Little Josette was born into a wealthy and highly influential family on the continent. From a young age, she had everything she could possibly need. Nevertheless, it wasn't enough to satisfy her desire for knowledge.
Exceptionally precocious, she could read and write before the age of three, much to her mother's pleasant surprise. As time passed, little Josette continued to impress everyone.
Around the age of six, she discovered a book in her father's library, a book that spoke of Ora. She knew, of course, what it was, and she had already seen adults using it.
She devoured it attentively, and something seemed to awaken within her. From the very next day, she planned her own training sessions.
The adults who watched her were charmed by her cuteness, but that wasn't what she sought. She didn't want to be told she was cute; she wanted her talents to be recognized.
Quickly, her relentless efforts paid off. She began to master Ora and soon became an expert. However, she still suffered from a kind of emptiness, as if something—or someone—was missing.
In fact, she had never known her father, who had died during the tragic event known as the Rain. As a result, she had never known a father's love, and this troubled her greatly.
Time passed, and little Josette grew into a beautiful young teenager. At eighteen, she obtained her mother's permission to go to the capital.
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The night was dark and oppressive; shadows stretched out like clawed fingers, threatening to engulf them. He began to drift toward Scarlett, the others trailing behind like shadows. Their footsteps thudded in the silence, a mournful beat echoing through the deserted streets.
The silence hung thick in the air, a breathless pause. It felt like the city was pinching its lips, waiting for something to break the stillness. What was about to unfold?
He sped up, heart racing. Before he knew it, he was sprinting, his voice echoing like a wild storm as he called out for his sister. Dante and Maddie immediately imitated him, splitting up to cover more ground. Nick's voice cracked as he screamed, "SCARS!!!"
It was the most stressful situation he had ever faced. Besides his grandparents, there was no one else in the world he cared for more than his sister, even if he didn't show it often. He cast a glance toward where Dante had gone. He heard him shouting, but nothing more. Turning in Maddie's direction, he sensed a significant change in the air.
That meant she was using her Ora, deploying it around her like a radar, a high-level manipulation skill that only she had mastered in the entire academy. Regaining his composure, he resumed running, shouting the name of the unfortunate girl.
Without realizing it, he had ventured deep into streets far less frequented than the ones he came from. He stopped the few people he encountered, politely but insistently asking them if they had seen her after giving a brief description. Each time they replied no, he grew accustomed to not getting any useful information from them.
Reaching a completely deserted intersection, he was joined by Dante, who anticipated his question and shook his head negatively, and by Maddie. She wasn't looking at him like Dante was; instead, her focus was on the ground as if she was trying to read some invisible writing.
Suddenly, she straightened up, and with a single look, communicated to Nick what he had been desperately hoping to hear for the past twenty minutes: she had been found. Without any enthusiasm or urgency, Nick asked Maddie exactly where she was.
"Every living being has an oratic signature, and it's normally impossible to distinguish one person from another," she began. "But if you infuse a part of your Ora into someone else's, they become traceable anywhere—if they're within range."
"And how did you manage that? It's so difficult even the professors don't dare try it," asked Dante.
"Normally, it would be incredibly hard to pull off; otherwise, the teachers would have taught us in mastery classes. I managed only because Scarlett seems to naturally release a certain amount of Ora around her," she continued after a brief pause. "This quantity is low enough to go unnoticed by the other students, and even by you apparently, but significant enough for me to merge my Ora with it. The professors probably noticed it too."
"A kind of link formed between our Ora, allowing me to sense her as long as she's within range. I've felt it for a while now, but it was too weak to tell you about, Nick," she said, turning to him. "But this time, I'm certain—she's nearby."
Nick's face showed a mixture of indescribable fear and immense relief. Now, it remained to determine exactly where she could be. Maddie resumed deploying her Ora around her, and they all headed in the direction she indicated.
After a moment of silently walking, alert for any signs of life in this deserted neighborhood, Maddie suddenly stopped and held up her hand to halt the other two. She extended her Ora to her right and stayed alert. After a few moments, she turned to Nick and, in a solemn tone, said:
"I've found her."
Nick received the news with a calmness that surprised Dante and Maddie. But in truth, he was so thrilled he was ready to leave them behind and rush to her.
Yet, he was cautious. His sister would never leave without a word, and she wasn't the type to pull this kind of prank. So the only other plausible option, Nick knew, was that she was in trouble.
