The Cost of Force
The stroll back through the woodland was a haze. Selene's psyche hustled with all that Damien had told her, the heaviness of her newly discovered reality pushing down on her like a tempest cloud prepared to break. Her body felt outsider — heavier, more mindful of each and every stir in the leaves, each far off sound of creatures in obscurity. Maybe the whole timberland had woken up around her, answering the energy she scarcely comprehended.
"Dial back," Damien called delicately from behind her. "You're not thinking plainly."
Selene eased back her speed yet didn't stop, her hands held into clench hands. "You don't have the foggiest idea. My dad — he's all I have. Assuming that he realized what was going on — assuming he had some awareness of Astrid — he'd at absolutely no point ever allowed me to take off from the house in the future. I can't drag him into this."
Damien's strides crunched delicately behind her. "You're not hauling him into anything. This is your weight, not his."
She gave him a sharp investigate her shoulder. "That is simple for you to say. You don't have any acquaintance with him."
"No," Damien conceded. "Yet, I realize what happens when you conceal reality from individuals you care about. Sometime, they find out. What's more, it's in every case more awful."
Selene bit back a counter, her chest tight. Her dad was a decent man, severe however defensive. He'd raised her alone after her mom passed, and she realized he'd give anything to keep her safe. Yet, this — this was past whatever she might make sense of for him. How is it that she could see him about the murmurs, the revile, the risk that was surrounding her?
They strolled peacefully for some time longer, the town of Briar Empty materializing through the diminishing trees. The natural sight of the little bungalows, the fields, and the faint shine of lamps in the windows quieted her nerves, if by some stroke of good luck marginally. However, a piece of her realize that nothing about this spot could safeguard her any longer.
As they approached the edge of the backwoods, Selene eased back and went to Damien. "What happens next?" she asked, her voice scarcely over a murmur. "What am I expected to do?"
Damien halted close to her, his appearance incomprehensible. "For the time being, you return to your life. Act ordinary. Try not to tell anybody what's going on. I'll keep watch."
"You'll keep watch?" Selene's disappointment erupted. "Furthermore, shouldn't something be said about Astrid? She'll return for me, could she?"
Damien's eyes obscured. "Indeed. In any case, she won't come transparently. She'll hold on until you're separated from everyone else, helpless. That is the reason you should watch out. Try not to go anyplace without help from anyone else, particularly not around evening time."
Selene breathed out leisurely, attempting to handle everything. "Furthermore, what might be said about the revile? The power you say I have — how would I control it?"
"You'll learn," Damien expressed, however there was a wary thing in his tone. "In any case, there's a cost. Power like this doesn't come without outcomes. The more you use it, the more you'll be attracted to it. What's more, when the attach to the moon grabs hold, it's not effectively broken."
Selene gazed at him, her stomach winding in tangles. "What sort of outcomes?"
Damien delayed, his eyes flicking to the twilight sky prior to meeting hers once more. "The bloodline revile attaches you to the wolves, Selene. It's not only an ability to control. It's a piece of you. The more you embrace it, the more you become like them."
"Like… them?" Her voice broke marginally, dread sneaking in. "You mean the wolves?"
He gestured. "The revile isn't just about wizardry. It's about change — into something wild, something that can't be subdued. That is the reason Astrid needs your power. She's been attempting to control the revile for quite a long time, to involve it for herself. In any case, in the event that she takes it, you'll lose everything — your mankind, your opportunity. Everything."
The heaviness of his words settled vigorously on her, and Selene felt the air around her become colder. Her fingers jerked as the peculiar energy inside her blended once more, and she could feel the draw of something profound and base hiding underneath the surface. It frightened her.
"I don't need this," she murmured, her voice shudder. "I never requested any of this."
"I know," Damien said delicately, his voice gentler than previously. "Yet, you can't change what's been passed down to you. Nothing remains at this point but to conclude how you'll confront it."
Selene gulped hard, her throat tight. She thought back toward the town, the warm lights of home calling to her. Briefly, she needed just to rush to her dad, to let him know all that and let him hold her like he had when she was a youngster. Be that as it may, where it counts, she realized she proved unable. Not yet.
She turned around to Damien. "So what do I do now?"
"Carry on with your life," he said, his look consistent. "Remain nearby individuals you care about. Yet, stay on high alert. I'll be close by in the event that you want me."
Selene gestured gradually, however her psyche was all the while whirling with questions and dread. She took a full breath, attempting to consistent herself, then turned and started strolling back toward the town. As she got out of the timberland and onto the recognizable way, she could nearly persuade herself that everything was typical once more — that the peril was far away, and her life would return to how it was.
Yet, the murmurs were still there, waiting in her sub-conscience, advising her that nothing could at any point be something very similar.
Inside the house, her dad sat by the fire, his face carved with the lines of the day's worth of effort. He turned upward as Selene entered, his temple wrinkling in concern.
"Where have you been?" he asked, his voice abrupt yet touched with stress. "I've been hanging tight for you."
Selene faltered, her heartbeat enlivening. "I… took a walk. I really wanted some outside air."
Her dad's eyes restricted somewhat, yet he didn't push. He just murmured, scouring a hand over his face. "You ought not be out so late, Selene. You realize the forest aren't protected."
"I know," she said delicately, her chest tight with the heaviness of the untruths she was at that point telling. "I'll be more cautious."
Her dad gestured, his demeanor mellowing. "Great. Presently get some rest. We have a ton of work to do tomorrow."
Selene constrained a grin and gestured, however her brain was a long way from the daily practice of their basic life. She climbed the steps to her room, her heart weighty with the weight of the insider facts she currently conveyed. As she shut the entryway behind her, the evening glow spilled through the window, creating long shaded areas across the floor.
She sat on the edge of her bed, her hands shaking in her lap. The energy inside her was still there, calm however diligent, similar to a heartbeat she was unable to disregard. She shut her eyes, attempting to quiet the tempest inside her, yet the murmurs returned, weak and obstinate.
*The opportunity is approaching, Selene. You can't run from it.*
She woke up, her breath flimsy as she watched out at the twilight sky. Regardless of the amount she needed to deny it, Damien was correct.
There was no running from what she was becoming.