Chapter 6:An Unexpected Visitor
841 Words
The fire crackled softly inside the cottage, filling the room with a comforting warmth. Orange flames danced inside the stone fireplace, casting restless shadows across the strange markings carved into the walls. Every now and then the symbols seemed to shimmer beneath the firelight, as though they were alive.
I sat quietly on the edge of the bed, staring at my trembling hands.
Everything I believed about myself had been torn apart within a single night. Every answer I had searched for only led to more questions. Bloodwitches were legends. Creatures spoken of only in old stories meant to frighten children. They weren't supposed to exist.
Yet here I was.
The very thing I had always believed was nothing more than a fairy tale.
Across the room, Zain stood silently beside the fireplace, his broad shoulders stiff as he watched the flames. His face revealed nothing, but something about the way he stood told me his mind was far away. Ever since revealing the truth, he had barely spoken.The silence between us was suffocating.
I wanted answers. I was tired.
He refused to give them.
Just as I opened my mouth to speak, three slow knocks echoed through the cottage.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
Zain's head snapped toward the door.Every muscle in his body tensed.Without hesitation, his hand rested on the sword hanging from his waist.
Another knock came.
The wooden door creaked open before either of us could answer. A gust of icy wind swept through the cottage, making every candle flicker.
Standing in the doorway was a man I never expected to see.
"Jack...?"
The word escaped my lips before I could stop it.
My heart skipped.
How...?
Why was Jack here?
Jack stood calmly at the entrance, his dark cloak fluttering gently behind him. He looked exactly the same as he had back in Evergreen—calm, composed, almost effortless—but there was something different about him now.
His eyes.
He looked worried.
"There you are," he said quietly, releasing a breath I hadn't realized he was holding. "I've been looking everywhere for you."
He took one step toward me. Steel rang through the cottage.
Shing!
Zain's sword flashed from its waist. stopping inches from Jack's chest.
The room fell silent.
Jack lowered his eyes to the blade before looking back at Zain.
A small smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
" Don't you think it's too soon for this?.A smile went across his face.
Zain's expression didn't change.
"Leave."
Jack sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose.
"I didn't come here to for you"
Zain stretched his sword further.
For the first time since entering the cottage, Jack's calm smile disappeared completely.
"I felt it."
The room became still. Zain said nothing.
"You felt it too," Jack continued quietly. "Didn't you?"
Silence.
"The shadows are moving."
My stomach tightened.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
Jack looked at me.
"They're gathering."
A chill ran through my body.
"There has never been this many at once,it's been centuries since shadows ever appeared.
I looked at Zain. Centuries? How old are these people?
His face remained unreadable, but his grip around the sword tightened.
Jack continued.
"I followed your trail."
His eyes swept around the cottage before settling on me.
"And it led me here."
I frowned.
"They're hunting.”
“The shadows?”
The fire suddenly crackled louder.
"Hunting... who?" I whispered.
Neither of them answered immediately.Then Jack looked directly into my eyes.
"You."
My breath caught.
"But why?"
Jack glanced at Zain before answering.
"I was hoping he'd already told you."
"I told her enough," Zain said coldly.
Jack frowned
"No... you haven't."
He took another careful step forward. Zain withdrew his sword.
"The realm is falling into chaos."
My brows furrowed.
"What realm?"
Jack froze for a brief second, realizing what he had just revealed.
"You haven't told her..." he murmured.
Zain didn't answer.
Jack let out a quiet laugh.
"Of course you haven't."
He looked back at me.
"Elsa... I came because you're no longer safe."
His voice became firmer.
"I can protect you,you will have to come with me. You are not safe here.”
"No, you are not taking her anywhere.”
The single word left Zain's mouth like a warning. Jack met his gaze.
"You can't protect her any more, the war has already began,can't you see, The elders summons you”
Zain frowned
“What elders?” I asked
Jack ignored me and turned to Zain.
“You don't want history repeating itself. Do you?”
The air inside the cottage became unbearably heavy.
I looked from one man to the other, my heart pounding.
From all I have noticed,Jack isn't who I think he is, and there was absolutely a connection between them. And what is it about history repeating itself?. Neither of them spoke again.
They simply looked at each other, as though an entire conversation had just passed between them without a single word.
Whatever they were hiding…
It was far worse than I had imagined.
- Writer
