Beyond Hollow Echoes (Book Three)

⋆˖☽ ​​​​​​Chapter 8 ☾˖⋆

I stood frozen before Ondina's door. I raised my hand, my knuckles hovering just an inch from the surface, but I couldn't bring myself to knock. Should I give her more time?

Aurenoxious's sorrowful groan replayed in my mind. I made a promise… and I am worried. I knocked gently against the smooth wood. "It’s me… can I come in?"

I pressed my ear toward the door, straining to listen for any noise from within—a muffled sob or even a sigh. There was only silence. I knocked a second time, a little louder, and waited. Still no answer.

"I am coming in."

I turned the handle and pushed the door open, stepping inside and clicking it shut behind my back.

Ondina was sitting on the very edge of her bed. Her fingers were twisting the fabric of her dark trousers. Her head was tilted down. She wasn’t crying. Her chest was barely rising and falling. Her vacant green eyes stared unblinking at the floor.

I stepped closer, the soft tapping of my boots echoing in the quiet room. "Ondina," I murmured. I kept my voice gentle, trying to call her back from whatever abyss her mind had traveled to. I stopped right beside her. "I am just going to sit here... whenever you’re ready to talk."

I sat down beside her, the mattress dipping beneath my added weight. In response, her knuckles curled even tighter into her lap. I didn’t push her. Instead, I welcomed the silence between us, allowing the quiet to stretch out and give her room to just breathe. Outside the door, muffled footsteps echoed down the hall, receding into nothingness.

Ondina's trembling fingers released their death grip on her trousers. She drew in a long shaky breath before letting it shudder out into the cold room.

"I… I didn’t know what it would be like to see them again," she whispered, her voice stripped of its usual armor. "I always hoped to. But now—"

She looked up, turning her head slowly so her eyes met mine. There were no welling tears. She was looking right at me, yet it felt as if she wasn’t seeing me at all.

"I know I said I would return after Ruslan was dead..." Her words trailed off as her blank gaze dropped back to the floor.

"You do not have to," I said gently. "It’s your choice."

She folded her hands in her lap, squeezing her fingers together to stop their trembling. A heavy pause stretched between us. "They moved on while I was gone. Their life never stopped. Nor did mine. Theirs just improved."

"That isn’t true, Ondina. Your mother still thinks of you." The memory of her mother screaming her name through the chaos replayed in my mind.

Ondina shook her head. "I am stained in blood. Seeing them again only reminded me of the terrible things I have done… of the monster I became to survive. Of the things they could never look at me for."

"It wasn’t your choice. You did what was commanded of you to survive. And you broke away from—"

"I am not going back," she interrupted, her voice resolute and broken all at once. "It will only hurt them more to realize what I am. My place is here now."

I swallowed hard around the lump in my throat. There is no changing what she has decided. Ondina let herself fall backward onto the mattress, throwing an arm across her forehead. "We will be returning to the lake soon, I know."

I allowed myself to fall back right next to her, staring up at the white ceiling.

"I have more important things to focus on," she murmured, slamming the door on her past.

Footsteps echoed down the hall again, growing closer before passing by our door. Outside the frosted window, the darkness of the Cursed Moon had faded. Only the silver and red moons hung in the sky now, restoring a twisted sense of normalcy to the night.

Ondina let her arm fall to her side. "There is one other thing I remembered on the flight back."

"About the Storm Siren?"

She rolled her head across the mattress to meet my eyes. "I don’t know how we are supposed to face such a creature."

"What did you remember?"

"It… it can control the world around it."

My brows furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"The weather," Ondina whispered, fear bleeding into her tone. "That is what it can do. But it is just a nursery story… right? No monster could do such a thing. Not even a dragon."

My stomach began to twist into tight, painful knots. No, people may not have heard of such a thing. But I had seen what Enkarthos could do. I had seen him summon life and make plants grow from earth.

I reached out with my consciousness, searching for the ancient dragon in the dark, quiet corners of my mind. Is it true, Enkarthos? Can the Storm Siren control the weather?

“It is called the Storm Siren for a reason, child,” his ancient voice echoed in my head.

I sucked in a sharp, terrified breath.

"Alanah? Are you alright?" Ondina's voice broke the connection, pulling me back to the room.

I opened my eyes, turning my head to look at her. "It isn't just a fairy tale."

She let out a disbelieving chuckle. "I just hope no one gets hurt in the process of chasing after this... monster."

"We are never truly safe. Everything is a risk." My voice was quiet but firm. "And losing people is inevitable… we have lost so many already."

Something twisted deep inside my chest, an uneasy sorrow trying to claw its way up my throat. But I forced it back down. I made myself smile, a fragile but reassuring line. "We will protect each other."

Ondina looked at me, her hardened expression softening just a fraction. "Yes… yes, we will. But Alanah…" She trailed off.

"Hmm?"

Knock. Knock. Knock.

A sharp knock hit the wooden door.

"It’s me," Mikaeus's authoritative voice called from the hallway.

I sat up straight, pushing myself off the mattress. Ondina did the exact same, her posture going rigid. She wiped away any lingering trace of vulnerability from her features in a single blink.

"Never mind," she whispered to me. Then, she raised her voice, "Come in."

The wooden door opened inward. Mikaeus stood in the threshold, his broad frame filling the space. His striking eyes darted between the two of us before settling on me. "I need to borrow Alanah."

