It was nearly midnight.
The house was quiet. Too quiet.
Even Zac had finally fallen asleep, the TV long turned off. Mira had her earphones in, lying on her bed, scrolling through dance reels. The day had passed like any other — classes, noise, laughter.
But something about the air tonight felt… different.
Heavy.
Still.
Then it came.
A sudden, blinding flash of white light from across the hallway.
Right from Addie's room.
---
Mira pulled her earphones out. "What the—?"
She rushed to her sister's door.
"Addie?"
No answer.
She knocked, hard. "Addie! Are you okay?"
Still nothing.
The door wasn't locked. Mira pushed it open.
What she saw made her freeze.
---
Addie was on the floor.
Sweat clung to her face, her hands digging into the carpet, her entire body trembling. Her breathing was sharp — too sharp. She looked like she was in pain, but not just any pain.
She looked like she was breaking from the inside.
Around her, the air shimmered.
Literally.
It moved like soft waves, glowing in places — tiny particles of light floating upward from her skin.
The pendant around her neck was burning white.
And from her back…
There was a faint outline of wings — not solid, not visible, but something there, like a memory trying to come alive.
---
"Addie!" Mira rushed forward. "Hey—hey, what's happening?!"
She grabbed her sister's shoulders. Addie gasped, eyes wide open but glowing — not the usual brown.
They were golden.
> "Don't…" Addie whispered hoarsely. "Don't touch me…"
"MOM!" Mira screamed. "COME HERE! SOMETHING'S WRONG WITH HER!"
Her mom ran in seconds later, panicking at the sight.
"Call someone! A doctor!" she yelled.
"No," Mira said suddenly. "This… this isn't normal. Look at her body — look at the light!"
Even as she said it, the walls around Addie shimmered with that strange glow.
---
Inside her mind, Addie was burning.
She saw flashes.
Of a man yelling.
Of blood on marble floors.
Of a little girl reaching out with her hands.
Of a crown… a sword… a sister's betrayal.
The pain wasn't just in her head anymore. It was in her chest. Her spine. Her heart.
She wasn't just dreaming this time.
She was remembering.
---
"I'm not just Addie…" she whispered faintly.
"I'm someone else…"
The light around her reached a peak — blinding — and then, suddenly…
It vanished.
Just like that.
The room went dark again. The air returned to normal.
Addie collapsed, unconscious.
The pendant on her chest dimmed.
Mira was left speechless, hands still trembling.
She looked at her mom.
"She… she was glowing."
Her mother looked shaken. "We need to get help. This… this isn't normal."
But somewhere deep inside, Mira knew—
This wasn't a medical emergency.
This was something else.
Something not from this world.