Until she heard a sound.
A soft scraping noise, just beyond the shelter's door.
Her heart jumped.
Ezra's eyes snapped open instantly, as if he'd sensed it in his sleep.
—Did you hear that? —Valeria whispered.
Ezra nodded and, with almost feline speed, rose to his feet, pulling her with him into a dark corner of the room.
—Don't speak —he whispered.
Someone was trying to open the main door.
And it didn't sound like a friend.
Ezra moved quickly, digging into his pocket to pull out an old key, which he slid into a hidden door behind a dusty bookcase.
—This way —he murmured, guiding her.
Valeria hesitated.
Everything inside her screamed not to trust him... and the letter from "M" burned in her pocket.
But the footsteps on the other side of the main door didn't leave much room for debate.
They slipped into a narrow passageway. The echo of their breathing was unbearable. Everything smelled of damp and rust.
When they finally reached another hidden room, Ezra closed the hatch behind them.
Only then did he speak.
—You have questions. You deserve answers.
Valeria stared at him, her eyes sharp as blades.
—Who are you really? —she asked.
Ezra lowered his gaze.
—I was part of them —he said, and the words seemed to tear him apart for a moment—. Part of the organization that hunts everything you represent.
Valeria instinctively stepped back, her body reacting faster than her mind.
—Why? —she whispered.
Ezra raised his hands in peace.
—Because... I thought it was right. Until I learned the truth. Until I met you.
Valeria didn't answer. She still didn't know if she could believe him.
A sharp bang interrupted them.
They weren't alone in the shelter anymore. Now they both knew it.
Ezra moved toward the door's slit, but Valeria stopped him, placing her hand on his arm.
—Wait —she said—. I need to know one more thing.
Ezra stared at her, his eyes heavy.
—What's chasing you… didn't start with you —he confessed in a low voice—. It started long before. It started with your mother.
Valeria's world tilted.
—My mother is alive —she whispered.
Ezra nodded.
—And she's in more danger than you realize.
The sound of something metallic —a second entrance opening— forced them to move again.
They couldn't stay there.
Ezra took the lead, but Valeria quickly followed, slipping the letter back into her jacket pocket without him noticing.
She wasn't going to reveal how much she knew yet.
She had to start playing her own cards now.
As they ran through the hidden hallways of the old shelter, Valeria realized that, for the first time in a long while, she was truly alone.
Even surrounded by people, she was alone.
And she had to be stronger than ever.
They didn't know how long they had been running when, finally, the darkness began to give way to a cold, bluish clarity.
They emerged into a forest.
Tall trees, shadows cutting against the night sky.
The shelter had been underground all along.
Ezra stopped first, scanning the area with the sharp gaze of someone who had survived too many chases.
Valeria, gasping for air, leaned against a tree trunk.
The letter still burned in her pocket, like a secret she couldn't forget.
Ezra approached, speaking in a low voice.
—We can't stay here. They'll track our energy... —he said—. Especially yours.
Valeria glared at him, torn between rage and fear.
—What else do you know about my mother? —she demanded.
Ezra exhaled, as if letting go of a burden he had carried for too long.
—She wasn't like the others —he said—. She had the Mark too. But she chose to disappear... to protect you.
The ground seemed to tremble under Valeria's feet.
—Why didn't anyone ever tell me? —she whispered.
Ezra looked at her with a brutal sadness in his eyes.
—Because they knew the time would come.
That sooner or later, you would have to choose who to trust.
A sudden crack of branches snapped the moment.
Ezra reacted immediately, stepping between Valeria and the noise.
A group of shadows moved through the trees.
There was no time.
They had to keep moving.
—Trust me just for tonight —Ezra whispered—. After that, you can decide whether to stay with me or not.
Valeria clenched her jaw.
She didn't trust anyone.
But the alternative was worse.
She nodded.
And together, they plunged once more into the darkness.
The forest seemed endless.
Valeria's feet stumbled over roots, but she didn't stop. Ezra led the way in silence, just a few steps ahead.
