Control

Layla's lips parted slightly, then pressed together as she processed Karl's words. Jane, always the more empathetic of the two, looked troubled.

"Are you saying Julia... awakened?" Jane asked carefully.

Karl exhaled. "I don't know."

"But it's possible," Layla cut in, her voice sharper, more suspicious. "That kind of influence—it's not normal. Even for her."

Jane frowned. "Maybe it's not a power. Maybe Emmet just—"

"Just what?" Karl asked. "Just decided, in the middle of a bloodbath, that he should listen to her?" He shook his head. "No. It wasn't just him. The others too. They flinched when she spoke. They ran when she told them to. They acted like… like she had them on a leash."

Silence settled between them, heavy and uncertain.

"That's an awakening," Layla muttered.

Jane hugged her arms, staring at the floor. "I've never heard of one like that before."

Karl ran a hand through his hair. "Neither have I."