Page 60 of Cursed

My mother’s choked scream clawed through the silence, sharp and echoing, as it dragged me down into the depths of despair.

Panic washed over me like an icy wave and drowned out the warmth of Valen’s body.

I jerked away from him, stumbling back, and my breath came in ragged gasps as I grasped at reality, desperate to shake off the horror.

“No! Please—!”

“Avril!” Valen’s voice sounded far away—muffled by mist and fog. His hands were like lead weights as he grabbed my shoulders and I screamed and pushed him away. The force of my fear propelled me backward as the image of my mother’s last moments burned itself into my soul.

“Stay away!” I choked out and shook my head wildly, trying to dispel the darkness that had invaded my thoughts.

How could I bear this?

How could I stand here, assaulted by the remnants of what I’d just witnessed?

My throat was tight, and my lungs screamed for air, but I couldn’t draw a full breath—

Strong hands gripped my shoulders. But instead of an attack—they were steadying.

Valen.

I sagged into his touch.

“Avril, what just happened?” His voice was low and strained—was that frustration I heard?

“What happened—” I snapped. My heart raced, and each beat was a reminder of the trauma that flashed behind my eyes. “I—I saw her! My mother!” The words tumbled out, raw and jagged, as I struggled to put what I’d seen into words. “She was... she was—”

“Breathe,” Valen urged, “you have to breathe—”

It seemed so simple… but so impossible.

How could I breathe when the echoes of her screams still reverberated in my mind?

“You don’t understand—” I hissed as I pulled away from his touch. “You don’t know what it’s like—”

But Valen didn’t release his grip on me, and I glared up into his dark eyes. “I’m the only one who understands,” he murmured. “Please, just tell me what you saw.”

But all I could see was the image of my mother, forever trapped in that moment of pain.

The shadows, the betrayal.

Her body in the water. Red nails scraping the surface.

My heart thudded painfully against my chest, and I shook my head again as I wrenched away from his grasp.

“Just… just leave me alone.” The words slipped from my lips, heavy and bitter, as I stumbled toward the path that led back toward the mansion, the chilling vision still etched in my mind like a nightmare refusing to fade.

The world around me twisted and blurred, shadows dancing mockingly beneath the moonlight, each flicker igniting fresh tendrils of panic within my chest. Valen’s voice, once smooth and enticing, cut through my thoughts like jagged glass.

“Avril, wait!” His hand reached for me, but I recoiled and forced my legs to move.

“Just leave me alone!” I gasped, the words barely forming between my ragged breaths.

“You’re not safe here,” Valen said. “You don’t understand what you’re dealing with.”

“Neither do you!” I spat.

With every step I took away from him, I felt the pull of darkness behind me—it would be so easy to go back.

---