The woods around me felt unnaturally still, as if the trees themselves were holding their breath. A sharp chill hung in the air, colder than it had any right to be for this time of year. My thoughts were racing, the weight of everything pressing down on me—on us.
Elias had been brought back to life, but something was off. He wasn't the same. His eyes, the ones I'd fallen in love with, didn't seem to see me the way they once had. He looked at me, but there was no warmth in his gaze, no recognition of the love we had shared. And now, this—Magnus was involved, more deeply than I had ever known.
It wasn't just Elias that was different. It was everything. The air around me seemed charged, as though something heavy was about to happen. I could feel it in the pit of my stomach, a sinking sensation that had been growing since I first stepped into this new reality. The world was changing, and I was helpless to stop it.
I was standing in the clearing just outside the Blackwood estate, trying to calm my racing thoughts, when I heard it. Footsteps, deliberate and slow, approaching from behind.
"Ronan," came a voice that made the hairs on my neck stand up straight.
I turned sharply, my heart skipping a beat. There, standing at the edge of the trees, was Magnus.
His presence was almost… too much. It filled the air like a storm waiting to break. The moonlight caught his pale face, and I saw the glint of something unreadable in his eyes. There was always something unsettling about him, something that made me feel like I was standing at the edge of a cliff, staring down into a dark abyss.
"What are you doing here?" I asked, my voice sharper than I intended, but I couldn't help it. The anger, the frustration—it had all been building up inside me, and now it was spilling out.
Magnus took a step forward, his gaze never leaving mine. "I think you already know why I'm here," he said softly, almost mockingly.
I clenched my fists at my sides, fighting to keep my temper in check. "I didn't ask for your help. I never wanted any of this."
He tilted his head slightly, studying me. "Ah, but you wanted him back, didn't you? You wanted Elias. And now, you have him. But things aren't as simple as you think."
I wanted to scream at him, tell him how much I hated him for what he'd done, for what he was doing. But I kept quiet, forcing myself to breathe, forcing myself to stay in control.
Magnus took another slow step forward, his eyes gleaming with something I couldn't quite place. "You've been asking all the wrong questions, Ronan. All this time, you've been focused on one thing: getting Elias back. But you've never stopped to wonder why it's happening. Why you were the one who had to bring him back."
I felt a shiver run down my spine, the weight of his words settling into my chest. I knew I didn't want to hear what he had to say next, but I couldn't stop myself from asking. "Why? Why me? What do you want from me?"
Magnus didn't answer right away. Instead, he gave a quiet laugh, almost as if he were enjoying watching me squirm. He walked around me slowly, his steps deliberate. "You've been so focused on Elias, on what he means to you. You've been blind to what's really happening here."
I turned to face him, trying to keep my voice steady. "What are you talking about?"
Magnus's eyes glowed faintly, like embers in the dark. "The prophecy. You're a part of it. Everything you've done, everything that's happened to you—none of it is by chance. It's all been set in motion for a reason. A reason you've yet to understand."
My heart skipped a beat. "The prophecy? You're saying this is all part of some… plan?"
He smiled, but it wasn't a kind smile. "Not just any plan. A plan that I've been working on for years. I've been waiting for this moment, Ronan. Waiting for you to play your part."
I shook my head, trying to process what he was saying. "I don't… I don't understand."
He stepped closer, and I felt a chill run through me, like his very presence was seeping into my skin. "Elias is the key," Magnus said quietly, his voice low and dangerous. "The prophecy speaks of a vessel, someone who will bring about change. Elias is that vessel. He was chosen long before either of you knew it."
My chest tightened. "You're saying Elias was chosen for this? To fulfill some prophecy?"
Magnus nodded slowly, a dark glint in his eyes. "Exactly. He's the one who will either save or destroy this world. And you, Ronan, you're tied to him. You're the anchor. Without you, none of this would have been possible. Without your grief, your love for him—without that, the prophecy would never have been set in motion."
I could barely breathe as I tried to process the words. It didn't make sense. Elias—he wasn't just someone I loved. He was… the key. The very thought of it made my stomach churn.
"But why do you want this?" I asked, my voice shaking. "Why use Elias? Why involve me?"
Magnus's eyes darkened, and his lips curled into a cold smile. "Because, Ronan, I want power. I want control. The supernatural world has been hiding in the shadows for far too long. It's time for that to change. The world of humans and the world of the supernatural will merge, and when that happens, only the strong will survive. And Elias… Elias is the one who will bring that change. Whether he saves or destroys everything depends on who controls him."
I couldn't move. I couldn't think. The weight of his words crushed me. Elias wasn't just a victim in this; he was part of something bigger. We were part of something bigger. Something dangerous.
"And you," Magnus continued, stepping even closer, his voice a whisper, "you're the one who will have to choose. Will you stand by and watch as everything falls apart? Or will you join me, and help shape the future?"
The air between us was thick, heavy with the tension of what he was proposing. I felt like I was standing on the edge of a precipice, staring into an abyss that had no bottom.
"I won't help you," I managed to say, though my voice trembled with uncertainty. "I won't let you use him. I won't let you control him."
Magnus's smile widened, but there was no warmth in it. "You don't have a choice, Ronan. You never did."
And just like that, he turned and melted into the shadows, leaving me standing there alone in the clearing, my heart pounding in my chest, my mind spinning with everything he had just told me.
The world was changing. And I wasn't ready for it.