chapter 4
1565 Words
Elara didn’t move for a long time.
She sat on the edge of the bed, staring at her hand as the silver light slowly faded, like it had never been there at all. But she had felt it. The warmth. The pulse. The way it responded to her like it was part of her.
Like it had always been part of her.
Her fingers curled into her palm.
“…Not human,” she whispered.
The words felt wrong in her mouth. Unreal. Like something from a story she would have rolled her eyes at just days ago.
Days.
Her chest tightened.
How much time had even passed?
There was no clock. No sound from outside. No indication of anything beyond the strange, glowing room and the door Kaelith had told her not to open.
The door.
Her gaze shifted toward it.
Still.
Silent.
Closed.
“Don’t open it for anyone.”
Her jaw tightened.
“That’s not suspicious at all,” she muttered.
She pushed herself to her feet, pacing slowly across the room. The soft glow followed her movements, the vines along the walls pulsing faintly as she passed.
Watching.
Everything here felt like it was watching.
“Okay,” she said, dragging a hand through her hair. “Think.”
She needed to think.
Panicking wasn’t going to help.
She was in another world—fine. Impossible, but fine. There was magic—clearly. And somehow, she was connected to it.
And Kaelith—
Her thoughts faltered.
There was something about him she couldn’t ignore. Not just the way he carried himself, or the power that seemed to wrap around him like a shadow. It was deeper than that.
Familiar.
Dangerously so.
Like a memory she couldn’t quite reach.
Elara exhaled sharply.
“No,” she said to herself. “Focus.”
She turned toward the window again.
The sky beyond it shimmered softly, filled with unfamiliar constellations that seemed almost alive. When she stepped closer, the light shifted, reacting to her presence.
Her reflection stared back faintly in the glass.
But for a split second—
It didn’t match.
Elara froze.
Her reflection tilted its head just a fraction too slowly.
Her breath caught.
“…Nope,” she whispered, stepping back.
Absolutely not.
She turned away quickly, pressing a hand to her chest as her heart raced.
“Okay. Not dealing with that right now.”
She forced herself to breathe.
In.
Out.
In—
A sound cut through the silence.
Soft.
Precise.
A knock.
Elara went completely still.
Her gaze snapped to the door.
Three slow taps echoed through the room.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
Her pulse spiked.
“No,” she whispered.
Kaelith’s voice echoed in her mind.
Do not open the door for anyone.
The silence returned.
Heavy.
Waiting.
Then—
Another knock.
Softer this time.
Almost… patient.
“Elara.”
Her breath caught.
The voice was gentle.
Familiar.
Her heart twisted painfully.
“…Mom?” she whispered.
The word slipped out before she could stop it.
Impossible.
Her mother was—
Gone.
Had been for years.
Another knock.
“Elara, sweetheart. Open the door.”
Her chest tightened, emotion crashing into her so suddenly it made her dizzy.
It sounded exactly like her.
The same softness. The same warmth.
The same voice that used to call her in from the cold, that used to brush her hair back and tell her everything would be okay.
Her hand lifted slightly.
“No,” she said, though it came out weak.
This wasn’t real.
It couldn’t be.
“You’re tired,” the voice continued softly. “Confused. I know. Just open the door. Let me help you.”
Elara’s throat burned.
Tears pricked at her eyes before she could stop them.
It sounded so real.
Too real.
Her fingers curled into fists.
“No,” she said again, stronger this time. “You’re not real.”
Silence.
Then a soft sigh.
“Still so stubborn,” the voice murmured.
Something in the tone shifted.
Just slightly.
Enough to send a chill down her spine.
Elara took a step back.
“I said no.”
Another pause.
Then—
The knock came again.
Louder.
More insistent.
“Elara.”
The warmth was gone now.
Replaced by something colder.
Something sharper.
“Open the door.”
Her heart pounded.
“No.”
The handle rattled.
Once.
Twice.
Then stilled.
A long, heavy silence followed.
Elara didn’t move.
Didn’t breathe.
Didn’t blink.
And then—
A low, quiet laugh slipped through the door.
Not her mother’s voice.
Not even close.
Something dark curled in her stomach.
“Good,” the voice said softly.
