Chapter 16

The air was thick with anticipation as Eliana stood at the base of the old Crestwood Observatory, the faint moonlight casting pale shadows across the crumbling stone. Midnight cloaked the town in silence, save for the distant hoot of an owl and the crunch of gravel beneath her boots.

Her breath curled in the cool air as she glanced around, half-expecting this to be a trap. She wouldn't put it past Vanessa to orchestrate some elaborate revenge under the guise of an alliance. Still, Eliana had come curiosity and the aching need for answers overpowering her doubts.

A rustle behind her made her tense, but it was only Vanessa, stepping out from the shadows, a black satchel slung over one shoulder.

"You came," Vanessa said, sounding surprised.

"You invited me," Eliana replied flatly.

Vanessa motioned toward the old wooden stairs that wound up into the heart of the observatory. "Let's not waste time."

Eliana followed her cautiously, the wooden steps groaning under their weight. When they reached the top, Vanessa pulled out a small flashlight and set her bag on a rusted table. She carefully removed a folder, several flash drives, and a handful of worn photographs.

"This is what I have," she said, spreading the contents before Eliana.

Eliana leaned in. The photographs were old but unmistakable. One of them showed a younger man Zayne's father shaking hands with a familiar face: Aria's father. Another was a picture of a heavily secured facility with Crestwood Academy's emblem stamped in the corner. Her stomach churned.

"These were taken about seventeen years ago," Vanessa explained. "Before Aria's father was killed. Before Zayne's family came into power at the academy."

Eliana's eyes scanned the documents. There were emails between staff members, some referencing her father's name, others discussing a "project" something called Seraph Protocol.

"What is this?" she asked, voice low.

"A research project your father helped start. He was one of the original minds behind it," Vanessa said. "But it went dark after his death. Then Aria's father took over and twisted it."

Eliana felt the floor sway beneath her. She had grown up believing her father was a good man quiet, kind, brilliant. But this? Secret projects? Ties to the academy's hidden past?

"There's more," Vanessa said, her tone shifting. "Your bracelet."

Eliana instinctively touched it. "What about it?"

"It's not just sentimental. It's a tracker. My brother decoded its signal weeks ago. That's how I've been following what's happening around you."

Eliana recoiled slightly, eyes wide. "You've been tracking me?"

"No. I've been tracking whoever's been tracking you," Vanessa clarified. "Zayne. Aria. The entire council. They're watching you, Eliana. They think you're the key to finishing what your father started."

Eliana shook her head, backing away. "No. No, this...this can't be real."

"I wish it weren't," Vanessa said, softer now. "But you've felt it, haven't you? The way people look at you. The whispers. Zayne always being one step ahead. Aria's sudden interest in your life. They're all playing a game and you're the prize."

Tears stung the corners of Eliana's eyes. Everything she thought she knew was crumbling. Her father. Zayne. Even her own memories. It felt like the ground had been ripped from beneath her.

"And you?" she asked, voice trembling. "What's your role in all of this?"

Vanessa looked away. "I started digging after my brother died. They said it was an accident. But I found files he left behind. He knew something something they didn't want him to share. I thought if I got close to the source... maybe I could finish what he started."

"And I'm the source," Eliana said bitterly.

"You're more than that. You're the only one who can end this."

Silence settled between them. The only sound was the faint hum of the city far below. Eliana picked up one of the photographs her father, standing beside a building she'd never seen before, smiling like he had nothing to hide.

"I need to see this place," she said finally. "The lab. The facility. Whatever it was."

"It's underground," Vanessa replied. "Beneath the academy. But it's sealed. We'd need help."

"Then we'll get it," Eliana said. "But I'm not running anymore. If they want me, they'll have to face me."

Vanessa gave a small nod, something like respect flickering in her eyes.

"Eliana," she said after a pause. "There's something else you should know."

Eliana turned, still gripping the file. "What?"

"I think your father didn't just work on the Seraph Protocol. I think he tested it. On you."

The words struck like a slap. "What are you talking about?"

"Look at your memories. The gaps. The vivid dreams. Your uncanny intuition. You think all of that is normal?"

Eliana stared at her, heart pounding. Could it be true? Could her whole life have been a side effect of something her father built?

Before she could answer, the sound of footsteps echoed from below.

Vanessa's eyes widened. "We have to go. Now."

They packed the evidence quickly, Eliana shoving files into her coat. As they fled down the stairs, Eliana's mind raced. The game had changed.

But she wasn't a pawn anymore.

She was the storm they never saw coming.

Eliana's heart thundered in her chest as she and Vanessa descended the creaking stairs of the observatory. Every step felt heavier now weighted with the truth, the secrets, and the realization that her life had never truly belonged to her.

Outside, the air was colder, sharper. It stung her lungs as she breathed it in, trying to steady herself.

"What do we do now?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Vanessa looked ahead, eyes scanning the shadows. "We stay ahead. We gather more. We get inside that lab beneath the academy before they do."

Eliana clutched the folder tighter. "And Zayne?"

Vanessa hesitated. "He's still hiding things from you. He might care, but he's part of this whether he admits it or not."

The thought stung more than Eliana expected. Even after everything, part of her still wanted to believe he had been protecting her not manipulating her.

A sudden gust of wind blew through the trees, scattering leaves across the path. Eliana paused, turning slightly as if sensing something or someone watching.

She saw nothing. But the feeling remained.

"We're being watched," she murmured.

Vanessa nodded grimly. "Then it's already begun."

Eliana didn't respond. Her fingers brushed against the bracelet on her wrist her father's legacy, her past, her curse. And maybe, her power.

She wasn't the girl she had been when this all started. She wasn't helpless. She wasn't lost.

Not anymore.

As they walked into the night, the first hints of dawn teased the horizon, painting the sky in streaks of dark violet and silver.

A new day was coming.

And Eliana was ready to face it.