Page 122 of Cursed Evermore
We sat side by side on the bench in the garden. The weather was sunny and vibrant, with the scent of spring alive in the air.
Hope whispered through the rustling leaves, the newly bloomed flowers, and the feather-soft grass. It danced in my veins, making me feel at peace. And yet I felt so out of place. Like I shouldn’t be here.
Mother touched my face, stroking my cheek. “What are you going to do?” she asked, the shine in her eyes dimming.
“What do you mean?”
“You have to go soon, my love.”
“I don’t want to leave.” I didn’t know what she was talking about, but I knew I never wanted to leave her side.
“You have to. They’ll come for you.”
My breath stopped and fear coiled through me like a snake wrapping around my organs. “Who's coming for me?”
As soon as I spoke, little flashes of silver threads floated between us. The same way they had at the tavern when I first saw Wolfe.
Wolfe.
Wolfe Nightblade.
That name rumbled through my mind like thunder, and I instantly remembered I’d been captured.
The beauty of my home in Stormfell faded into nothingness, until just a gray expanse surrounded my mother and me.
Mother gripped my shoulders, and the silver threads danced around her.
“Follow the Nyzith strands,” she said, her eyes fixed on them.
“Nyzith strands?” I’d never heard the term before.
“Follow them, Elariya. They will lead you to your destiny.” Tears ran down her cheeks.
“Mother, don’t let them take me!”
She answered but I couldn’t hear her. Then I realized I couldn’t hear anything. As though someone had switched off the sound.
A gust of wind ripped her away from me. I screamed as she blew away, disappearing from my sight. Just like everything else.
A loud boom exploded around me, so strong it shook me to my core.
My eyes snapped wide, and I realized I was surrounded by water.
Lots of water, and there was salt in my throat.
The sea. I was in the sea.
In a flash I remembered what happened. The Ruskiel had me, and sharp, slimy tentacles were wrapped around my waist. I must have passed out when we hit the water.
The tentacle kept going down, down, down deep into the sea, then the Ruskiel surged up.
I broke through the surface, gasping for air, coughing the water from my lungs.
The Ruskiel made a hollow sound like a thousand ghosts screaming at once. I looked up and saw shards of magic rippling through the air above us.
It was the shield. It was broken and unraveling at the seams like thread on fabric. Through the splashes of water I saw what had broken the shield.
Not what.Who.
