I was back in Shadowmere, wandering the empty halls, looking for my daddy.
I skipped along the hallway to Daddy’s study at the end. I heard his voice behind the door, and something warm bloomed in my chest.
A little mouse scuttled across the floor ahead of me. Soft, grey, skittish. Mummy would’ve been mad, but I always liked the animals. Especially the black cat that came to my room at night. She was quiet. Watchful.
She slipped around my ankles like she was welcoming me home.
She hadn’t changed. Still silent. Still mine.
I patted her fur. She was silky, even now.
I looked around the space. I missed my daddy.
I peeked around the half-open door.
Daddy was inside, speaking in hushed whispers with someone. I thought it was a woman, but I wasn’t sure—her voice was soft, floaty, like the wind through curtains.
I’d dreamed this before. But this time… I heard the voices clearly. I knew that voice. I knew what they were talking about. I knew it was real.
“She’s the only one who can now, you know that. She the only one who can wake them…”
“She can’t remember! Not any of it! She’ll be hunted!”
I try to look closer. Her voice – it’s familiar.
Who is she?
I knew that voice. But her name stayed just out of reach.
“Daddy?” I call.
No! Elira!
A door slams shut again.
Out the window, for just a breath—I thought I saw a cracked mirror. But it was gone.
Only one word remains.
Remember.
**
I woke in the same cabin. But this time, I was alone.
The mattress was too soft, the room too still. My wrists were chained to the bedposts, the manacles cold against raw skin.
And I knew.
This wasn’t safety.
This wasn’t a dream.
A voice like silk dipped in ice cut through the silence. “You’re awake.”
I flinched hard.
Vael stood in the doorway, one hand resting lightly on the frame as if he belonged here—like this was his kingdom and I was simply another piece of it.
