Aeliana's breath hitched.
A strange sensation prickled along her skin—subtle at first, like the ghost of a touch, but then it deepened, sinking beneath the surface.
An itch.
Not the kind that could be ignored. This was something else, something buried within her core, a pulse, a shift, a pull.
Her brows furrowed as she pressed a hand against her chest, fingers curling slightly against the fabric of her gown. It was faint but unmistakable.
Mana.
Her mana.
Her heart pounded as realization struck.
It had been nearly a decade since she had last felt this. Since the first time she had awakened, still just a child, still brimming with the potential of something new and unknown. But back then, she had only barely begun training, still learning the foundation of control, still trying to grasp the shape of the power within her.
Then came the illness.
