Aria's POV
The howl gets louder.
Closer.
What do we do? I'm pressed against Caspian's back, both of us staring at the locked library door.
Stay quiet. Caspian pulls something from his pocket a small knife with symbols carved into the blade. And whatever happens, don't let it touch you.
What will it do if it touches me?
Absorb your resurrection magic. Use it to become whole again. His voice is tight. It'll kill you in the process.
The door handle rattles.
My heart stops.
It can't get in, right? I whisper. You said the manor was protected.
The wards are down. Silas, get to the control room and restart them. Now. Caspian doesn't take his eyes off the door.
Silas runs to a bookshelf and pulls a hidden lever. A secret passage opens. Be careful, boss.
He disappears into the darkness.
Leaving me alone with Caspian and whatever's on the other side of that door.
The rattling stops.
Silence.
Is it gone? I ask.
Then the door explodes inward.
Wood splinters fly everywhere. I scream and duck. Caspian shoves me behind him, raising his knife.
Through the broken doorway, something crawls in.
It looks human. Almost. But its body is wrong too long, joints bending the wrong way. Its skin is gray and rotting. And its eyes... they glow with the same golden light as the numbers I see on people.
A Revenant, Caspian breathes. I haven't seen one in years.
What is it? My voice shakes.
A resurrection gone wrong. Someone tried to come back but the magic corrupted them. Now it's stuck not alive, not dead. Just hungry. Caspian shifts, keeping himself between me and the creature. It senses your magic. It wants to consume it.
The Revenant's head snaps toward me. It opens its mouth and that horrible howl comes out again.
Then it attacks.
Caspian meets it head-on. His knife flashes silver in the firelight. He cuts the creature's arm, and black smoke pours from the wound instead of blood.
The Revenant doesn't even slow down.
It grabs Caspian by the throat and throws him across the room. He crashes into a bookshelf and goes down hard.
Caspian! I run toward him.
No! Stay back! He struggles to his feet, blood running down his face.
But the Revenant is already coming for me.
I freeze. Those glowing eyes lock onto mine, and I see something in them. Not just hunger. Pain. Desperation. This thing was a person once. Someone who wanted to live so badly they tried to come back.
And it went horribly wrong.
I'm sorry, I whisper. I'm so sorry this happened to you.
The Revenant stops. Its head tilts, like it's trying to understand.
Aria, what are you doing? Caspian limps toward us. Get away from it!
It's suffering, I say. Can't you see? It's in pain.
It's a monster!
It's a person who came back wrong. I take a step toward the Revenant. My hands are shaking but I keep them steady. You wanted to live, didn't you? Someone brought you back. But something went wrong.
The Revenant makes a sound not a howl this time. More like a whimper.
Aria, don't
I ignore Caspian and reach out my hand. I can help you. I don't know how, but I can feel it. My magic... it's calling to yours.
The Revenant stares at my hand. Then, slowly, it reaches out too.
Our fingers touch.
Light explodes.
Golden light floods the library, so bright I have to close my eyes. I feel the Revenant's magic broken, twisted, screaming in agony. It's been trapped like this for years, maybe decades. Hungry. Alone. Desperate.
And my magic responds.
I don't know how I know what to do. Instinct, maybe. Or the resurrection magic inside me recognizing something similar. But I push my power into the Revenant, wrapping around its broken pieces, trying to put them back together.
What you're doing is impossible, Caspian says from somewhere far away. No one can heal a Revenant. Once the magic corrupts, it's permanent.
Then I'm doing the impossible, I grit out.
The light gets brighter. Hotter. My hand burns where I'm touching the creature, but I don't let go.
I can see its memories now. A young woman. Sick. Dying. Someone she loved performed a resurrection ritual to bring her back. But they got the spell wrong. She came back as thisthis monster. And the person who loved her ran away screaming.
She's been alone ever since.
You don't have to be alone anymore, I tell her. You can rest now. It's okay. You can let go.
The Revenant makes another whimpering sound.
And then it starts to dissolve.
Not violently. Gently. Like snow melting in sunlight. The golden light softens, and the creature's twisted form begins to fade.
As it disappears, I see her true face for just a moment. A young woman, maybe twenty, with kind eyes and a sad smile.
Thank you, she whispers.
Then she's gone.
The light fades. I collapse to my knees, gasping.
Caspian catches me before I hit the floor. That was the stupidest, most reckless, most incredible thing I've ever seen.
Is it gone? I manage.
Yes. You didn't just stop it. You freed it. He helps me to a chair. How did you do that?
I don't know. I just... felt what I needed to do. I look at my hands. They're glowing faintly with golden light that slowly fades. What's happening to me?
You're developing abilities. Powers beyond normal resurrection magic. Caspian kneels in front of me, studying my face. You shouldn't be able to do what you just did. No resurrected person has ever had healing magic.
Maybe I'm special, I joke weakly.
You are. His voice is soft. More than you know.
Our eyes meet. And for a moment, the world narrows to just us. Just his gray eyes looking at me like I'm something precious and impossible.
Then Silas bursts back into the library. Wards are up! Did you oh. He stops, looking at the destroyed door and the scorch marks on the floor. What happened?
Aria happened, Caspian says, standing up and putting distance between us. She destroyed a Revenant with healing magic.
No way. Silas looks at me with new respect. That's legendary stuff. Like, ancient power legendary.
Can someone please explain what's happening to me? I stand up, my legs still shaky. First I can see prices, now I can heal corrupted magic? What am I?
Something new, Caspian says quietly. Something that shouldn't exist.
Before I can ask what he means, my phone buzzes.
A text from Lyra: Where are you? You didn't come home. Your dad's worried.
Guilt hits me. Dad. I forgot about Dad.
I need to go home, I say. He'll send the police looking for me.
I'll have Silas drive you. Caspian won't look at me. But Aria... you can't tell anyone what happened here. About the Revenant. About your new abilities.
Why not?
Because if the wrong people find out what you can do, they won't just hunt you to study you. They'll want to use you. As a weapon. A tool. He finally meets my eyes. Promise me you'll be careful.
I promise.
Silas drives me home. The whole way, I stare at my hands, watching for any sign of the golden light. But they look normal now.
When I get to my house, Dad is waiting on the porch, pacing.
Aria! Where have you been? You've been gone all day! He hugs me tight. I was about to call the police!
I'm sorry. I was with Lyra. Lost track of time. The lie comes easily.
Dad pulls back and studies my face. Are you okay? You look pale.
Just tired.
He nods, but I can see the worry in his eyes. Get some rest. We'll talk in the morning.
In my room, I collapse on the bed and stare at the ceiling.
I healed a Revenant.
Freed a tortured soul with just my touch.
What else can I do?
My phone buzzes. A text from an unknown number:
Impressive work tonight. But you've drawn attention. Dangerous attention. They know what you can do now. Sleep with your windows locked. And trust no one. M
My blood runs cold.
Not C this time. M.
Someone else is watching me.
Someone else knows what I am.
I run to my window and lock it. Then I check the other windows. All locked.
But as I'm closing the curtain, I see something that makes my heart stop.
A figure standing across the street. Watching my house.
Not Caspian's tall frame.
Someone else. Shorter. Wearing a hood.
They lift their hand and wave.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
Then they turn and walk away into the darkness.
I grab my phone with shaking hands and text Caspian: Someone's watching my house.
His reply is immediate: I'm on my way.
But as I wait, staring out the window, I can't shake the feeling that everything just changed.
The Revenant wasn't a random attack.
It was a test.
And I passed.
Now the real hunters are coming.
Timeline: Day 2, Late Night