The silence stretched between them, thick with the weight of Adrian's revelation.
Leila's blood was tied to an ancient sin. A bloodline that had opened a gateway between worlds.
The words didn't make sense, yet they settled deep inside her, as if they had always been there, waiting to be uncovered.
Sarah was the first to break the silence. "Okay. You have to be messing with us. Leila's family is normal. She's normal. This—this is insane."
Adrian remained still, his dark gaze steady. "You want to believe she's normal because it's safer that way. But the truth doesn't change just because it's inconvenient."
Leila inhaled sharply. "Then explain. Everything. No more cryptic warnings, no more half-truths. If I'm so dangerous, I deserve to know why."
Adrian studied her for a long moment before nodding. "Fine. But once you hear the truth, there's no going back."
Leila's pulse quickened. "Tell me."
Adrian exhaled slowly. "Thousands of years ago, before the first civilizations took form, there were beings who walked between realms—entities older than time itself. Some called them gods. Others called them nightmares."
Sarah scoffed. "Great. Now we're in biblical territory."
Adrian ignored her. "These beings weren't meant to exist in the human world. There was a boundary, a thin veil separating the two realms. But then, someone broke the balance."
Leila felt a chill race down her spine. "Who?"
Adrian's gaze didn't waver. "Your ancestors."
The world tilted beneath her feet.
Sarah let out a nervous laugh. "That's a joke, right? Right?"
Adrian shook his head. "No. A long time ago, one of your ancestors, a woman named Isolde, was deceived into opening the first gateway. She thought she was summoning a deity. Instead, she unleashed something far worse—creatures that weren't meant to exist in this world."
Leila's hands trembled. "And the covenant… they know about this?"
"They've known for centuries," Adrian confirmed. "They've hunted your bloodline ever since, making sure no descendant of Isolde ever gains the power to do what she did."
Sarah frowned. "But Leila's never done anything supernatural."
Adrian's expression darkened. "Not yet."
Leila's breath hitched. "What do you mean not yet?"
He hesitated. "You carry dormant energy from Isolde's mistake. The same energy that once shattered the veil. And now that you've come into contact with me, it's starting to wake up."
Leila's mind spun. "Because of you?"
Adrian's jaw tightened. "Yes. My blood, my presence—it's amplifying whatever's inside you."
Sarah grabbed Leila's arm. "Okay, I think we've heard enough. We need to leave. Right now."
Adrian didn't stop them as they turned toward the door. But just as Leila took a step, a sharp pain erupted behind her eyes.
She gasped, clutching her head.
A rush of images flooded her mind.
A woman standing before a swirling portal, her hands raised, eyes glowing white. Shadows creeping through the rift, twisting and writhing. A voice whispering her name. Not Leila. Not in this lifetime. But in another.
The pain was unbearable. She fell to her knees, barely aware of Sarah calling her name.
Adrian moved in an instant, catching her before she collapsed completely. "It's happening."
Leila barely heard him over the pounding in her skull.
Something inside her was awakening. And it wanted out.
2
She woke up in Adrian's apartment, disoriented and drenched in sweat.
The room was dimly lit, the scent of old books and faint incense lingering in the air.
Leila sat up too quickly, her head spinning.
Adrian was sitting across from her, watching her carefully.
"What happened?" she asked, her voice hoarse.
"You had a vision," he said. "Your past self is trying to show you something."
Leila's stomach churned. "That wasn't just a dream?"
"No," Adrian said, his gaze steady. "It was a memory."
Sarah was pacing by the window, arms crossed tightly. "This is too much. I mean, Leila having magic blood or whatever is already crazy, but now you're saying she's remembering some past life?"
Adrian nodded. "It's part of the awakening."
Leila ran a shaking hand through her hair. "So what do I do now? How do I stop it?"
Adrian's expression darkened. "You don't."
The air in the room felt heavier.
Sarah's voice wavered. "Wait… you don't even know how to stop it?"
Adrian shook his head. "Once the process starts, there's no reversing it. But there is one way to control it."
Leila's pulse quickened. "How?"
Adrian hesitated before answering.
"You have to claim your power before the covenant does."
Leila stared at him. "And if I don't?"
Adrian's voice was grim. "Then they'll kill you before you have the chance."
A cold dread settled in her chest.
Sarah shook her head. "No. No way. There has to be another way."
Adrian sighed. "I wish there was."
Leila clenched her fists. "Then I don't have a choice."
Adrian's gaze softened. "No. You don't."
Leila took a deep breath. She had spent her entire life believing she was just another ordinary girl. But the truth was something much darker, much bigger than she ever imagined.
And if she wanted to survive, she would have to embrace the part of her that terrified her the most.
Her own bloodline.