bChapter /bb265 /b

    Aurora’s P.O.V

    As the wind howled louder, I felt something shift within me. My hands, still held out in front of me, began to tingle, a warmth spreading up my arms, and before I couldprehend it, my palms began to glow. The golden light surged from my skin like liquid fire, bright and powerful, spreading across my fingers as if it had a life of its own.

    The light–it was the same as the one from my birthday party. The memories flooded back in an instant, the strange warmth and light around me.

    I froze, realization hitting me like a freight train. This–this was my power. The light, the force I had felt before, it was mine to control.

    I didn’t know how, but I could feel it now, pulsing in the very core of my being, waiting for me to

    embrace it. To use it.

    “Caleb!” I shouted again, my voice strong, firm with the newfound strength in me. His eyes flickered toward me, still weak but alive.

    “Caroline,” I gasped, my voice trembling with the weight of it all, but there was no time for hesitation. I could feel it now–this power coursing through me, and it would not be ignored. I closed my eyes, and I focused on that light, willing it to grow, to expand. And with a force I never thought I could muster, I threw my hands out, sending a burst of golden energy sweeping across the room.

    The gusts of wind faltered, and for the first time in what felt like forever, everything went quiet. The

    air was still.

    I felt… different. Stronger. I could feel the power thrumming inside of me, waiting for mymand.

    “Did you feel that?” Caleb murmured, his voice weak but full of awe. Caroline managed a small nod, her eyes wide as she looked at me, her expression torn between relief and disbelief.

    I didn’t answer, I couldn’t. I was too lost in the sudden understanding of who I was–who I could

    be.

    “Thank you,” I whispered to my mother, the weight of her guidance settling deep in my soul. I was no longer the frightened girl I once was. I was something more now. Something dangerous.

    And I was ready to fight back.

    I watched as Harmona turned towards me, her eyes wide with disbelief, her lips parting in shock. She took a step back, a mix of confusion and anger on her face. “How… how can you still use your powers?b” /bshe demanded, her voice rising.

    “They should have been siphoned off to us immediately. It’s impossible for you to still have

    control!”

    I could feel her gaze piercing through me, but I refused to let her see any hint of doubt. My hands curled into fists at my sides, the wind in the room swirling restlessly, waiting for me tomand it. I could sense her disbelief, but I was beyond caring. This moment had been a long timeing. They thought they could simply take everything from me–everything I had left–and I would bow to their power.

    With a breath, I straightened, my voice calm butced with the weight of everything I had endured. “You and Lucas underestimated me,” I said, letting the words hang in the air. “You underestimated my mother, and you underestimated all of us. And now, you’re going to pay the price for that.”

    Harmona’s eyes narrowed as if she were trying to understand how I, of all people, could stand before her with such resolve. But I wasn’t the same person I was before all this. I had learned the truth, and with it, came a surge of power that none of them could ever take from me.

    Harmona looked around the room, as if expecting it all to fall apart around her, as if she could still stop me. The golden light that had dimmed in the chaos began to brighten, filling the room with its intense glow. The oppressive weight of the moment lifted, and I felt the tension in the air snap like a taut string breaking.

    I could see the others around us, frozen for a brief moment, their eyes wide with surprise as they realized that the storm had passed. They could move again. But they were no longer in control. The

    room felt different now, charged with the reality that I wasn’t the same vulnerable soul they once

    thought I was.

    “You’re free to move again,” I said softly, my voice steady, the calmness at odds with the storm that

    had just raged inside me. “Take them all out of here. Get everyone to safety!”

    Harmona’s expression shifted, her shock fading into something colder, more calcting. She knew that whatever n she had for me was no longer going to work–She wasn’t in control anymore. I

    was. And that made all the difference.

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