O R I G I N

CHAPTER 6

Third Person POV

Sarita's words hung in the air like a heavy fog, suffocating the group with anticipation. They waited, their breaths held, for her to reveal the identity of the final member. Miles, fidgeting with nervous energy, couldn't contain himself.

"Well? Who is it? Are you not going to tell us? Speak up!" His voice pierced the tension, urging Sarita to divulge the secret they had been anxiously waiting to uncover.

"Of course, I'm going to tell you guys! But before that..." Sarita's voice trailed off, her gaze shifting to Axel, who stood stoically by the window, his expression unreadable. His silence spoke volumes, sending a shiver down Maia's spine as she observed him.

"Axel knows too, he just didn't want to tell us," Sarita continued, her voice steady but laced with concern.

Maia's mind raced, connecting the dots. "Now that I think about it... you haven't said a word about it ever since we got back from the spirit world," she remarked, the realization dawning on her.

Axel's facade remained unchanged; his crimson eyes fixed on the moonlit landscape outside. The group turned their attention back to Sarita, awaiting her revelation with bated breath.

"It's Kayden. The fifth and final member is... Kayden," Axel finally confessed, his voice barely above a whisper. The words hung heavy in the air, sinking into the hearts of his friends like lead weights.

A stunned silence enveloped the group, each grappling with the implications of Kayden's newfound role. Sarita, her fists clenched at her sides, struggled to maintain her composure as she explained her reasoning.

"The first part of the riddle, the answer was given by Kayden himself," she began, her voice trembling slightly. "What the enchantress meant by 'not born from his mother'... it's because he's adopted."

Understanding dawned on Miles' face, his eyes widening in realization. "So that's what she meant..." he murmured, the pieces of the puzzle finally falling into place.

Sarita's gaze shifted to Axel, silently pleading for him to confirm her suspicions. "Guys... Kay wasn't affected by my time control," she revealed, her voice barely above a whisper.

A collective gasp rippled through the group as they processed Sarita's revelation. "What?" they exclaimed in unison, their minds racing with the implications of Kayden's immunity to Sarita's powers.

Sarita recounted the incident from their walk home, her words painting a vivid picture of Kayden's confusion and her own growing sense of unease. The group listened intently, each absorbing the gravity of the situation.

As Sarita's tale came to an end, a heavy silence settled over the group. Their thoughts turned to Kayden, their friend who now stood at the center of a mystery they were only beginning to unravel.

"We have to tell him soon, yeah?" Sarita's voice broke the silence, her eyes pleading for reassurance from her friends.

Axel, his emotions carefully concealed behind a mask of indifference, slipped out of the room without a word. The others watched him go, a pang of guilt gnawing at their hearts.

Their best friend's life was about to change, and the weight of that truth hung heavy in the air as they grappled with their own conflicting emotions.