Page 147 of Haunted

I am in a paradise.

It’s bathed in glorious light.

Mountains arc into the backdrop of the sky.

I paw at my chest, amazed I can feel it, amazed my sense of touch was not destroyed in the fire licking my skin.

My body isn’t blackened. I don’t smell of burnt flesh. A slight breeze ruffles my shirtsleeve.

I wear white linen.

Where’s my cloak? My leather pants and shirt caked with gore from battle?

How did Ahnalyn defeat me? The pain. I felt pain and burning.

The flames were real; I know they were.

They came from my daughter. How had Ahnalyn channeled such power when she gave all her light to save Aneirin?

Was it love for him?

“It was the High Emrys,” a woman says.

I whirl around. A beautiful woman dressed in a glorious, white dress stands before me. I can’t quite focus on her face. I blink hard.

“High Emrys?” I ask. The spiritual leader of the emrys. She has great power. I can’t fathom how she was able to intervene.

“She gave Ahnalyn her light to save her people. But its might was too much for you.”

“How’d the High Emrys do that? It was just Ahnalyn and me together.”

“The High Emrys doesn’t need to be present to wield all her powers.”

“Oh.” I nod dumbly. Ahnalyn defeated me with light more powerful than I have ever seen, given to her by the High Emrys. I could not have predicted this. “Did my daughter survive?”

“She is safe. And happy.”

“Huh.” My brain accepts this. I’m much too composed, and my thoughts drift away. I take a few steps toward the pretty lady, willing her face to sharpen.

She mutters something I don’t catch as I draw closer. An awareness registers.

I know her voice.

A voice I never thought I’d hear again.

With that knowledge, her face becomes clear.

The brightest thing that captures my attention among all this whiteness and light is her green eyes. I’ve always loved her eyes. Her soul shines vibrantly through them.

“Niawen,” I say.

Her ashy hair drapes to her waist. She is exquisite in her glimmering gown. When she smiles, my heart finds joy.

“Where am I?” I ask.

“You are at the beginning of the end.” She reaches for me.

I coil back.

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