Chapter 16: The Storm Between Us

The wind howled through the Hollow Grove like a living thing. Moonlight broke through the thick canopy overhead, splintering into silver veins across the forest floor. Amara stood at the heart of it all, the stone pool at her feet still shimmering with the echo of her mother's voice and the face of the creature that now pulsed beneath her skin.

She felt different.

Heavier. Brighter. Wilder.

Magic danced beneath her fingertips like sparks, but it wasn't just her own—it was his, too. The being she had once feared had somehow become part of her now. Not through possession… but invitation. She hadn't spoken the words aloud, but her heart had already chosen.

And that choice was rewriting her.

From behind the trees, Selene stepped into view. Her boots crushed damp leaves, her cloak dragging shadows with it. Her eyes locked onto Amara, wide with disbelief, fear, and something else—betrayal.

"You said you were going to find answers," Selene said, her voice low, shaking. "Not become one."

Amara's fingers trembled at her sides. "I found the answers. I am one."

Selene's mouth tightened into a line. "What did you do?"

"I listened to her," Amara said. "To my mother. To the truth. I'm not just her daughter—I'm her legacy. And I can't run from that anymore."

"That thing inside you," Selene whispered, taking a step forward, "it isn't truth. It's hunger."

Amara's throat tightened. "It's not evil."

Selene narrowed her eyes. "It wears your mirror. It steals faces. It haunts you."

"It only haunted me because I ignored it," Amara snapped. "It wanted to be heard."

"And now it's inside you."

Amara didn't deny it. She could still feel it—like a second pulse in her chest, a heartbeat not her own. But it didn't feel wrong. It felt familiar. Like it had always been there, waiting.

Selene approached the stone pool and glanced at the shimmering liquid. Her fingers hovered above it.

"He used Micah. Pretended to be him. He lied to you. He's using your pain to trick you."

Amara looked away. The truth in Selene's words hurt. But it didn't undo what she'd felt when she stood in the center of the grove, bleeding into the moonlit pool and hearing her mother's voice rise like a song from beyond death.

"I'm not tricked," Amara whispered. "I chose."

Selene's voice dropped. "Then you've betrayed us all."

That landed like a slap.

Amara flinched. "You don't understand."

"I do!" Selene snapped. "Because I was trained to kill things like that! I see magic for what it is—not what it wants to be."

Amara's chest ached. "You were my friend."

"I still am," Selene said, eyes wet now. "That's why I'm here. To stop you before it's too late."

Amara shook her head. "You're not listening. I'm not the danger here."

"Then what is?" Selene hissed. "Because something's coming, Amara. I felt it when you bled into this grove. The seal is cracking. And whatever's beneath us—it's waking up."

The ground trembled beneath their feet, subtle but real. The pool shimmered violently now, the surface swirling with mist and memory. A howl echoed in the distance—not wolf, not wind—but something older, deeper.

Amara stepped away from the pool. "I know. That's why I'm staying."

"You're what?"

"If the seal breaks, someone has to be here. To control it. To contain him."

Selene stared at her like she'd gone mad. "You think you can control a god?"

"I don't know what he is," Amara admitted. "But I know I'm the only one who can speak to him. The only one who hears him without going mad."

Selene opened her mouth, then closed it. Her hands trembled.

"I lost my sister to a being like him," she said quietly. "A spirit that promised her power. She believed it loved her. It wore her like a skin. And then it killed her."

Amara's heart twisted. "I'm sorry."

"I won't lose you too."

But it was too late.

The wind blew hard through the trees, snuffing out their candles and torches. The air rippled with pressure, and from the heart of the stone pool, something began to rise.

A shape. Shadow and silver. Formless, but watching.

Selene drew a dagger from her belt, its blade etched with runes. "Step away from it, Amara. Or I will stop you."

Amara didn't move.

The being behind her whispered inside her mind. She will strike. And I will defend you.

"No," Amara said aloud. "We don't hurt her."

"She will hurt you," it warned.

"Then let her try."

Selene stepped forward, blade raised.

And paused.

Because Amara's body had begun to glow.

A silver aura surrounded her, threads of moonlight lifting her hair and clothes. Her eyes blazed with power—not madness, not hunger, but clarity.

Selene lowered the knife an inch.

"You're changing," she breathed.

"I already have," Amara whispered. "But I haven't lost myself."

The pool went still. The shadow within it faded.

And the storm… passed.

Selene stared at her, shaking.

"I don't know what you are anymore."

Amara reached out a hand.

"Still your friend. Still your sister in the dark."

Selene hesitated. Then took it.

Just as the moon rose fully over the grove, casting its light over two girls—one touched by a spirit, the other born to hunt them.

The balance had shifted.

And the war had just begun.