The first time it happened, none of them believed it.

  Lena, Ivy, Mira, and Sora had been best friends since childhood, growing up in the sleepy town of Willowbrook. They did everything together—homework, camping trips, and late-night talks about the universe. But nothing had prepared them for what they discovered on that stormy October night.

  It had started as a dare. The abandoned greenhouse at the edge of town had long been a place of whispered rumors. Some said it belonged to an old witch, others claimed strange lights flickered inside at night. But the four girls had never been ones to believe in ghost stories.

  "Come on, this place is harmless," Mira said as she pushed open the rusted door, her dark curls bouncing as she stepped inside.

  Ivy hesitated. "Harmless places don’t glow."

  Lena, ever the logical one, frowned. "It’s probably just phosphorescent mold."

  Sora, quiet and thoughtful, trailed her fingers along the vines that clung to the shattered glass walls. "No," she whispered. "It’s something else."

  The moment her fingers brushed the leaves, they moved—twisting toward her like snakes seeking warmth. Sora gasped and yanked her hand back.

  Ivy stepped back instinctively, and as soon as she did, the ground beneath her trembled. A deep, slow vibration that sent dust trickling from the wooden beams above.

  Mira turned, eyes wide. "Did you just—"

  "I didn’t do anything!" Ivy protested, but as soon as she raised her hands, the wooden planks shifted again, a tiny sprout bursting from the ground.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  Lena, still skeptical, reached for a metal railing along the wall to steady herself. The moment her fingers touched it, a spark leaped between them, sending a jolt of electricity up her arm. She gasped and stumbled back.

  Mira stood in the center of it all, her heart pounding. "This is insane," she whispered. She exhaled sharply, and suddenly, a gust of wind roared through the greenhouse, lifting dead leaves and dust in a swirling dance.

  Silence.

  The four of them stared at each other, the air charged with something new, something alive.

  Lena swallowed hard. "Okay. So, uh… we have magic now?"

  Ivy stared at the tiny sprout pushing through the cracks in the ground. "I think… I control earth?"

  Sora reached out again, this time gently, and watched as the vine curled around her finger like an old friend. "Plants," she said softly.

  Mira grinned, stretching out her arms as the air stirred around her. "Wind."

  Lena rubbed her fingers together, a faint spark dancing between them. "Electricity."

  For a long moment, none of them spoke. Then Mira clapped her hands together, her eyes sparkling. "Okay, so what do we do now?"

  Sora’s gaze drifted to the vines, the ones that had responded to her touch. "We find out why we have this power," she murmured.

  Lena crossed her arms. "Or maybe how to control it before one of us accidentally destroys something."

  Ivy gave the ground a wary look. "Yeah, I’d rather not cause an earthquake in the middle of town."

  Mira laughed, throwing an arm around Ivy’s shoulders. "Oh, come on. This is the coolest thing that’s ever happened to us! We’re like—what’s the word? Elementals?"

  Lena pursed her lips. "Technically, electricity isn’t an element."

  Mira rolled her eyes. "Technically, you’re a nerd."

  Sora smiled, but her mind was elsewhere. There was something about this place, something about the way the greenhouse had reacted to them. It felt… ancient, like it had been waiting for them.

  And in the distance, deep in the overgrown vines, something pulsed. A soft, steady glow, unseen by the girls.

  For now.