The tea had gone cold beside her.
Nola had not moved in hours.
The sunlight that had streamed through the curtains had faded, painting the walls in light orange now.
Her parents had drifted into the kitchen again, whispering in the way adults do when they are afraid to admit they do not have answers.
The silence wasn't heavy anymore.
It was numbing. She could not feel any tears or sadness.
Her body still ached from holding herself so tightly on the couch, arms looped around her knees like if she let go, she would break apart.
Her mind was quieter now, though. Like a storm had passed through and left only a soaked landscape in its wake.
Then her phone buzzed.
Just once as a name flashed on the screen.
Auriel.
She stared at it for a second, confused as her brother didn't call often. It was not because he didn't care but because he was always busy with work.
Doing things the rest of them did not know about. He had graduated early, gotten into some elite academy her parents spoke of only vaguely, like a rumor with teeth.
It was as though they did not know about his work either.
She swiped to answer.
"…Auriel?"
There was a beat of silence. Then his voice, warm and steady poured into her ears
"Hey, Little Nola."
She closed her eyes.
No one had called her that except him.
"Hey," she managed. Her voice cracked on the word.
He let out a quiet breath. "I heard."
Of course he had.
"It wasn't me," she whispered. "The explosion. I didn't—I wouldn't—"
"I know."
He didn't even hesitate.
And just like that, the dam cracked.
Her chest buckled and her eyes burned. But still, she didn't cry.
Just listened, the phone pressed tight against her ear, trying to draw comfort from his voice the way she used to when they were younger.
"It's not your fault," he said. "But it was always going to happen."
"What do you mean?"
"You've been carrying something for a long time, Nola. Something no one prepared you for. Because no one told you what you really are."
She was silent and frozen.
Auriel continued, his voice lower now, like he wasn't alone.
"I never went to Eldhollow Prep like they told everyone. That was just the name on the letterhead. I went to a school that trains people like us."
"Like us?" she echoed. "What does that even mean?"
He paused.
Then, gently, he said,"You feel it, don't you? That pull in your chest when it gets too quiet. The electricity in your skin before something breaks. The way shadows lean in like they're listening."
Her breath hitched.
Yes. She felt it all the time.
"There's a reason for that," Auriel said. "You have the will of a fallen hero inside you."
The words felt too big for the room.
"…What?"
He chuckled lightly.
"It sounds dramatic, I know. But it's real. Some people are born carrying fragments of heroes long past. Souls that never fully left the world because they still had something left to do. And those pieces… find hosts."
"Hosts?" she repeated. "Like… possession?"
"No. More like inheritance. You're not a puppet, Nola. You're you. But there's someone else, too. Inside. Dormant. Until something wakes them."
"And the explosion—?"
"Could've been a surge. A moment when the energy inside you reached a point your body couldn't contain. It happens. Especially to those who are untrained."
Nola rubbed her forehead. "But why me?"
"That's the question we all ask, the first time. No one chooses this, Nola. It chooses you."
She sat in silently, her hand gripping her phone tightly.
"But why did no one tell me?" Her voice cracked again, angrier this time. "Why did I get thrown into schools that hated me? Why did Mom and Dad act like I was broken?"
"Because they didn't know," he said gently. "Not really. Uncle Kael did. He recognized it in me, years ago. Trained me in secret until I was strong enough to go to the school. I think he hoped you wouldn't have to bear it too. But…"
"But I did."
"Yeah. You did."
Her heart thudded painfully. "Where's Uncle Kael now?"
"Gone," Auriel said quietly. "But not dead. He's… somewhere else. He said when it was time, you'd find your way. That I'd know when to call."
"You knew I'd get expelled thrice and humiliated like this?"
"I hoped you wouldn't," he admitted. "But I wasn't surprised. It runs in the family, I guess."
A strange calm settled in her. Like the truth, bizarre as it was, had slotted into place in her ribs. The humming in the walls. The surges. The strange dreams. It wasn't madness.
It was a signal.
"I don't know what I'm going to do now," she said.
"You don't have to know yet. You are still a child," Auriel said. "You just have to come with me."
She blinked. "Come where?"
"There's a place. Not far from the city. Hidden. Safe. I'll be there in two days. Pack light. Only what matters."
"How can I just leave," she said weakly.
"Why can't you?" he replied, but not unkindly. "They expelled you. You're not part of this world. You never really were."
She looked around the dim room. Her mother's tea. Her father's sigh. The walls they had lived between like strangers. It all felt so far away now.
"Nola," Auriel said, quieter now, "you're not alone in this. You never were. I've been where you are. Being scared and lost. And I'm telling you—it gets better. You get better."
"I am scared, Auriel," she said while her voice cracked.
"I know. But you're not broken. You're special. And remember, there's always someone out there who will always love and support you."
She closed her eyes.
And this time, the tears finally came more profoundly.
But they weren't from pain.
Not really.
They were from relief as for the first time, she saw a light of hope.