Chapter 66: Chapter 66 : The Voice That Shouldn’t Exist

Chapter 66 : The Voice That Shouldn’t Exist

POV: Liora

The decision stayed with me long after the moment had passed, and it didn’t leave quietly or fade the way I wanted it to; instead, it settled somewhere deep in my chest, steady and immovable, like something that had already rooted itself into who I was becoming.

I had told myself it was necessary, that it was control, that it was the first real step toward surviving what was coming, but knowing that didn’t make it easier to live with.

Kael was alive, and I didn’t need to see him to know that; the bond, silent as it had been for days, had stirred just enough earlier to tell me he hadn’t died, that he had held on, and I had still chosen not to go to him.

I sat on the edge of the bed with my hands resting loosely in my lap, my gaze unfocused as the memory replayed again, not as something loud or dramatic, but in that quiet, persistent way decisions settle when they can’t be undone.

I had felt him clearly, felt the sharp pull through the bond when his life dipped too close to the edge, felt the instinct rise in me without permission, immediate and absolute, pushing me to move, to fix it, to burn through whatever was left of me if that was what it took to keep him alive, and I had stopped, not because I didn’t care, because that would have been easier, but because I understood exactly what it would cost.

Two, that was all I had left, two chances to use what my body could do before it turned on me completely, two choices that couldn’t be taken back once they were made, and saving him then would have been the right thing to do, but it also would have been the last thing I ever did.

I let out a slow breath and pressed my palms together slightly, grounding myself in the present instead of letting my mind drift back to it again, because this wasn’t about guilt and it couldn’t be; if I started thinking like that, I would lose control of everything else.

I shifted and leaned back against the headboard carefully, even though my strength had mostly returned, because my body still didn’t feel stable in the way it used to; it felt like something beneath the surface was constantly adjusting, like it hadn’t decided yet what it was supposed to be.

The fortress had quieted down since earlier, but it wasn’t a real quiet, it was the kind that came when people were waiting, when too many things had shifted at once and no one knew what was going to happen next, and for once no one had come to check on me, not even Kael, which I told myself I preferred because it gave me space to think and to keep control over what I was doing without someone watching every move I made or trying to stop me before I understood it myself, but the absence still felt noticeable in a way I couldn’t ignore.

I pushed that thought away before it could settle and closed my eyes briefly, letting my head rest back as I forced myself to focus on what mattered now, not on him and not on what had already happened, but on what was coming next, because that was the only thing that would decide whether any of this meant anything.

At first there was only stillness, the kind that settles slowly when your body finally stops reacting to everything at once, and my breathing evened out as my muscles relaxed slightly, but then something shifted, and the first thing I noticed was that it wasn’t pain.

It didn’t feel like the usual warning signs my body gave me when I was pushing too far or when something was about to go wrong, there was no sharp edge to it, no heaviness or strain, and instead it felt aware in a way I couldn’t immediately explain.

I opened my eyes again and straightened slightly, frowning as the sensation didn’t disappear when I moved and instead became clearer, like it had been waiting for me to notice it, and I realized it wasn’t outside me, not something in the room or something I could trace to a sound or a shift in the air, but something inside me, low and subtle, not intrusive but present in a way that didn’t belong to anything I recognized.

My fingers curled slightly against the fabric of the bed as I focused on it, trying to place it, trying to understand what it was supposed to be, and for a moment I considered that maybe it was just another part of my ability, because it wouldn’t have been the first time something like that had happened; ever since everything started my body had been doing things I couldn’t fully explain, seeing fragments of the past, tracing things I shouldn’t have been able to see, understanding pieces of situations without being told, so maybe this was just another extension of that, another layer I hadn’t reached yet, another part of whatever I was becoming.

That explanation should have made sense, but it didn’t, because this didn’t feel like something I was reaching outward for, it felt like something that was already there, waiting.

I stayed still and listened without knowing what I was supposed to be listening for, my focus narrowing until the rest of the room faded slightly around me, and then it happened, not a sound exactly but something close enough that my body reacted to it immediately, a thought that wasn’t mine.

