Page 4 of Shadows in Bloom

“I-I will fetch a healer. Please, wait here.”

Only once the door clicked open and closed and a few moments had passed did I finally open my eyes. I dug my fingers into my hair, taking deep breaths to numb the pain still pulsing in my head. I needed to wake up. It was a nightmare. Incredibly vivid, but a nightmare, nonetheless. I was certain of it.

Perhaps I’d be able to escape the same way I had appeared. The mirror. I gripped the edges of the vanity and stared at my reflection. With every moment that passed, it grew darker, more horrific. Inky tendrils crept up the side of my face, growing larger and larger. My hair was like smoke, twisting and surrounding me in shades of ash and onyx. My parted lips curled up into a sinister smile. No. They weren’t my lips.

“You are weak,” the reflection whispered, its voice deep and melodic. “You have not yet proven yourself worthy of the gift I have bestowed upon you. I grow impatient with your insolence.”

“What… are you?” I bit the side of my cheek, holding in a whimper that threatened to escape and expose my fear.

“Your future. You cannot run from me. Remember that,” it hissed. “Remember.”

“Stop!” I covered her ears, the words making my brain rattle.

“Remember.”

“Shutup!”

“Remember, Nairu. Remember me.”

With a violent thrust, I punched the mirror; the glass shattering beneath the blow.

I awoke from the nightmare with a loud gasp, clutching at my blouse, moist with sweat, as I shot upright. Glancing down at my trembling hands, I’d expected to find blood, but found nothing. Perfectly unharmed.

Kallistra jolted to consciousness the moment she’d heard me stir. She had already drawn her dagger, which glistened in the moonlight with murderous intent. “What is it?”

“Just a dream. I was being chased by a boar,” I lied, throwing in a fabricated chuckle for good measure. “I was losing. Quite terrifying.”

“Shit, Nairu,” she giggled, settling back into her bedroll. “Don’t scare me like that.”

“It was a dream, that’s all. Go back to sleep.”

It felt wrong to lie, but I couldn’t be honest with Kallistra. Not when I knew how she would react. I waited for the telltale signs of Kallistra falling back asleep before I pulled my journal and ink from my bag. In the middle of the journal, just below the other names that had come to me in the night, I wrote it. Nirenza.

Aesira.

Rhosynn.

Nirenza.

It had been three women now who had come to me in the past two months, each one appearing in my dreams more vividly than the last. Each one called out to me, claiming to know me, claiming that I knew them, but I could never see their faces clearly. Empty. Before Nirenza, I could hardly make out their figures, or any characteristics at all, so seeing this much was an improvement. Wasn’t it?

The reflection, however, was a recent development. Unlike the three women, it spoke with a voice filled with malice. Disappointment. I wanted to learn more about it—needed to. More horrifying than the nightmare itself was the unknown. It was why I had to take matters into my own hands and keep this bit of information to myself. If Kallistra learned of these night terrors, she would surely report back home, telling the village elders the stress was making the Saintess lose her mind. Our journey might be forced to come to an end, and as much as I wanted that comfort for both of us, that couldn’t happen. Not yet. Not when they would punish Kallistra for failing.

The shaking of my shoulders woke me from my agitated slumber. Kallistra was hovering over me with a cheery smile, looking no worse for wear. A good rest and a decent meal worked like magic, bringing color back to her face and reigniting her spark. Once she assured I was awake, she returned to fix up a small breakfast, humming a tune as she worked.

I rubbed at my eyes, taking a moment for the lightheaded feeling to fade, before I attempted to stand. The pulsing in my head had subsided enough that I was able to ignore it ifI occupied myself elsewhere. I had no choice but to ignore it, considering the lengthy ride we had ahead of us. If we were fortunate, and the horses could handle the quickened pace for another day in a row, we would arrive at our destination after one more night’s rest.

“Don’t forget, when we arrive in town, keep your hood up and refrain from speaking.” Kallistra began her usual lecture as she packed up her bag. “I’ll do the talking, get us in and out with our next lead.”

Chapter 2

“Don’t move a muscle.”

The cool press of metal bit into the side of my neck as the ragged voice spoke their threat into my ear. My eyes shot open, my body stock-still as I attempted to assess my surroundings. The night’s darkness made it difficult to discern the number of figures surrounding our camp, but they were numerous enough to outnumber us. And considering they’d managed to sneak up on us without Kallistra noticing, we were likely already dead.

Our last night out in the open before Fernfallow, and we were going to die.

The man holding the blade to my throat ripped me from my bedroll and brought me to my feet, not concerned with the way the metal sliced into my skin from his jagged movements.He gripped me against his chest, bellowing, “You will give us everything you have, or I will kill the bitch.”

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