CHAPTER 15: AWAKENING THE STORM

A hush fell over the battlefield. The unnatural flames still smoldered, but the forest itself had stilled, as if holding its breath.

Seraphina felt the magic coiling inside her, thrumming beneath her skin like a storm on the edge of breaking.

Elyndor's voice was steady. "The Veilwood has chosen you, Seraphina. You are its last guardian. Its last hope."

She swallowed, her heart pounding. "I don't know how to control it."

"You don't need to control it," Elyndor said. "You need to let it become you."

The words sent a shiver through her soul.

Then—

Aldric raised his hand, and dark magic erupted from his fingertips, arcing toward her like a serpent of shadows.

Seraphina didn't think.

She lifted her hands, and the magic answered.

A wall of golden-green energy surged forward, colliding with Aldric's spell in an explosion of light and darkness. The force of it shook the earth, sending soldiers stumbling, setting the trees quivering like living things.

Seraphina gasped as the power coursed through her veins. It was wild and untamed, but it was also hers.

And for the first time—

She was not afraid.

Aldric's Fury

Aldric's expression twisted into rage. "You think you can defy me?" His voice was a snarl, filled with raw hatred. "I have spent years ensuring you would never awaken this power."

Seraphina's hands burned with golden fire. She took a step forward. "You don't control me anymore."

Aldric let out a roar, summoning a storm of shadows, but Seraphina met him head-on.

The two forces collided, sending shockwaves through the battlefield. The very trees trembled.

Kael shielded his eyes from the blinding light, watching as Seraphina and Aldric's magic clashed, twisting in the air like warring spirits.

He had never seen anything like it.

And in that moment, he knew—

Seraphina was no longer just a fugitive princess.

She was something far greater.

The Veilwood Awakens

The ground cracked, roots surging upward in response to Seraphina's magic. The forest was no longer dying—

It was fighting back.

Vines lashed out, ensnaring Aldric's soldiers, dragging them into the undergrowth. The trees groaned, their branches moving as if alive.

Seraphina's power wasn't just hers.

It was the Veilwood's will.

And together—

They would not bow to Aldric.

Aldric's magic faltered. For the first time, true fear flickered in his eyes.

"You—" His voice was hoarse. "You don't understand what you are awakening."

Seraphina's eyes glowed. "No. You don't."

She raised her hand—

And lightning split the sky.

To Be Continued…