Every sound —every crack of leaves, every distant howl— kept her on edge.
She knew they were being followed.
She could feel it on her skin, in the way the wind seemed to push her forward.
Finally, Ezra stopped in a natural clearing, where the moonlight barely illuminated a circle of barren earth.
—Here —he said, pointing to the center of the clearing—. We'll wait here.
Valeria frowned, hesitating.
—Wait for what?
Ezra looked at her seriously.
—Someone who can help us.
Before she could ask more questions, a figure emerged from the forest.
Tall, hooded, moving with firm, silent steps.
Valeria instinctively stepped back, but Ezra gestured for her to stay calm.
The newcomer pulled back his hood.
He was a man with a stern face and eyes so pale and gray they seemed almost otherworldly.
Ezra spoke first.
—Valeria, this is Kael.
Kael nodded slightly, his gaze fixed on her, as if he could see beyond her skin, straight into her thoughts.
—There's not much time —Kael said, his voice deep like thunder—. If you want to survive, you'll have to decide quickly who you trust... and what you're willing to sacrifice.
A shiver ran down Valeria's spine.
She didn't fully understand what was at stake.
But she knew her life would never be the same again.
Kael pulled something from beneath his coat: a small object wrapped in a dark cloth.
He handed it to Valeria, who took it carefully.
It was a key.
Old, heavy, with carved symbols she didn't recognize.
—What is this? —she asked, her voice barely a whisper.
Kael looked at her with an intensity that made her shiver.
—It's the door to the answers you seek. But unlocking it comes with a price.
Valeria felt the weight of the object was more than just physical. It was as if she were holding a decision too big for her hands.
Ezra stepped closer, glancing at her from the corner of his eye, as if he too had doubts.
—What kind of price? —he asked, suspicion clear in his tone.
Kael didn't smile. He didn't even blink.
—You'll find out soon.
Before they could press him further, Kael stepped back, disappearing into the forest's darkness.
Valeria closed her hand around the key, feeling the cold metal seep into her skin.
Silence fell over them once again, heavy and expectant.
She looked at Ezra.
He nodded, as if understanding what she was about to decide.
But inside Valeria, a new question began to grow:
Was she ready to open doors that might never be closed again?
Valeria tucked the key into the inner pocket of her jacket, her heart pounding in her ears.
Ezra walked beside her in silence, while the forest seemed to close in even tighter around them.
Suddenly, a sharp buzzing cut through the air.
Valeria barely had time to turn when a shadow lunged at them.
Ezra reacted quickly, pushing her aside, but the figure wasn't after him.
It was after her.
A metallic flash gleamed under the dim moonlight. Valeria rolled to the ground, barely dodging a knife aimed at her chest.
Ezra grappled with the attacker, but before he could pin them down, the figure dissolved into smoke between his hands.
A whisper lingered in the air:
—Don't let her reach it.
Valeria pressed a hand to her chest, feeling the echo of the blade that had almost found her.
She looked at Ezra, who was getting up, his eyes burning with fury.
—Did you see who it was? —she asked, her voice shaking.
Ezra shook his head, his jaw clenched tight.
But then Valeria felt something cold in her hand.
When she opened her fingers, she saw a torn piece of cloth... embroidered with a symbol: the same one she had seen in her dreams, the same one that marked the box Lena had given her.
A shiver ran down her spine.
This wasn't just an attack.
They were hunting her.
And now, there was no turning back.
The buzzing in Valeria's ears didn't fade.
Ezra grabbed her arm and pulled her through the trees, not wasting a single second. There was no time for questions, no room for hesitation. Only the need to run.
But the forest didn't want to let them go.
At every step, the shadows seemed to shift.
It wasn't just paranoia: something —or someone— was following them.
Valeria felt a strange vibration under her feet, as if the earth itself was whispering warnings she couldn't understand.
A crack behind them.
Ezra shoved her toward a narrow clearing, but just when they thought they had escaped, a dozen hooded figures emerged out of nowhere, blocking their path.
They weren't like the previous attacker.
These ones were organized.
