The arrowhead was pressed cold against the bandit leader's throat. I was furious but tried to stay calm. I had passed his so-called test, but it left a bitter taste in my mouth.
"You tried to kill me, and now you want to talk to me?" I said, stepping back and throwing the broken arrow to the ground.
The leader just shrugged like it was nothing. "Business is business," he said smoothly. "Let's not focus on small things."
A tense silence hung between us. The guards behind me were tense, ready to grab their weapons. Elias watched the bandits cautiously, letting me take the lead.
The leader then gave a slow, venomous smile.
"My idea is simple," he said. "You want peace on your roads. You want your caravans to reach their destinations safely. I can ensure that happens. In return..." He leaned closer. "I want ten percent of all the money your trade routes make."
Those words hit me harder than any weapon.
He wanted a share of Langley's earnings.
I clenched my fists tightly, my nails digging into my palms. My chest burned with rage. He wanted ten percent of the duchy's earnings—the ones we were just starting to rebuild.
"That's outrageous," Elias muttered under his breath, his voice low and dangerous.
I was ready to argue back, but then a strange weakness overcame me. My breathing became shallow. My knees shook.
The world started to spin around me.
The bandit king grinned cruelly. He laughed, a harsh noise echoing through the courtyard.
"You're even dumber than I thought!" he mocked. "Touching that arrow... it had aura restraints on it. They drain the strength from anyone foolish enough to handle it."
I staggered back, feeling my strength drain away. I could barely feel the aura that normally surrounded me.
The guards noticed my condition and rushed forward to capture the bandit king. Their swords flashed under the gray sky, ready to stop him before he caused more harm.
But before anything happened, something broke inside me.
It wasn't a sound or a sight.
It was a feeling.
A heavy, ancient pressure shattered.
My aura, usually calm and controlled, exploded outward with force.
A low hum filled the courtyard as the air became thick and heavy. The guards closest to me were the first to fall, fainting from the force radiating from me.
The bandits stumbled back, struggling to breathe. Some tried to run, but their legs gave out under the pressure.
The bandit king, still standing, shouted in disbelief and fear.
"What—what is this?!"
He fell to one knee, struggling against the invisible weight pressing down on him.
Elias shouted, his voice cutting through the chaos.
"Selene! Stop!"
His words barely reached me, lost in the noise. Everything blurred. My aura was beyond my control.
I was being swallowed by it.
No, I was becoming it.
The power inside me, asleep for twenty-two years, was breaking free.
In that moment, I felt everything—the strength to destroy mountains, flood cities, tear the earth apart—but I felt powerless against it.
Elias' voice came again, desperate.
"Selene!"
I gasped, clawing my consciousness back.
With great effort, I willed the surge to stop. The aura pulsed once more before collapsing inward. The heavy pressure lifted. The unconscious guards groaned. The bandits gasped, some even vomited.
I fell into Elias' arms, my strength completely gone. Darkness closed in.
The last thing I heard was the bandit king scrambling away, his voice filled with fear.
"Get us out of here! Now!"
He fled, fear marking every step, leaving his failed plan behind.
Elias looked at me, concern visible on his face.
"Selene..." he murmured, before ordering the others to secure the area.
The sky above Langley grew dark with the coming storm.
The storm had already begun.