Page 21 of The Darkest Knight

Chapter Nine

Tammie paced along the edge of the castle gardens, her long skirts swirling around her legs with each hurried step, the hem of fabric brushing her ankles. The crisp morning air nipped at her cheeks despite the bright sunshine filtering through the shedding branches overhead. She clutched her cardigan tighter, her arms crossed against the chill.

“You look pensive,” Sabrina’s voice broke through the silence as walked toward Tammie, a cup of coffee in each hand. Offering one to Tammie, she said. “What’s going on little Tammie?”

“I had ... a dream last night,” Tammie said, her voice low and uncertain. She turned her gaze upward, scanning the pale sky as if searching for answers. “Except, it didn’t feel like a dream. It was too vivid. Too real.”

Sabrina’s brows furrowed with interest as she sank onto a nearby bench, the wood creaking beneath her. “What happened? Tell me everything.”

Tammie took a sip of her coffee, the creamy richness grounding her momentarily. “I was somewhere else,” she began, her voice unsteady. “With Niall. I could see him, but I wasn’t really there. I couldn’t touch anything or make myself seen.” Her voice cracked as her hands tightened around the cup. “Sabrina, he was being tortured. These ... creatures, horrible and inhuman, were whipping him. He was in so much pain.”

Sabrina’s expression turned grave. “Niall? Tortured? What kind of creatures?”

“I don’t know what they were,” Tammie said, her words trembling. “But it doesn’t stop there. One moment he was being flogged, and then ... the next, he was in a bed with a woman.”

Sabrina froze, her cup halfway to her lips. “A woman?”

“She looked like one,” Tammie clarified, her tone darkening. “But there was something wrong about her. An aura—black, heavy. She felt ... demonic, evil.”

The memory clawed at Tammie’s mind as she sat on a wooden bench beside Sabrina, her cup clutched with both hands. “She was demanding that he give himself to her. When he refused. She tied him to the bed, and I think—” Her voice faltered, but the implication hung heavy between them.

Sabrina’s hand flew to her mouth. “Oh my God, Tammie. Are you sure it wasn’t just a nightmare?”

“I don’t know.” Tammie shook her head, her dark eyes clouded with doubt. “But it felt so real. I could feel her wickedness, her intent. And then, somehow, I pushed her away—not with my hands, but with my mind. I just willed her to leave him alone.”

Sabrina’s eyes widened. “You fought her?”

“Yes.” Tammie exhaled shakily. “Then somehow I realized she had control over him because he was sleeping. I screamed at him to wake up. The moment I did, he vanished.”

Sabrina set her cup down, her fingers knitting together as she searched Tammie’s face. “Do you think this has something to do with the other vision you had? The one about the claws clutching Niall?”

Tammie nodded slowly, her thoughts tumbling over one another. “It has to. This isn’t just my imagination. Something is after him, Sabrina. And it felt as if it’s been going on for a long time.”

The two women sat in silence, the weight of Tammie’s revelation settling like a shadow over the garden, the cool air suddenly feeling much colder.

“Come inside. We need to discuss this with Gwen,” Sabrina urged, her voice firm but not overbearing.

“Give me a few minutes. I need to clear my head,” Tammie replied, relieved when her sister didn’t press further.

As Sabrina stood and walked away, Tammie inhaled and exhaled slowly. The crisp air felt great in her lungs. The quiet surrounding her felt as if the world were holding its breath. What troubled her most wasn’t the lingering fear she’d felt after attacking a demon, but the startling surge of power she’d unleashed. She hadn’t known she was capable of anything like that. It had taken immense strength—strength she’d never even attempted or knew she had. All her life, she’d accepted that Sabrina and Gwen were the gifted ones, their abilities far stronger than hers. That truth had never bothered Tammie. She actually preferred to stand at the edges of their metaphysical world.

But the night before had shifted something within her. Funny how a single night could topple everything you thought you knew about yourself.

Her phone buzzed, breaking through the tangle of thoughts. Glancing down, she saw Gerard’s name on the screen, and guilt knotted her stomach. The message was curt, short.

“Dropped off your stuff at your apartment. Left the key on the kitchen table.”

A fresh wave of regret washed over her. She’d already apologized—profusely, tearfully—when she confessed her betrayal, but Gerard hadn’t lashed out. He hadn’t even raised his voice. Instead, there had been a chilling calm in his response, as though he’d been waiting for her to end things. His quiet acceptance hurt more than any angry words could have. She remembered the long silence after her confession, the way her heart pounded until she finally asked, “Are you still there?”

He’d answered simply, without emotion. “I figured this would happen sooner or later.”

After hanging up, she’d immediately reached out to a mutual friend, desperate for reassurance that Gerard was all right. The next day, she’d received a brief text stating he was bummed but moving on. Somehow, it made her feel only marginally less terrible.

Tammie slipped her phone back into the deep pocket of her sweater making it hang lower on one side. She tracked Sabrina’s slow, deliberate steps as her sister meandered back toward the front of the castle.

How had her life become so complicated, so quickly? And what was she supposed to do with this new, unsettling power that now seemed to pulse just beneath her skin?

One thing was certain—nothing would ever be the same again.