But it’s peaceful here. I’m in a lagoon. The sun is out. The warm breeze is rippling through the trees.
My father is sitting cross-legged on a rock.
He looks young. Vibrant. At ease. Before the weight of the crown wore down on him and carved his face with lines of worry. He smiles at me.
“Am I dead?” I ask him.
“Not yet,” he says.
“This doesn’t feel real.”
I lift up my hand and look at it. The edges are blurred. I realize I’m not actually swimming, just floating in the water.
“It may not be real, but it’s still happening,” he says.
“Lucan tried to kill me,” I tell him, tears filling my eyes.
“I know.”
“He’s going to steal the crown.”
“If you let him.”
“What can I do?” I ask. “I don’t even know where I am.”
“You’re right where you need to be,” he says with a slow nod. “You’ll gain strength here. More strength than you’ll ever know.”
“What does that mean?”
He’s quiet for a long moment, watching a colorful wispfly flutter past him. “You already know.”
“I don’t.”
“You smelled her,” he says, lifting his nose. “I can smell her now. Breathe in.”
I inhale, but it hurts. My lungs scream. My chest flares. But underneath the pain, there’s that sweetness again.
It fills my body with a tingling glow. It feels good. It feels like home.
“Shhhh,” a soft, feminine voice says, filling the air. “You’re safe now.”
It’s a goddess.
It’s everything.
“Who is that?” I ask my father, but the rock is empty.
He’s gone.
“Who are you?” I cry out.
Before she can answer, I’m pulled down into the water…
Into the darkness…
And everything disappears.
I’m yanked out of the darkness by the pain.