But rather than jumping to conclusions, he chose to keep his worries to himself. A quick glance at Dante and Maddie confirmed they were thinking exactly what he was.
Without a word, they resumed their path, following the route Maddie indicated. They slipped into a narrow alley between several buildings, the kind of passage best avoided when alone. After four right turns and two left, they heard, for the first time since entering the neighborhood, some noises. They instinctively stopped, all three listening intently.
As they crept forward in small steps, the sounds gradually clarified from muffled noises to voices, then to faint cries. Hearing this, Dante prepared to charge in, but Nick held him back.
Looking at him, he saw a fury and rage in his eyes, something entirely unusual. Meeting his fierce gaze, Nick shook his head. Seeing his expression, Dante relaxed slightly, exhaling his frustration. They slowly rounded the last corner, facing the harsh reality of the city.
They arrived at a large, dark, and dilapidated building. The windows were broken, the door hung loosely on its hinges like a dislocated jaw. Maddie stopped at the door and turned to Nick and Dante.
"It's here," she said in a barely audible voice. "Scarlett is inside."
Nick felt his heart stop. He knew something had happened to his sister, something terrible. He took a deep breath and pushed the door, which creaked on its hinges like a cry of pain.
When I saw what was happening, my blood ran cold. The nerves shot to my head, and my bloodshot eyes radiated a fury I didn't know I could feel.
There, in front of us, were three young men, not very law-abiding given their style, who seemed to have developed a perverse and pedophilic interest in Scarlett. She was defenseless, her clothes torn in pieces, her eyes wide with terror.
The sounds we had heard earlier came from Scarlett's screams, muffled by one of the guys, who had his hand over her mouth. Suddenly, another behind him decided to use his hands and shoved them into her uniform.
I was getting ready to pounce on him and stop him when a figure moved toward them. As if reconnecting with those around me, I glanced to my side and saw Maddie using all her strength to keep herself from exploding them with her Ora.
In front of us, Nick was walking toward the three tough-looking guys. He was getting closer, but they didn't notice him until he was just a few meters away. From the smell they gave off, one could logically assume they had drunk enough to sleep for two days.
Thus, when Nick approached, the one who was the furthest back, a beer in hand, shot him a disdainful look and glanced at his friends enjoying their prey. Scarlett's eyes showed an indescribable, yet palpable, relief. Two meters away from them, Nick stopped and said:
— I would ask you to let her go. His tone was cold and sharp.
After hearing that, the guy with the bottle looked at him again, but this time with hatred in his eyes. The other two, who were busy with Scarlett, were visibly disturbed as they stopped to look at him, just as menacingly as their friend.
Suddenly, after a good minute of palpable tension and a shiver running through me, the guy standing behind threw his bottle to the ground, shattering it into a thousand pieces. The sudden noise made Nick flinch, a reaction that triggered a burst of laughter from all of them. The guy with the bottle picked up a shard and waved it threateningly in front of Nick:
— Look at that, he said mockingly, clearly drunk. Get lost before we hurt you, little man.
As I had noticed for some time, he was taking everything with extraordinary calm. The guy with the bottle turned away laughing when Nick, unfazed, did something that left me stunned.
Already, just being here had me gripped with an uncontrollable fear since they had stayed silent, and although Scarlett was still in a very delicate position, I greatly felt the urge to run away. Repeating what Nick had said was something my body seemed incapable of doing.
But apparently, it wasn't the case for Nick, who repeated the question very audibly. I almost felt admiration for him in that moment, for his courage and composure, when I saw his hand tremble slightly.
Nervously, but carefully, I approached, followed by Maddie. I watched him more closely and saw that he wasn't just trembling, he was terrified. Even his face, which I glimpsed in profile as I leaned to the right, showed clear signs of fear.
Not knowing what to do, I explained the situation to Maddie:
— I think we'd better get him out of there, I whispered.
— And Scarlett? Have you thought about her? He may be scared out of his mind, but he's doing what needs to be done.
— Did you notice?
— Obviously! It's obvious. — And you wouldn't want to get out of here?
— Listen, I'd love to run away too, this situation is terrifying me, but we can't leave Scarlett here.
— I agree, but…
— There's no "but" about it. If you want to get her out of there, I don't think we have much of a choice.
— What do you mean by that? I asked, feeling rather uneasy.
— I mean that we could…