“Ahh!” I screamed and fell to the ground.
Chapter 5
Luna
It was dark, the kind of suffocating blackness that pressed in from all sides, making it hard to breathe. I stood in the middle of a forest, the trees towering over me like silent sentinels. The wind whispered through the leaves, carrying with it a strange, eerie melody that sent a shiver down my spine. My breath caught in my throat as I scanned the shadowy woods, a deep, unsettling feeling growing in my gut.
I wasn’t alone. Something was lurking just beyond the shadows, watching, and waiting.
“Orion?” I whispered, though my voice barely broke the stillness.
And then I saw him—Orion. He was standing in a clearing not far from me, his broad shoulders tense, his sharp gaze scanningthe darkness, as if he sensed the danger, too. Relief washed over me for a fleeting second.
Why is he here? Why does this place feel so wrong?I thought.
“Orion!” I called out to him, but no sound escaped my lips. Panic began to claw at me as I tried to move toward him, but my feet felt rooted to the spot, like they were sinking into the earth itself. My chest tightened with fear. I tried again, harder this time.
“Orion! Look out!”
Nothing. Not even a whisper of my voice reached him.
And then, from the shadows, she appeared. A figure cloaked in black, her face hidden beneath a hood. I could feel the malevolence radiating off her, a dark energy that made the air hum with tension.
My breath caught in my throat as I watched her, frozen in place, powerless to move or scream.
She was a witch. I didn’t know how I knew, but I felt it deep in my bones. Her power was ancient, dangerous, and twisted.
She moved toward Orion with slow, deliberate steps, her hands glowing with an unnatural light that sent a jolt of terror through me.
Every instinct in my body screamed at me to act, to warn him, to stop her. But I was paralyzed, helpless, as I watched the scene unfold.
“Orion! Behind you!” I screamed inside my head, but no sound came out.
Why couldn’t he hear me? Why wouldn’t he turn around?I thought.
He was focused on something else, something behind me, his gaze narrowing as if he sensed a different threat. But he didn’t see her, he didn’t see the danger creeping up on him.
My heart pounded in my chest, frantic. I pushed against the invisible force holding me in place, desperate to reach him.
“Orion, please! Turn around!”
But the witch was faster. She raised her hand, and a surge of energy shot from her fingertips, striking Orion in the chest. The force of it sent him staggering backward, his body convulsing, as the magic tore through him. His face contorted with a mixture of pain and agony, as if every nerve in his body was ablaze.
“No!” I screamed, finally finding my voice. The sound of my own terror echoed through the forest, but it was too late.
Orion collapsed to the ground, his body limp, his eyes wide open but unseeing. A cold smile spread across the witch’s face, a smile that chilled me to the core.
“No, no, no …” I choked on the words as I ran toward him, my legs finally obeying me. I dropped to my knees beside him, my hands shaking as I reached for him.
“Orion, please … wake up. Orion!”
But as my fingers brushed against his lifeless skin, the world around me shattered like glass. The forest, the witch, Orion’s lifeless body—it all dissolved into nothingness, leaving me gasping for air in the darkness.
I jolted upright in bed, my heart racing, my skin drenched in sweat. I clutched the blankets around me, trying to steady my breathing, but the terror from the vision still clung to me like a shadow.
“Orion …” I whispered, my voice trembling, as I pressed a hand to my chest, feeling the frantic beat of my heart.
What the hell was that? Why did it feel so real?I thought.