CHAPTER 238: FAMILIAR CHILL

(...continued)

"What the hell... " Selene rubbed her cheek, looking around, as she tried to stand up!

But before she was able to even get a comfortable grounding...SMACK!

Another crack echoed across the night.

Selene had only just pushed herself to her feet with painstaking grace, but was sent stumbling again as another unseen force whipped her across the face.

Her head jerked to the side, strands of her raven black hair flying loose.

She tried to mask it...pressing her fingers to the corner of her lip as though to check if it bled, fixing her tousled hair with a coy sweep of her hand. "Pathetic tricks," she muttered under her breath, forcing a smirk, her voice was clearly trying to drip venom though it trembled faintly.

Niva nearly burst out laughing, her lips clamped tight, shoulders shaking. A small snicker slipped out before she could help herself.

Velor elbowed her subtly in the ribs."Woman, stop that before she guts you in the middle of everyone. Do you even know who she is? She is that notorious ex of Kieran’s that I once told you about," he hissed into Niva’s ears, brows knitted.

"Oh...she is notorious.I can tell that..." Niva pressed her hand against her mouth, muffling the giggle still trying to escape. Her eyes gleamed with mischief. "Velor, did you actually see her face? She looked like a..."

"Enough!" Velor growled low, dragging her subtly back, but Niva resisted, her gaze sharpening.And then her smile suddenly faded.

"That aura..." Niva gasped...her tone suddenly changed. Her pupils dilate as though she was staring into memory rather than the present. "Velor... I think I know it. I know it from..."

Velor frowned more, tugging her arm more insistently. "Niva, this is no time to daydream.Get your grip!"

But Niva did not flinch...not even when Selene’s dark miasmic smoke began to curl like black serpents from her skin, seething, choking the air.

The crowd recoiled in perfect unison...gasps rippled, the sound of scraping shoes filled the air...

Only Niva stood rooted, eyes shining, chest rising and falling faster as she stared into the unseen.

Velor growled in her ears in frustration and gripped her elbow. "What are you doing, woman? Move!The miasma is poisonous..."

Niva jerked her arm free, her voice feverish, distracted, almost breathless.

"That aura... Velor, I swear...It’s just like hers. The Seer. The one who came to Autumn. The one who vanished with her that night."

The word Autumn hit something in that quiet.

Kieran’s head snapped towards Niva.

His body stiffened, his jaw tight. For the first time that night his iron composure fractured, and a shadow passed across his face.

"What did you say?" His voice cut low, dangerous, cutting through the murmurs around them.

Niva turned, startled by the command in his tone, but before she could answer...

Smack!

A third strike landed harder.

Selene’s body whirled with the force, stumbling back before spinning a couple of times. Her hand flew up instinctively to shield her face, but the cocky smirk had been torn from her lips.

The black smoke rising around her vanished in an instant, curling away like steam snuffed by wind. The air felt abruptly lighter, easier to breathe.

Selene’s eyes widened, for once devoid of pretense. "What the fuck is goung on?"

The silence in the crowd only grew thicker, broken by occasional whispered snickers and muffled laughter. Pointed fingers rose, some openly grinning now that her intimidation had shattered. A noble looking man chuckled too loudly, quickly covering his mouth when Selene’s glare flashed his way.

Her lips curled back in fury, but even her rage trembled with confusion.

"That... that wasn’t..." She looked around wildly, her eyes searching every corner of the courtyard. "Where is it coming from? Who dares touch me?"

She turned in slow, deadly circles, hair whipping, nostrils flaring. But no one stepped forward. No hand was raised.

Selene herself looked unnerved for a change.

Just then...

The waterfall rumbled, louder than thunder...louder than the crowd’s murmurs.

Every droplet seemed to shimmer like crystal as the curtain of water began to split down the middle, slowly, almost like holding its breath, like an unseen hand drawing open the veil of a grand stage.

A hush fell over everyone.

The air was alive...rippling, resonating, carrying a strange music that wasn’t merely heard, but felt.

It thrummed in every ribcage, pressed against every lung. The melody wove through the mist, serene yet commanding, each note sharper than any blade, older than the mountains themselves.

Eyes widened as a glow burst forth from beyond...A brilliance, blinding yet ethereal glow that poured into the sanctuary like a second sun...no, bluer, sharper, impossibly divine. The radiance was so strong the onlookers had to shield their eyes, but still none dared to look away.

It wasn’t a body they saw. Nor a face. Not even a silhouette. Only a core of overwhelming light, bluer than sapphire, brighter than fire, saturating every corner of the open space with unshakable authority.

Velor’s brows pulled tight as he raised a hand against the glow. His jaw clenched, his voice rasped low. "...What the fuck is this?" He narrowed his eyes as if trying to pierce through it. "Why does this aura feel so damned familiar...?"

He never got to finish.

The light rippled, and a voice thundered...not from one throat, but a thousand, layered like a chorus of unseen deities. It even shook the surface beneath their feet.

The voice did not speak to all. It went straight for Selene.

"How dare you set foot inside this sanctuary without a proper invitation?!"

The sound cracked like a whip. The crowd instinctively staggered back.

The chorus deepened, harsher now, echoing from every droplet, every ray of light..."You could be burnt on the spot. Do you even realise?"

The blue glow flared brighter, flooding the space until the very mist seemed to shiver. Selene, for the first time, stood utterly still...her rage long transformed into confusion and awe, her defiance shaken as her lips parted, "No! You are wrong! I do have an invite..."