The lab froze.
The dark unicorn stood at the threshold massive, wild, and glowing with an eerie violet hue. Its eyes burned with something ancient and unreadable. Not just rage.
Recognition.
Zara couldn't move. She was rooted to the spot, her palm still resting on the injured unicorn's back.
Victor raised a hand. "Don't fire."
The guards hesitated, weapons aimed. But the unicorn didn't attack.
It stepped inside slowly, its hooves clicking on the tile. Each breath was a growl.
Zara whispered, "He's not here to kill."
"He's here to *claim*," said Dr. Kael, staring at the creature like it was a god.
The unicorn moved closer to the table. The wounded unicorn raised its head weakly, letting out a soft call. Something passed between them soundless but heavy. Old.
Then the dark unicorn looked at Zara.
Her body shivered. That same presence from the vision surged inside her again, stronger now, clearer.
*You carry what belongs to me.*
Zara's voice trembled. "I didn't take anything."
*You accepted it. That is the same.*
The lights flickered. Monitors sparked. Something in the room the magic, the connection was short-circuiting reality itself.
Victor took a step forward, eyes gleaming. "Can you communicate with it?"
Zara ignored him. "What do you want from me?"
*Balance. What was lost. What must return.*
The injured unicorn tried to stand, but collapsed again. The dark one turned to it gently, touching horns just for a second. A pulse of white energy sparked and faded.
Zara flinched. Her chest burned.
She felt something shift inside her. A *transfer.* Something was being taken... or given.
Then the unicorn looked at her again.
*You are marked. You are not the same. You are... becoming.*
Zara backed away.
Victor saw the exchange, and suddenly his face changed from curiosity to hunger.
"You're bonded to it," he said to her. "That means you can access whatever power they hold. You could be the key to it all."
"No," Zara said. "I'm not a key. I'm not *yours.*"
Then the lights exploded.
Smoke filled the lab.
And the dark unicorn vanished taking the wounded one with it.
Zara dropped to her knees, dizzy, her pulse racing.
Victor stared at the empty table, stunned.
And somewhere in the smoke, a voice whispered not aloud, but in her mind:
*You are one of us now. Choose your side.*
---
Alarms screamed as backup generators hummed to life, casting a dim red glow over the wrecked lab. Shards of glass crunched under Zara's knees as she struggled to stand.
Damian rushed to her, helping her up. "Are you okay?"
"I think so," she whispered, though her skin still buzzed with lingering energy. The unicorn's magic hadn't just passed through her it had *anchored* in her.
Victor barked orders through the smoke. "Seal the facility. Lock down every access point. That thing is still on the island!"
Kael, blood running from a cut on her cheek, stared at her instruments. "They're gone. No life signs. No tracers. It's like they disappeared."
Zara glanced around. *Not disappeared.* Escaped. Together.
Victor turned to Zara slowly, a new coldness in his expression. "You knew it was going to happen. Didn't you?"
Zara met his gaze. "They didn't come here to be studied. They came here because we brought death to one of them."
"You bonded with it. That's what matters now. You're connected, and we're going to figure out what that means."
Damian stepped between them. "She's a kid. You're not using her."
Victor narrowed his eyes. "She's not a kid anymore. Not after what happened. The unicorn chose her. Or infected her. Either way, she's the closest we'll get to understanding them."
Zara said nothing. Because a part of her… wasn't sure he was wrong.
Deep inside, something new stirred powerful, ancient, restless.
Her dreams weren't just dreams anymore.
And the unicorns weren't just magical beasts.
They were guardians. Weapons. Or worse *warnings.*
And she was now tied to whatever was coming.
---
That night, the island didn't sleep.
Security drones buzzed through the air. Guards patrolled the forests in pairs, rifles twitching at every rustle. Victor had put the entire compound on high alert. Not out of fear but obsession.
Zara lay on her bed in the guest quarters, staring at the ceiling, unable to rest. The images wouldn't stop the dark unicorn's eyes, the pulsing connection, the voice inside her mind. And that final message:
*"Choose your side."*
Damian sat across the room, arms crossed, watching the door like it might open on its own.
"We need to leave," he said suddenly. "Tomorrow. Before he does something we can't walk away from."
Zara turned to him. "He's not going to let us go."
"We'll find a way."
She nodded slowly. But inside, she wasn't sure she wanted to run not yet. Not until she understood what she was becoming.
At 2:17 AM, her vision blurred.
She wasn't in her room anymore.
She stood in the heart of the forest. The moon shone down in shards. In front of her stood the dark unicorn, alone now, blood crusted along its shoulder.
*You are the fracture. The link. The gate.*
Zara stepped forward, breath caught in her throat. "What do you mean?"
*They are coming. The ones who hunted us. The ones who *made* us. You must choose where you stand. Before they arrive.*
She opened her mouth to ask more but woke up gasping.
Outside, the wind howled. Somewhere beyond the walls of the estate, in the deep black of the forest…
A horn glowed.
And something else answered it.
---
The wind outside shifted unnatural, as if pulled by something *otherworldly.* Zara stood by the window, staring into the dark trees. She could feel the pulse now not just in her chest, but in the air itself. The island was no longer just land and sea.
It was waking up.
Behind her, Damian paced. "We need to find the unicorns. Before Sloane does."
Zara nodded. "They know something we don't. That second one it wasn't just angry. It was trying to warn me. Warn *us.*"
Damian hesitated. "About what?"
Zara's voice dropped. "About *them.*"
A chill passed between them.
A knock came at the door. Not loud. Not urgent. Just… firm.
They looked at each other. Damian opened it slowly.
Victor stood there with two guards. He was smiling, but his eyes were hard. "Good evening. I hope I'm not interrupting."
Zara's hand tensed into a fist.
"I'd like you both to come with me," Victor said. "There's something I think you should see. Something... ancient."
Damian stepped forward. "Not until you tell us what this is about."
Victor tilted his head. "Let's just say the unicorns aren't the only creatures with secrets. The island is older than you think. And Zara your connection may be the key to unlocking *everything.*"
Zara felt it again then a flicker behind Victor's words.
He didn't just want the unicorns.
He wanted *her.*
---