And all of them wore the same symbol stitched into their clothes: the mark from her nightmares.
Valeria stumbled back until she bumped into Ezra's chest.
—No matter what happens —he murmured, voice low and harsh—. Don't let go of the key.
She nodded, fear climbing up her throat.
The figure at the front, a man with his face covered, stepped forward.
When he spoke, his voice rumbled through the night like thunder:
—The Chosen One must not reach the Threshold.
Ezra stepped forward, shielding Valeria from the enemy.
Valeria felt the weight of the key burning against her skin, as if it knew everything was about to change.
And for the first time, she understood:
It wasn't just her life at stake. It was something much, much bigger.
Ezra didn't wait for the hooded figures to get closer. In a swift move, he pulled a small device from his jacket —something that looked like a flare— and threw it to the ground.
A burst of blue light exploded across the clearing, momentarily blinding the attackers.
—Run! —Ezra roared, shoving Valeria toward a barely visible path through the trees.
Valeria clutched the key against her chest as she ran, feeling the strange energy vibrating unnaturally around them. It was as if the forest itself was trying to close in, trap them.
Behind them, distorted voices shouted commands in a language she couldn't understand.
Ezra led the sprint, dodging branches, leaping over roots, moving like he knew the forest better than anyone. But Valeria struggled to keep up. Every heartbeat was a scream of alarm. Every breath, a battle.
Suddenly, a sharp whistle cut through the air. Ezra shouted something —a warning— but it was too late.
A taut rope snapped out from between the trees, catching Valeria around the waist and slamming her to the ground.
—Valeria! —Ezra shouted, doubling back toward her.
She struggled, her fingers slipping against the knot binding her, while the key hidden beneath her clothes began to burn with an unbearable heat.
The hooded figures were closing in, their steps pounding against the earth like war drums.
Gasping, Valeria did the only thing she could think of: she tore the key from around her neck and gripped it tightly in her hands.
At that moment, the ground shook.
A deep rumble surged from the depths of the forest, and the earth beneath them cracked like shattered glass.
Ezra reached her just as a fissure split the ground between them and their pursuers. Without hesitation, he grabbed her and leapt to the other side, leaving the figures momentarily isolated by the fracture.
They both tumbled down, covered in mud and leaves.
Ezra helped her to her feet, his breath ragged.
—Don't lose it —he said through gritted teeth, pointing at the key—. No matter what.
Valeria nodded, the tremor in her body having nothing to do with the cold. She knew, with terrifying certainty, that the worst was still yet to come.
Ezra had barely managed to get Valeria to her feet when the sky above them shifted.
A low, unnatural thunder rumbled overhead. The entire forest seemed to hold its breath.
Valeria looked up. Between the tree canopies, something was descending.
It wasn't rain.
It wasn't fog.
It was a weave of black threads, floating like living cobwebs, moving with their own will.
—Move! —Ezra shouted, but it was too late.
One of the threads brushed Ezra's arm, and Valeria watched in horror as his skin darkened instantly, as if the very life was being drained from him.
Ezra growled in pain, tearing the sleeve off his jacket to stop the spreading stain.
—Don't let them touch you! —he warned, his voice raw.
Valeria stumbled backward, dodging the falling threads as the tremor in her hands intensified.
The hooded figures on the other side of the fissure were also moving nervously, as if they hadn't expected this intervention.
The forest was no longer on anyone's side.
Suddenly, a different figure emerged from between the trees.
Not hooded.
Its face was bare, pale as the moon, with eyes completely black.
It stopped at the edge of the fissure, gazing at Valeria with a twisted smile.
—You're breaking the rules, Chosen One —it said, its voice inhuman—. And there are consequences for that.
Valeria felt the air around her grow heavy, as if an invisible hand was squeezing her heart.
Ezra, still wounded, staggered a step forward.
—Run, Valeria —he whispered—. Now.
But Valeria couldn't move.
The sinister figure extended a hand…
And the key clutched in her palm began to tremble violently, trying to break free from her grip.
The fight for destiny had begun.