I let their warmth carry me away into a blissful sleep.
Chapter 34
Dani
The air is crisp and still, a heavy silence encompassing the world around me. The rain has been hesitant, lingering in the clouds yet to release its grip. With quiet determination, I step outside, venturing into the embrace of the woods. Though I can’t pinpoint what compels me to walk barefoot and alone through the underbrush, an inexplicable pull drives me onward.
The cold, damp earth greets my feet with a refreshing bite; invigorating yet grounding. I press deeper into the forest, navigating a labyrinth of ancient trees. Their contorted branches, garnished with morning dew, bow beneath the weight of nature’s jewels, beckoning me to duck and weave as I explore.
A twig snaps sharply to my left, the sound slicing through the stillness of the woods. Instantly, I whirl around, my heart racing with the anticipation of seeing a shadowmire lurking.
Nothing.
Just as I resume my path, a frigid hand suddenly clamps down on my arm, sending an electric jolt of fear coursing through me. The unexpected grip feels like ice against my skin, startling me to my core and momentarily freezing me in place.
Her emerald-green eyes shimmer with a lively intensity, yet they’re clouded with concern. “Suzanna! You scared me,” I gasp, instinctively pressing my palm against my pounding heart, feeling it thump in sync with the gentle sway of my necklace.
Suzanna glances down, noticing my hand resting over my chest, and tenderly lays her hand on top of mine. A warmth now radiates from her touch.
This is the first time I’ve truly felt her… Usually, she seems to dissolve like a mist whenever I try to reach for her.
“Ignite the fire that makes your heart race…”
She keeps repeating that...
“Do I have to set the necklace on fire or something?” I ask her as she takes my hand in hers.She gazes at me with a smile, a hint of wisdom shining in her eyes. “It is not your fire...”
“What does that even mean, not my fire?!”
“I cannot provide you with the answers you seek,” she replies softly. “I can only offer guidance, my dear Danika, to help you find your own path.”
“Are you a relative of mine?” I already know the answer, but I ask anyway to see what she knows.She nods slowly, the rhythmic motion betraying an underlying tension that steals the vibrancy from her smile. “The one who shares our blood is deceiving,” she warns, her voice low and tinged with urgency. “Do not trust her. She harbors intentions that are far from good.”
“Are you talking about my mother, Elanie?” I ask, my heart racing with the weight of her words. She brushes past me, her gaze fixed on the shadowy path ahead as I instinctively follow her, curiosity and concern battling within me.
“You are like me, Dani,” she continues, her voice both comforting and haunting, filling me with an electric charge. “You can feel things, sense things that others cannot. Trust your intuitions; they will guide you to the path that awaits you. These are trying times.”
“What does it mean to ignite the fire that makes my heart race?” I press, my voice tinged with desperation, needing clarity.
But instead of a reply, she keeps moving, her figure receding further into the embrace of the forest. The trees whisper secrets with every rustle of their leaves, and I amleft standing on the threshold of a darkening path. My pulse quickens.
“How do I break the curse of the necklace?”
Nothing.
“Suzanna! Please!” I call out hastily, my voice rolling through the stillness of the forest, bouncing off the ancient trees surrounding us.
She halts abruptly.
Slowly, she pivots to face me, her expression filled with urgency. With a delicate gesture, she presses her finger against her lips, urging silence. Then, gently yet firmly, she takes hold of my head, cradling my temples.
My vision blurs instantly, and everything around me fades to an unsettling blackness.
Flames burst into view, engulfing the town in a chaotic inferno. Towering buildings are reduced to twisted heaps of rubble, dissolving into clouds of ash. The acrid smell of smoke and the haunting, anguish cries of innocent people pierce through the chaos, echoing ominously in my mind.
Then, amid this nightmare, I see myself. I am collapsed on my knees, the world around me a blur of horror, as I scream at the top of my lungs, yet no sound escapes my parched lips. My face is smeared with dirt and streaked with tears, a canvas of despair.
In my trembling arms, I rock a lifeless man, the weight of my grief pulling me down into an abyss of sorrow, my heart aching with the longing to shield them from the devastation unfolding around us. His lifeless body hangs limp.
