes she has already won."
She stepped closer and placed a wrinkled hand over Emerald's glowing mark.
The light brightened instantly.
"The curse is weakening faster than anyone expected," she whispered.
"But when it finally breaks..."
She looked directly into Emerald's eyes.
"...your aunt will feel it."
A deafening explosion echoed from inside the warehouse.
The ground shook violently.
Smoke burst through the front entrance.
Screams filled the air.
The hunters had arrived.