Elena hadn't been able to sleep after discovering the photograph.
She had spent much of the evening sitting on the edge of her bed, her mother's documents spread out in front of her, unable to decide what frightened her more: what she had just learned or everything she still didn't know. The name Kael appeared in several notes, always accompanied by references she didn't understand, while the photograph of the strange-eyed man seemed to stare at her from the tabletop.
She had eventually put the documents back in the box, but she kept the photograph.
She didn't know why.
Maybe because part of her hoped to find an answer in it.
Maybe, too, because she had the feeling the photograph depicted something she had seen before.
She was still in her bedroom when someone knocked on the door.
Elena froze.
The memory of the creature in her apartment immediately came rushing back. She looked at the time. 10:14 p.m. No one ever came to her place at that hour without warning her first. She rose slowly and picked up her phone.
"Who's there?"
There was no answer. She waited a few seconds. Then three more knocks rang out. Elena felt her heart begin to race. She approached the door but didn't open it.
"Who's there?"
This time, a woman's voice answered.
"Elena?"
She didn't recognize the voice.
"Who are you?"
"I need to talk to you."
Elena looked through the peephole.
A young woman stood in the hallway. She couldn't have been much older than twenty. Her long black hair fell over her shoulders, and she wore a dark coat that gave her an almost austere appearance. She didn't seem threatening, but something about her demeanor made Elena wary.
"How do you know my name?"
The young woman lowered her gaze toward the door.
"Because I know who you are."
Elena took a step back.
"I don't know you."
"I know."
"Then leave."
The young woman remained silent.
Then she whispered, "Your mother asked me to protect you if she disappeared."
Elena felt her heart clench. She opened the door. The young woman immediately stepped inside, but stopped a few feet from the entrance.
Elena closed the door behind her.
"You knew my mother?"
"Yes."
"Who are you?"
The young woman took off her coat.
"My name is Maëlle."
Elena waited. Maëlle seemed unsure how to continue.
"Your mother was a witch."
Elena gave a short, nervous laugh.
"Okay."
Maëlle didn't smile.
"I'm serious."
"So am I."
Elena crossed her arms.
"For the past two days, a creature has been coming into my apartment, strangers have been following me, someone has been sending me anonymous messages, and now a woman I've never met shows up to tell me my mother was a witch. You understand why I'm having a little trouble taking this seriously?"
Maëlle looked at her with strange compassion.
"I understand."
She raised one hand.
A small flame appeared in the hollow of her palm.
Elena stood perfectly still.
The flame didn't look like a lighter's flame. It was completely steady, suspended above Maëlle's hand with no fuel source feeding it. Maëlle gently closed her fingers, and the flame vanished.
Elena said nothing. She was still staring at Maëlle's hand.
"How..."
"Magic exists."
Elena looked up.
"You're a witch?"
Maëlle nodded.
"Yes."
"And my mother was too?"
"Yes."
A strange anger began to rise inside Elena.
"Why has no one ever told me anything?"
Maëlle didn't answer right away.
"Because your mother wanted to protect you."
"From what?"
Maëlle looked around. Her attention settled on the old box lying on the bed.
"You found her things."
It wasn't a question.
Elena nodded slowly.
"I found a letter."
Maëlle paled slightly.
"What did it say?"
"It mentioned a King."
Maëlle went rigid.
Elena immediately noticed the change in her expression.
"You know who she was talking about."
"Yes."
"Who is Kael?"
Maëlle looked away.
"You mustn't say his name."
A flash of anger went through Elena.
"Why?"
"Because he might hear you."
Elena gave an incredulous laugh.
"Are you telling me a man can hear his name from several miles away?"
"Not a man."
Maëlle paused.
"Kael is the King of Monsters."
The silence that followed seemed to fill the entire apartment.
Elena thought of her dream, the man dressed in black, his red eyes, the voice that had spoken her name. She slowly shook her head.
"Monsters don't exist."
Maëlle looked at her with an almost sorrowful expression.
"And yet you saw one of them last night."
Elena felt her stomach knot.
"How do you know that?"
Maëlle didn't answer.
"How do you know?"
"Because I know what you are."
Elena frowned.
"I'm human."
Maëlle moved closer to her.
"No."
Elena backed away.
"You're a witch."
The words echoed through the room. Elena felt something crack inside her. Everything she thought she knew about her life suddenly seemed to collapse.
"No."
"Your magic has just awakened."
"I don't have magic."
Maëlle shook her head.
"The red light in your apartment. The creature thrown against the wall. The pendant activating. None of that was an accident."
Elena remained silent.
Maëlle moved even closer.
"Your mother knew this would happen."
"Then why didn't she tell me anything?"
"Because she was afraid."
"Of whom?"
Maëlle fixed her gaze on Elena.
"Kael."
The name alone was enough to bring that icy sensation back to her stomach.
"He's looking for me?"
Maëlle nodded.
"Yes."
"Why?"
"I don't know exactly."
Elena immediately realized she was lying.
"You know something."
"I only know that you need to leave."
"Where?"
"Anywhere. But above all, don't stay here."
"And you?"
"I can't stay."
Elena felt the anger return.
"You barge into my home, tell me my mother was a witch, that I'm a witch too, and that the King of Monsters is looking for me, then tell me to leave without explaining anything?"
Maëlle lowered her eyes.
"I'm sorry."
She headed for the door.
Elena followed her.
"Wait!"
Maëlle stopped.
"Why did my mother disappear?"
The young woman remained silent. Then she answered in an almost inaudible voice:
"Because she tried to hide you from Kael."
Elena felt her legs give slightly beneath her.
"Did he kill her?"
Maëlle turned around.
Her face had gone deathly pale.
"I don't know."
Then she opened the door.
Before stepping out, she looked at Elena one last time.
"But if Kael comes for you, whatever you do, don't follow him."
The door closed.
Elena was left alone in the hallway.
She no longer knew what to think.
She slowly returned to her bedroom.
The photograph of her mother was still lying on the bed.
Elena picked it up, her fingers trembling.
Suddenly, she heard three knocks against the door.
She spun around.
Someone was standing on the other side.
A man's voice rose from the hallway.
"Elena."
Her blood ran cold.
She knew that voice.
She had heard it in her dream.
The man spoke one final sentence:
"We need to talk."