Page 107 of Interion

“I only have one power,” I insisted, confused.

“Two! One at an exorbitant level and another, lesser one.” There was no surprise in his voice. “In my entire life, I’ve only known two tertiaries like this, and the other was equally powerful. A monstrous power capable of shaking the earth itself if used the wrong way. This reinforces the theory that the rare natural children of secondaries inherit two gifts.”

I pulled my hand away.

“What’s my level?” I looked at his closed eyelids. There was still a trace of blood on his cheeks.

“Special.”

My world stopped for a few seconds.

“That can’t be right. Are you sure?” I asked incredulously.

He turned to me with his mouth pursed in contempt, chin raised as if examining a worm at his feet.

“Do you want to read your power yourself? Be my guest.”

He released my hand as if he’d been burned and headed to his armchair, his tunic billowing around him.

“No, wait. I just think it might be wrong because my initial level was low,” I explained, trying to sound more humble. “Try again.”

“Get out! You’ve done nothing but insult me since you got here.” He pointed to the door. “Get out of my sight, creature.”

“I’m sorry,” I murmured, terrified. “It’s just that your other personality really frightened me.”

“My heart bleeds for you,” he mocked irritably. “The other one isn’t me. I don’t have to put up with shit from a child.”

“Tell me the number,” I begged.

“Get out now!” he shouted furiously, and I flinched. The door opened and a woman shot me a hard look. “Only your healing power will be on the chart. The other can’t be measured in numbers.”

The woman handed me my belongings and led me down the corridor to the exit. I made the whole journey on autopilot. I walked through the door, unable to stop seeing those red eyes in my mind. I made my way down the corridor to my seat, that sinister voice still echoing in my ears.

I found Aish sitting with Breno. Dominic was no longer around, and the two seemed distracted by their conversation. I felt the eyes of the whole room on me, but I didn’t care—I was wrapped up in my own fear.

The more I tried to understand, the less sense it made. What was all that madness about looking for eyes and preparing myself for life, death, and everything in between? It made no sense at all. Besides, he’d also ordered me not to tell anyone because there were claws everywhere. Was this what Zion and my mother had been referring to? If so, maybe Zion could help me, but I’d be breaking the secrecy rule. The only claws I could imagine in this case would be psychic power. When I arrived in Interion, Serguei himself had searched my mind for information but found nothing. I remembered that the sensation had felt like claws firmly gripping my consciousness.

Now things made a little more sense. Maybe that’s what Zion had been talking about. He’d used these exact words during a conversation: “I need this information to stay only inside my head.” Yes, it made sense. That’s what he’d meant—it was dangerous for anyone else to know. That was also what Lagherta had implied, and now I realized they were both afraid of the same thing.

Fascinated, I remembered the last part: “Fight. If not for us, then for the son of the night. The one who will save our people.” The “son of the night” was a metaphor, and there was only one person who embodied shadow and darkness. “The one who will save our people.” Yes! That was practically what my mother had said—“someone who takes care of our people.”

My eyes filled with tears, and my heart could hardly believe my wishes were coming true. For years, I had wished that my partner wouldn’t be my enemy, that he wouldn’t be an executioner, an unscrupulous genocidal maniac. It was true. Zion was an ally, not an enemy, and regardless of how this had happened, I would have to trust him, because the evidence was everywhere. I could barely breathe in my seat, overwhelmed by it all.

As soon as the last student left the room, I started thinking again about what he’d said about the son of the night, but the screen went dark. I took a deep breath. The next time it lit up would be to show the grades. My heart pounded in my chest. When it lit up, I searched and found a single four-digit number. I heard Breno cursing down below. Aish shouted something in the Amperian language. Hiro raised his fists and looked at me, ecstatic. I stared at my level.

The highest number of all.

Name: Kyller Voluz

Initial: 550

Final: 1,200

Chapter 27

Once the initial shock passed, the amphitheater erupted into a chaos of sounds, hugs, and celebrations. Some people looked at me curiously, seemingly torn between thinking I was a freak or some kind of super healer. I still couldn’t believe my level—it was way too high to be normal. Ambrose was going to have a fit when he found out he’d been right about me all along.

In the middle of all the chaos, I spotted Breno slipping out through a side door. I jumped up and noticed Aish and Hiro heading my way, so I pointed at Breno, hoping they’d get the urgency, and took off after him. On the way, I accidentally tripped over Adrian, who called me a freak. I wanted to flip him off, but I held back. I didn’t want to start a fight now that he and his friends had finally left me alone.