Rowan
My chest rose slowly, pain burned through my ribs, while my blood ran down my side, warm against my skin.
But I didn't move, not yet, not until the silence broke.
And it did. A sudden whisper, it was soft a bit, but it was everywhere.
"You are alone now…" My head lifted slowly. "I was always alone," I said.
My voice was rough, Low but steady a bit, the darkness around me shifted again, while the spirits returned.
Not just one this time, but three, their forms twisted together, rising from the cracked ground like smoke.
"You failed," one of them said. "You lost everything," another added.
The third one was quiet. I pushed myself up slowly. My body screamed in protest.
But I stood. Even if it cost me everything. "I'm still standing," I said.
The spirits