I glanced over at Ondina. Her hardened, unreadable mask had returned, at least on the surface. But what was she about to say right before he knocked?

"We were just done talking," Ondina said. She gave me a faint smile and nudged my arm.

I stood up from the mattress. Pausing at the door, I looked back at her over my shoulder.

She mouthed the silent promise, We can talk later.

I nodded, turning to follow him out into the hall. He stopped in front of me, his gaze scanning me up and down in the flickering torchlight.

"I am not injured."

He took a deliberate step closer, invading my space. The scent of lemon and old parchment washed over me.

"Emeric told me everything," Mikaeus said, his voice dropping.

My heart skipped a beat before launching into a panicked pulse against my ribs. I took a step backward. Everything? He wouldn’t tell him what happened under the tree… would he? Heat rushed up my neck and began to burn my cheeks.

Mikaeus tilted his head. "Can we talk in your room?"

"We could just talk here."

He glanced at Ondina's closed door, his jaw setting into a firm line. "I would like a bit more privacy."

"Fine, I understand." I turned and led him down the quiet corridor, pushing open the door to my own room. I stood in the center of the floor, shifting my weight from foot to foot. The bloody light of the red moon poured through the window, deepening the bright crimson of his hair. "What did you want to talk about?"

He took a slow step closer. "Emeric told me about the Storm Siren..."

I shouldn’t have worried. Emeric would never share what happened between us in the dark. The panicked heat faded from my cheeks, and my racing heart began to settle.

"...and how you suspect it has something to do with Whisp Lake," Mikaeus finished. He paused for a moment. "We will leave the day after tomorrow."

"What about the town? You are just going to leave it?"

"This is important, Alanah. It is still my duty. Whatever this monster is that you are hunting, it poses a threat even to the people here. I know I questioned your path before." He took another deliberate step forward, closing the distance between us. "I shouldn’t have. I know this must have something to do with Enkarthos… something you must do. The world is changing."

Does he really understand? I searched his expression. Something is different. My eyes narrowed on his face. "What aren’t you saying?"

"What?"

"Are you hiding something from me?"

"I…" His eyes darted away, unable to hold my gaze. "I have a duty to Luminethra. There is nothing for you to worry about."

I bit down on the inside of my cheek, nodding my head as a familiar, bitter frustration boiled up in my chest. "Right. Only sharing what is convenient... still."

"Why are you both so similar?" Mikaeus dragged a frustrated hand through his hair. "You just won't allow me—"

"To hide the truth again," I finished sharply. "You said you wanted to change."

"I do." His voice cracked. "I… I just want to keep everyone safe… keep you safe."

His eyes grew darker, far more intense in the red light of the room.

"Keeping us in the dark doesn’t keep us safe, Mikaeus. It puts us at risk. We are capable of making our own decisions."

Out in the quiet hallway, footsteps creaked against the stone, stopping right outside my door. Then…silence.

"You are right. I am afraid of losing you," Mikaeus whispered, ignoring the listening shadows in the hall. "I see you, Alanah. I see the way your gaze is changing when you look at him."

"What do—"

"I hate it," he confessed. "And I am terrified that if I admit the truth, you will just disappear into the woods and never appear before me again."

"I am not just going to leave," I said, my voice raising a defensive fraction.

"I have tried to bury it. I have tried to kill it. But I can’t." I took a nervous step backward, but he matched it. "I don’t even know when it started anymore. It has all begun to blur."

His trembling hand reached up. His warm fingers hovered just a breath away from my cheek. My chest seized. I turned my head away, squeezing my eyes shut. He isn’t Emeric. I waited for his hand to make contact, ready to brush him away. Instead, there came only the soft rustle of fabric as his hand fell back to his side, brushing against his trousers. I slowly opened my eyes.

His golden eyes held an aching hurt, yet beneath it all, there was still a flicker of hope. "If I don’t tell you now, maybe I will never be able to tell you. I care for you, Alanah. More than I should."

"Mikaeus… I—" My heart began to pound in my throat, choking off my words.

Bang.

The door flew open, slamming against the wall. Emeric stood in the threshold. His broad chest heaved erratically, and his eyes were locked—burning with a thinly veiled fury—directly on Mikaeus.

"Mira…" Emeric gasped, his voice breathless. "Mira said she needs you."

Mikaeus didn't break eye contact with me. "I will be right there." His vulnerable confession still hung in the moonlight between us. "I am sorry. You don’t need to answer. I just—"

"Mikaeus." Emeric snapped, taking a step forward into the room, his jaw tight. "It’s urgent. She is waiting."

The last sliver of hope drained from Mikaeus's eyes. He gave me a single, heavy nod, turning and walking out the door.

Emeric sidestepped him. His usual composure was gone, replaced by fear—as if he were watching something precious slipping through his fingers, being stolen right out from under him.

"Emeric," Mikaeus's authoritative voice echoed back from the corridor. "You are needed too."

Emeric didn’t move an inch. His boots stayed rooted to the floor as he stared down at me, silently begging for a sign.

"It’s okay," I whispered. I didn’t know why the words spilled from my lips, but looking at his terrified, unguarded expression, I felt it was the only thing he needed to hear in that moment. Some of the frantic, coiled tension instantly melted from his broad shoulders. "Find me in the morning."

“I will.”

He turned, making his reluctant way back to the doorway. As he pulled the door shut, his burning gaze never left mine until the wood clicked into place.

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