Bound by Fate

Chapter 2: Unleashed Power

The silence after Draven spoke hung heavy, like a storm about to break. Lily’s heart raced as the two men stood before her, their presence as overwhelming as the strange reality she was now forced to confront. Elara. They had called her Elara. The name from her dreams. The Sorceress. But she wasn’t Elara. She was Lily.

And yet, deep inside, a part of her resonated with the name, as if it had always been a part of her—buried deep, waiting to be awakened.

Draven and Kael oversaw her, their expressions unreadable. She could feel the intensity in their gaze, as though they had been waiting for this moment, waiting for her. Their presence seemed to ripple with barely contained energy, a force she couldn’t explain but felt drawn to.

“I—I’m not Elara,” Lily stammered, taking a step back, the book still clutched tightly in her hands. “This is just a mistake, a dream…”

“No,” Kael spoke for the first time, his voice softer but laced with certainty. “It’s no dream, Lily. You are here. You’ve returned, just as the prophecy foretold.”

“Prophecy?” Her voice cracked as she looked between them, disbelief warring with the strange sense of familiarity growing inside her. “This can’t be real.”

Draven took a step closer, his eyes locking onto hers. “You’ve seen it, haven’t you? The dreams. The battle. The curse. You know it’s real.”

Lily’s breath caught in her throat as images from her nightmares flashed—the warriors, the bloodshed, Elara’s fall. How could they know?

Before she could respond, the temperature in the room plummeted. The air around them seemed to thicken, and a low hum vibrated through the space, sending a shiver down her spine. Something dark and oppressive filled the air, and the hairs on her neck stood on end.

“Something’s coming,” Draven muttered, his eyes narrowing as he scanned the room.

Kael’s hand instinctively went to the sword strapped to his back. “They’ve found us.”

Lily’s pulse quickened as a sudden gust of wind slammed against the bookstore's windows, rattling the glass. Shadows flickered along the walls, growing larger and darker as if the fabric of reality was beginning to warp.

“Who’s found us?” Lily asked, panic rising in her throat.

Before anyone could answer, the shadows exploded into the room, forming grotesque figures that seemed to crawl out of the darkness. They were humanoid in shape but twisted, with long, clawed hands and faces that were nothing more than swirling voids. Their presence was suffocating, their energy malignant and overwhelming.

Lily backed up, her breath coming in short, ragged gasps. This couldn’t be happening. This was all some kind of nightmare. But the creatures were real—too real—and they were coming for her.

Draven and Kael moved with lightning speed. Draven unsheathed a long, gleaming blade from his side, the metal humming with power as he swung it through the air. Kael’s sword burned with a faint blue glow as he stepped before Lily, blocking her from the advancing creatures.

“Stay back!” Kael shouted, his voice cutting through the chaos as he slashed at one of the shadows, the blade slicing through its form as it dissolved into nothingness.

But more came.

They were surrounded, the bookstore now a battlefield, the shelves and walls warping under the influence of the dark energy. Lily’s heart raced, her mind spinning. How was this real? What were these creatures?

And why were they after her?

Draven moved like a force of nature, his blade cutting down anything in its path, but even he couldn’t stop them all. The creatures were relentless, clawing at the air, their hollow faces locked on Lily.

One broke through the defenses, its dark form lunging toward her. Instinctively, she raised her hands to protect herself, her pulse roaring in her ears.

Then, something inside her snapped.

Unlike anything she had ever felt, a surge of energy erupted from her core. Her skin tingled, her fingers crackled with electric heat, and suddenly, a pulse of blinding light exploded from her palms, throwing the creature backward with a force so powerful it disintegrated on impact. The light surged outward, knocking back the remaining shadows and sending them shrieking into the ether.

For a moment, there was nothing but silence.

Lily stood frozen, staring at her hands, still crackling with faint energy. Her heart pounded in her chest, and her breath came in shallow gasps. What had just happened? She looked up at Draven and Kael, who had stopped fighting, their eyes wide with shock.

“You… you used magic,” Draven whispered, his voice filled with awe and disbelief.

Lily shook her head, stepping back. “No… no, I didn’t—”

“Yes, you did,” Kael said softly, lowering his sword. “You are Elara.”

“No!” Lily shouted, her hands trembling. “I’m not her! I’m not some… sorceress!”

But the truth hung heavy in the air, undeniable. The power that had surged through her, the energy that had saved them, hadn’t been a fluke. It had been confirmed.

Her powers were natural.

Draven sheathed his sword and approached her slowly, his expression softening. “You are here, Lily. You’ve always been her. It’s just taken time for your powers to awaken.”

Lily’s mind reeled. This wasn’t possible. She had never had powers, never believed in magic. And yet, standing there amid the chaos, with the remnants of dark energy still crackling in the air, she knew that everything had changed.

Her powers had awakened, with them, the truth of who she was.

“I don’t understand…” she whispered, her voice shaking. “Why now? Why me?”

Kael stepped forward, his eyes filled with sympathy. “Because your time has come, Elara. You were destined to return.”

Lily shook her head, backing away from both of them. “No… this can’t be happening.”

But deep down, she knew it was.

The shadows had attacked because of her. They had sensed her awakening, her powers finally surfacing after centuries of being dormant. And now, they wanted her.

But why?

Before she could voice the question, Draven placed a hand on her shoulder. “We’ll explain everything, but first, we must get out of here. They’ll send more.”

“Who are they?” Lily asked, her voice trembling.

“The Shadowborn,” Kael answered, his jaw clenched. “Servants of the dark forces that seek to control your power. They won’t stop until they have you.”

Panic surged through her. She wasn’t ready for this. She didn’t want any of this.

“But I don’t know how to control it,” she whispered, her hands still shaking with the aftermath of the power she had unleashed.

“We’ll help you,” Draven said, his voice steady. “We’ve waited centuries for this moment, and we’ll protect you, no matter what.”

Centuries. The word echoed in her mind, reminding her of the impossible truth she had been forced to accept. These men—these warriors—they had waited for her. And now, they were here to protect her from a danger she didn’t fully understand.

But as much as she wanted to run, to pretend this wasn’t real, she couldn’t. Not anymore. The power inside her was awake, and there was no turning back.

Taking a deep breath, Lily nodded. “Okay… but you’d better start explaining. Everything.”

Draven smiled faintly, his eyes filled with a strange mix of relief and determination. “We will. But first, we need to get somewhere safe.”

Kael gave a curt nod, scanning the now-quiet bookstore. “They’ll come for her again. We need to move fast.”

Lily looked between the two men, her mind still reeling from everything that had happened. But she knew one thing: she couldn’t return to her old life after this.

Her powers had awakened, and with them, her destiny.

Whatever that destiny was, she would have to face it.