I went completely still as my breath caught before I could stop it, and for a second I told myself I imagined it, that it was just my mind trying to process too many things at once, that it was exhaustion or stress or the aftereffects of everything that had happened over the past few days, but that would have been easier to accept than the truth because it didn’t feel like imagination.

It didn’t come from the same place my thoughts did, it didn’t carry the same rhythm or hesitation or uncertainty, and instead it felt separate, soft and controlled and clear in a way that didn’t belong to anything unstable.

I swallowed slowly as my throat tightened and I focused harder, trying to force it to happen again just so I could understand it, but for a moment there was nothing, and I almost convinced myself it hadn’t been real until it came again, quieter but more distinct, not a full sentence and not words I could repeat back clearly, but intent and awareness and recognition, and my hand moved before I realized it, pressing lightly against my stomach as my fingers curled against the fabric of my clothes and the connection sharpened just enough for me to understand that this wasn’t my ability reaching outward, it was something inside me responding.

A slow, uneasy feeling settled in my chest, not panic but something close to it, something deeper that made it harder to stay calm as I whispered under my breath that this couldn’t be real, but I forced myself to breathe evenly and think because there had to be a reason for this, a logical explanation, something I could connect to what I already knew.

My mind went through everything it could reach for, my abilities, the bond, the changes in my body, the pregnancy, and that last thought lingered longer than the others as I stilled again and focused on it carefully, because ever since I found out things had been different, not just physically but in ways I couldn’t fully explain, the bond with Kael had gone quiet in a way that didn’t feel natural, the pull between us dulled like something was interfering with it or redirecting it somewhere else, and my body had changed too, more sensitive in some ways and more controlled in others, and now there was this, something inside me that didn’t feel like me.

I pressed my hand more firmly against my stomach without meaning to, and the moment I focused on it again it responded, not louder but more deliberate, and before I could stop myself or question it, a single word settled into my mind, not spoken and not heard but understood with unsettling clarity.

Prototype.

The breath left my lungs as I froze completely, my body going still in a way that had nothing to do with control and everything to do with shock, because that wasn’t something my mind would have come up with on its own and it didn’t belong to anything I knew, it wasn’t instinct and it wasn’t memory, it was intentional.

My heart started beating faster, not out of fear exactly but something close to it, something sharper that made it harder to stay calm as I shook my head slightly like that alone could clear it, but the awareness didn’t disappear and instead stayed quiet but present in a way that made it impossible to ignore now that I had noticed it.

I swallowed again, my hand still pressed against my stomach as I forced myself to stay steady, because this didn’t make sense and abilities didn’t work like this, they didn’t respond back and they didn’t think and they definitely didn’t call you something, but the silence that followed felt heavy, like whatever had reached out earlier hadn’t gone anywhere and had only paused.

My mind tried to catch up, to make sense of it without spiraling into something I couldn’t control, and if this was connected to my ability then something had changed, and if it was connected to the pregnancy then I had no reference for what that meant, but the timing didn’t feel like a coincidence and nothing about this felt random.

I exhaled slowly and forced my breathing to even out again as I tried to steady my thoughts, because panic wouldn’t help and guessing wouldn’t help, and I needed to understand it even if that meant facing something I wasn’t ready for yet.

My hand remained where it was, my fingers pressing lightly now instead of gripping as I focused again more carefully this time, not forcing it and not pushing, just listening, and for a moment nothing happened before that same awareness shifted again, not stronger but closer, enough that I couldn’t pretend it wasn’t real anymore.

My throat tightened slightly and when I finally spoke my voice came out quieter, not out of weakness but because something about this didn’t feel like it should be met with force as I asked the question before I could rethink it, wanting an answer even though I wasn’t sure I was ready to hear it.

The room stayed silent and there was no immediate response, no sudden reaction, just that same steady presence, unchanged, like it had heard me and was choosing not to answer yet, and I stayed where I was with my hand resting against my stomach and my breathing slow but controlled as the unease settled deeper, because whatever this was, it wasn’t going away, and for the first time since everything started the fear that settled in my chest wasn’t about what was happening around me, but about what was happening inside me.