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Her eyes were wide and filled with fear. The poor thing was shaking.
“You’re not going to live through this if you do not trust me, Emilia,” I said softly. “I know it’s a hard thing to do. But I need you to look deep within yourself. Realize I am not a threat. Can you do that?”
She looked torn, a battle of emotions playing out across her face.
But the encroaching footsteps and the imminent danger they signaled made her decision for her.
Before she could voice another question, I reached out, taking her hand.
It was warm, soft. “You have to trust me, at least for now.”
She nodded, her grip tightening around my hand — a silent acknowledgment of our temporary alliance.
Together we slipped into the bustling main street.
Behind us, the muffled voices of the Vendikar agents filled the air, their determined pursuit a reminder of the threat that shadowed our every step.
We ran, hand in hand, a warrior from a distant world and a dreamer from Earth, united by circumstance and the shared goal of evading an encroaching darkness.
The labyrinthine streets of the city became our sanctuary, our refuge, and as the chapter of our unexpected partnership began, the tales from Emilia’s store seemed less like fiction and more like a prelude to our own unfolding story.
Emilia
My brain felt like it’d been replaced with soup.
This can’t be real.
None of it can be real!
I’m just a bookstore owner — a failed bookstore owner!
Had it finally happened?
Had I lost my mind?
I squeezed my hand and felt the powerful muscles of the man — man? — holding it.
He seemed real.
But was he?
The mind makes things real.
The things we believe are real.
Mist began to filter in around me, the world becoming hazy, as if I’d been enveloped by a thick, stifling fog.
The comforting aroma of old pages and freshly brewed coffee teased my senses.
I could even hear the soft patter of rain on the window.
I couldn’t help but feel calm, relaxed.
I eased back into my favorite reading chair — the stuffing falling out the sides — and tucked my feet up under myself.
I believed I was safe in my bookstore.
But this illusion shattered when a chilling whisper wafted through the air, curling around my ear, its voice dripping with malevolence.
