A blinding light engulfed Elissa.
She felt warmth spreading through her body, the mark on her wrist pulsing like a second heartbeat. Her chest rose and fell in ragged breaths, her fingers trembled, and in her temples, an unfamiliar voice whispered words in a language she did not know.
Raphael did not let go of her hand. His face twisted in pain— as if the light was burning him from the inside.
— Let her go, — the pastor spoke calmly, but there was steel in his voice.
— I can’t, — Raphael breathed.
He tried to unclench his fingers, but something kept them bound together.
Elissa felt it… a connection.
Through their touch, she could see him— his past, his pain, his loneliness, the darkness that had surrounded him since birth. And in that darkness… there was light.
A light that belonged to her.
Raphael sucked in a shaky breath.
— What have you done to me?
Elissa shook her head, panic rising like a tide.
— I… I don’t know…
But the pastor did.
He stepped forward slowly, his eyes gleaming with something ancient, unwavering.
— This was inevitable, — he looked at Elissa. — You are the key.
— The key to what? — her voice trembled.
— Their awakening.
Elissa yanked her hand away, and in that instant, the light vanished, leaving only a ringing silence behind.
Raphael staggered back, his breath heavy.
He looked at her as if he was seeing her for the first time.
— What are you?
Elissa didn’t know.
But deep inside, she felt that the answer was closer than she had ever imagined.