Page 146 of Haunted

No, it can’t be. You’re dead.

A flame of fire burns through Ahnalyn.

No! Hold on to the darkness, my child!

The darkness cannot stand this new light, a light so powerful I can’t trace its origin. How’s this happening!

Ahnalyn’s body begins to burn me.

I shriek as my daughter’s touch scalds my flesh.

Before I can relinquish my hold, light bursts out of Ahnalyn in a catastrophic stream.

Pure light shoots across the battlefield and into the sky, forcing the clouds to disperse and the rain to stop. The sunken earth swells upward, healed, lifting fallen men and dragons from its depths.

The vile scent of burnt flesh fills my nose. My men are burning, incinerating, vanishing in a wisp of putrid smoke.

From deep under my skin, my arms glow like an ember.

I hurt.

I burn.

My veins shred as pure light races up them.

I gasp for breath, but I can’t move.

The pain is immobilizing.

Intense light blinds me. Smoke is the only thing I see.

Ahnalyn pushes herself away.

Then bright flames give me one last sight—

That of my hands on fire.

With a shallow breath, my body erupts into a blaze.

My unholy, tortured wails are the last thing I hear.

102

Everything is light.

Blinding.

Green washed in majesty as the brilliance of light subdues the swathe of hues.

I squeeze my eyes and blink, but I feel no discomfort. It’s only a matter of adjusting to the intensity.

Why this intensity?

What’s happening?

Where am I?

Trees of all shapes and beauty reach for the sky. Fields of flowers spread as far as my eye can see. A waterfall in the distance dances down a sunbaked cliff. The hum of bees and the sweet mouthwatering scents of honeys and florals and fresh air drift lightly around me.

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