Spring had come to Forks, and with it, an unusual calm. Birds chirped. Leaves shimmered. The storm had withdrawn, but its echoes lingered in the trees — and in Raiko.
She walked hand in hand with Alice through the sun-dappled woods behind the Cullen residence, Rosalie a step ahead, clearing branches with practiced ease.
"This is the most relaxed I've seen you," Alice said.
Raiko gave a rare smile. "I finally understand what I'm fighting for."
"Peace?"
Raiko nodded. "And you. Both of you."
Rosalie turned around, arching an eyebrow. "You planning to say something dramatic again, or just enjoying the walk?"
"I could be persuaded," Raiko teased.
They laughed. The bond between them had grown deeper — no longer just emotional, but spiritual. The energy Raiko once restrained now curled gently around Alice and Rosalie like invisible threads.
---------------
At school, rumors had died down. The strange electric girl had become something of a legend — half fairy tale, half enigma. Some swore they saw her eyes glow. Others claimed she'd disappeared mid-sentence.
Raiko didn't care.
She had more important things to worry about.
A letter had arrived.
Not physical. Not electronic.
A folded message of pure energy, delivered to her through the static of a thundercloud while she slept.
"I see you've claimed your place. Good. The next ones won't be so polite."
It was unsigned, but she knew.
There were more than the Volturi. More than vampires and wolves. The supernatural realm stretched far beyond what this sleepy town knew — and some of them had felt her awakening.
---------------
Alice read the energy in the sky like tarot.
"They're not vampires. Not Volturi. But something older," she said, standing in a ring of salt and incense on the Cullen property.
Raiko stood across from her, eyes closed, hands open to the wind.
"They're watching. They're testing. Lightning never strikes once — it awakens the storms."
---------------
At night, Raiko trained again.
Not to become more powerful — she already was beyond anything on Earth — but to become refined.
She shaped her energy into blades of pure electricity, practicing with them like a dancer. Each motion flowed with deadly grace, echoing her past life's scientific precision and her current self's divine instincts.
Rosalie watched her, arms crossed, a subtle smile on her lips. "Every time I think I've seen your limits, you show me there aren't any."
Raiko chuckled. "I'll show you more later. Privately."
Rosalie raised an eyebrow, amused. "Tease."
Alice passed by, muttering, "Flirting levels: catastrophic."
Raiko let the blade of lightning fizzle, laughing softly.
-------------------
But the fun faded when the moon rose high.
On the horizon, clouds twisted — unnaturally. A shape moved within them.
A skyborne entity, watching from afar.
Rosalie sensed it first. "Something's here."
Raiko's hair lifted in a breeze that didn't belong. She extended her senses, reaching out through the static field around the town.
She felt the presence. Alien. Cold. Ancient.
Not Volturi. Not Quileute.
Something else.
She whispered, "The storm is calling its kin."
And far above, something blinked.