It happened on an ordinary afternoon.
I was sitting on the nursery rug, legs stretched out awkwardly in front of me, turning a wooden ring over and over in my hands. Nolan was beside me, deeply focused on making two toy soldiers "fight," complete with exaggerated sound effects.
"Take that! And that!"
"Loud," I muttered.
He grinned. "You're talking more!"
Lilian sat nearby, folding freshly washed linens. "She is," she said warmly. "Soon you won't be able to stop her."
I huffed softly and went back to my toy.
Everything was normal.
Too normal.
Then—a strange warmth brushed against my wrist.
I froze.
At first, I thought it was just my imagination. The bracelet had always been cool, almost forgettable. A silent weight meant to exist, not to be felt.
But the warmth came again—gentle, pulsing, like a heartbeat that wasn't mine.
I looked down.
The runes along the bracelet shimmered faintly, so subtle it could have been sunlight. But the nursery curtains were drawn. There was no light strong enough to cause that.
…That's new.
My fingers curled instinctively. I hadn't reached for anything. I hadn't thought about using my power.
So why was it responding?
The wooden ring in my hand trembled.
Just slightly.
I dropped it at once.
The moment it hit the floor, the warmth vanished. The bracelet cooled, the runes fading back into nothing more than decorative etching.
I stared at my wrist, heart racing.
That wasn't me.
Nolan didn't notice. He was too busy celebrating his toy soldier's "victory."
Lilian, however, paused.
Not sharply. Not suspiciously.
Just… paused.
"Ariya?" she asked gently. "Did you drop your toy?"
I looked up at her and nodded, putting on my best confused-child expression.
"Slippy," I said.
She smiled, relieved. "That happens."
She picked up the ring and placed it back in front of me. Her eyes lingered on my wrist for half a second longer than usual—but she said nothing.
Good.
Very good.
Later, when Nolan was dragged away for lessons and the nursery fell quiet, Lilian lifted me into her arms.
"Bath time," she said lightly.
Warm water. Soft cloth. The usual routine.
As she washed my hands, her thumb brushed the bracelet.
The runes flickered.
This time, she felt it.
Lilian stilled.
The water rippled gently around my legs, but her hand stopped moving. Her expression didn't change—no fear, no panic—but the air shifted.
"…Strange," she murmured, more to herself than to me.
I said nothing.
She resumed washing me as if nothing had happened, humming softly. When the bath was done, she dried me, dressed me, and carried me to the window like she always did.
"Such a calm day," she said. "You must be growing well."
I rested my head against her shoulder.
Inside, my thoughts were sharp and alert.
The bracelet isn't just suppressing anymore.It's reacting.
That meant one thing.
My power was growing—whether I wanted it to or not.
And if the bracelet could feel it before I acted…
Then someday, someone else might too.
As Lilian set me down and kissed my forehead, her hand lingered briefly on my wrist.
Very lightly.
As if reassuring herself.
Or the bracelet.
I watched her walk away, my gaze dropping back to the faintly glowing runes.
Looks like we're going to have a problem… you and I.
And for the first time since coming into this world, I realized something unsettling:
The bracelet wasn't just a leash.
It was watching me.