Chosen by the Gate

Aralyn's POV

I stared at Amodina, my confusion twisting into something deeper, something I couldn't even put into words. She had said it so easily—like it was nothing, like it was normal.

She had been waiting for me for a hundred years? A frustrated breath escaped me, my fingers tightening against the armrest.

"How is that even possible?" I demanded, my voice filled with disbelief. "Are you seriously trying to tell me you've been alive for a hundred years, just waiting for me?"

Amodina let out a soft chuckle, the sound light and amused, as if my question was adorable rather than utterly baffling.

I stiffened at the sound, my frustration deepening. How was she so calm about this?

Before I could snap again, she leaned back in her chair, crossing one leg over the other with ease.

"There's a lot I'll have to explain," she admitted, her silver eyes gleaming with something unreadable. "You're so out of touch with our world—I can't expect you to understand it all at once."

I exhaled sharply, dragging a hand down my face. Of course I was out of touch because until a few hours ago, I didn't even know this world existed.

Amodina's voice softened, but there was something undeniably firm beneath it.

"But for your information," she said smoothly, "time in your world and time in this world do not work the same way."

I froze, blinking at her. "Excuse me?"

She smiled again, her fingers lightly tapping the armrest. "I am well over a hundred years old, Aralyn," she said. "And I have been the High Priestess of Shadowvale for all these years, waiting for you."

The room suddenly felt smaller, the air heavier. I opened my mouth—then closed it.

A hundred years?

I knew magic was real now, but even that was something I struggled to accept, and now she was saying that time itself worked differently here? That she had lived through more than a century while still looking like she could be in her early twenties? And more importantly, she had been waiting for me? For what?

My head spun.

I sucked in a deep breath, then another, pressing my fingers against my temples.

"Alright," I muttered, forcing my voice to stay calm. "Alright."

Amodina watched me with quiet amusement, waiting. I let out a long sigh, then looked her straight in the eye.

"Just explain my purpose here," I said, keeping my voice as steady as I could. "And explain it in a way that I'll actually understand."

I narrowed my eyes slightly. "I promise I won't interrupt until you're done."

Amodina's lips curved just slightly. "Good," she murmured. "Then listen carefully, Aralyn."

I swallowed, forcing myself to focus.

"For starters," she began, "you aren't as normal as you think you are, Aralyn. In fact, there's nothing normal about you."

I tensed at her words but forced myself to stay still. I had promised I wouldn't interrupt—no matter how ridiculous this sounded.

Amodina's voice remained calm as she continued her explanation. "The mirror you found—that wasn't just an ordinary mirror. It was a Gate of Life, a portal that cannot be controlled by anyone."

The name sent an eerie chill through me, though I had no idea why.

"And that mirror," she continued, "can only be seen by a person who is special."

I blinked, my fingers twitching against the arms of my chair. Special?

Amodina let the words settle before she continued. "In fact, even many of the mages in this academy—mages who have trained their entire lives—would not be capable of seeing that mirror. The Gate of Life chooses who can and cannot see it, and you saw it, which means that it considers you worthy enough to see it."

I had found that mirror by accident, or at least, I had thought it was an accident, but was she really saying that it had chosen me?

I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from speaking, fighting back the urge to argue, to tell her she was wrong. I had told myself I wouldn't interrupt.

So I stayed quiet.

Amodina studied me for a moment, her lips curving slightly, as if she knew exactly what I was thinking, but instead of calling me out on it, she simply continued.

"For almost a hundred years," she said, "I have been told by the deity that someone was coming. Someone who would finally take my place as the most powerful witch. There hasn't been anyone strong enough to inherit my position, but the deity tells me that someone would come eventually, and I just needed to be prepared to welcome whoever it was."

My heart stilled.

She spoke so calmly, so certainly, like this was some prophecy she had been carrying for an entire century.

Her voice remained calm. "So for all these years, I have waited patiently for the Gate of Life to find and bring that person to me."

A strange feeling settled in my stomach because I already knew what she was going to say next, and I wasn't ready to hear it. I let out a dry, humorless laugh, shaking my head.

"You don't actually expect me to believe that this powerful person you're talking about is me, right?"

This had to be some mistake, and she had to be wrong. I was no powerful mage. I was nothing.

I had spent my whole life barely surviving, scraping by in the filth of Vasthral, and hiding from monsters that weren't mythical but human. So how could I be anyone important?

Amodina didn't flinch at my words. If anything, her smile only deepened.

"Well," she said smoothly, "the Gate of Life brought you here. So there has to be a reason for that, don't you think?"

I stiffened and clenched my fists in my lap.

No, this couldn't be real. Whoever this person was, it wasn't me. It couldn't be me.

Amodina watched me carefully before continuing, her voice steady. "You may not realize your power yet, but with the teachings of this academy, you'll be able to delve deep into your dormant abilities…"

She tilted her head slightly, wearing an amused look on her face. "And in time, you will find yourself. So welcome, Aralyn. Welcome to your new home."