Last of Her Kind (Book 1, Part 1, of the LAST series)

I found myself standing in my room, Jayce stepping out of the portal beside me. The familiar space that had once been my sanctuary now felt stifling, so dull compared to the life and vibrancy I had just left behind.

“I’ll go start dinner,” Jayce said, his voice unusually calm as he disappeared into the kitchen.

I sat on my bed, the silence weighing heavy on me. Everything felt muted, so much more quiet than before. I glanced down at my hands, watching the gold energy flicker around my fingertips. It felt different now—like a burden.

“Do they know you have abilities?” Jayce’s voice called out, breaking the stillness.

“No,” I replied, rising from the bed and leaning against the doorway. “Kept that part to myself.” I watched him as he moved about in the kitchen, his back to me. “Why do you ask?”

He shrugged, but I noticed how his shoulders tensed. “No reason. Just wondering.”

Something was off. “Would it be bad if they found out?” I asked, my voice laced with suspicion.

Jayce didn’t respond right away. He continued chopping vegetables, his silence saying more than words ever could. My heart tightened in my chest. He was hiding something, and it wasn’t the first time I felt this from him. “Jayce,” I said, my voice firmer, “what aren’t you telling me? Why were you in such a hurry to leave?”

He sighed, still not facing me. “I wasn’t in a hurry.”

“Yes, you were,” I insisted, stepping forward, the tension between us thickening. “I know you, Jayce. Why wouldn’t I be safe there?”

Finally, he turned, meeting my gaze with a look that made my stomach drop. “Tell me,” I demanded, the weight of dread settling in my chest.

He ran a hand over his face, his expression torn. “You wouldn’t be safe there… because of your parents.”

Confusion filled me. “What do my parents have to do with this?”

Jayce’s voice softened. “Your mother… she was indeed an elf. But your father… he wasn’t.”

I frowned, trying to piece it together. “What was he then? A mortal?”

His breath hitched, and when he finally spoke, his voice was barely a whisper. “Not exactly. He… he was a seraph.”

And just like that, my world crumbled. “What?” I barely managed to choke out, the word hanging in the air between us.

Jayce continued speaking, but I didn’t hear any of it. His words dissolved into a deafening ring in my ears. My vision blurred, my thoughts spiraling as the reality of what he said sank in.

A seraph.

I was a cursed child, a bastard born of that should’ve never been. All of it made sense now. Why Jayce had always been so cautious about me using my powers, why my eyes glowed gold, why I always felt like I didn’t belong anywhere.

My knees gave out beneath me, and before I knew it, I was outside, the cool grass beneath me. I hadn’t even realized I’d walked out of the house. I dug my fingers into the earth, watching helplessly as the familiar gold energy seeped from me, rippling across the ground. A sob tore from my throat, and I cried—cried for Sorin, for my parents, for the curse that had been forced upon me.