The tone had changed completely now—smooth, amused, dangerous.
“Very good.”
Elara’s pulse thundered in her ears.
“Most would have opened it by now.”
She swallowed hard. “What are you?”
A soft hum.
“Curious, aren’t you?”
“I’m not opening the door.”
“I know.”
A pause.
Then, quieter—
“But you will, eventually.”
Her chest tightened.
“No,” she said firmly.
Another soft laugh.
“We’ll see.”
Silence fell again.
This time, it stayed.
Elara stood there for a long moment, staring at the door, her body tense and ready for something—anything.
But nothing came.
Slowly, carefully, she stepped back.
Her legs felt unsteady as she moved toward the center of the room.
“What the hell was that?” she whispered.
Her voice sounded small.
Too small.
She wrapped her arms around herself, trying to steady her breathing.
This place wasn’t just strange.
It was dangerous.
And Kaelith—
He had known.
Of course he had.
Frustration flared again, mixing with fear.
“He could have explained that part,” she muttered.
A sudden gust of air swept through the room.
Elara startled, spinning toward the source.
The window.
The light beyond it pulsed sharply.
The strange constellations flickered—
Then shifted.
Not slowly.
Not naturally.
But like something had moved behind them.
Watching.
Her breath hitched.
“…Okay,” she whispered. “Definitely not normal.”
The silver light flickered at her fingertips again.
Stronger this time.
Responding.
To what?
To her?
To the thing outside?
Her heart pounded.
“Stop doing that,” she muttered, shaking her hand slightly.
The light didn’t fade.
If anything—
It grew brighter.
A soft hum filled the air.
Low.
Resonating.
The vines along the walls began to glow in response, their light pulsing in time with the rhythm building in her chest.
Elara’s eyes widened.
“What is happening?” she breathed.
The hum deepened.
The air thickened.
And then—
A voice.
Not from the door.
Not from the window.
From everywhere.
Soft.
Whispering.
Ancient.
Finally…
Elara froze.
Her pulse slammed against her ribs.
“…Who said that?”
The light around her flared.
Brighter.
Hotter.
Alive.
You are waking.
The words weren’t spoken.
They were felt.
Inside her mind.
Inside her bones.
“No,” she whispered, backing away. “No, I’m not—”
The light surged.
A sharp, blinding flash filled the room.
Elara gasped, dropping to her knees as energy rushed through her body, overwhelming and unstoppable.
It burned.
Not painfully.
But intensely.
Like something locked deep inside her was breaking free.
Her vision blurred.
Her thoughts scattered.
You were never meant to sleep this long…
The voice echoed again.
Stronger now.
Clearer.
Elara clenched her eyes shut. “Stop—”
The door burst open.
The force of it snapped the energy instantly.
The light vanished.
The hum died.
Silence crashed down.
Elara’s breath came in sharp, uneven gasps as she looked up.
Kaelith stood in the doorway.
His presence filled the room instantly, dark and controlled—but beneath it, something else simmered.
Something furious.
His gaze locked onto her.
“What did you do?” he demanded.
Elara blinked, still disoriented. “I—I didn’t—”
His eyes flicked to the fading glow on her hands.
Then to the window.
Then back to her.
His expression darkened further.
“You made contact.”
It wasn’t a question.
“I don’t know what that means,” she said, pushing herself to her feet. “Something was here—”
“I told you not to open the door.”
“I didn’t!” she snapped. “Something was talking to me—something pretending to be—”
She stopped.
His expression shifted.
Slightly.
“Pretending to be what?” he asked.
Elara swallowed hard.
“…My mother.”
Silence fell.
Heavy.
Dangerous.
Kaelith’s jaw tightened.
“They’re getting closer,” he said quietly.
A chill ran down her spine.
“Who is ‘they’?” she asked.
He didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, he stepped fully into the room, closing the door behind him with a decisive motion.
The lock clicked.
Then his gaze returned to her.
Dark.
Focused.
Unavoidable.
“The things that have been waiting for you to wake up,” he said.
Her heart skipped.
“That’s not comforting.”
“It isn’t meant to be.”
Elara let out a shaky breath.
“Okay,” she said slowly. “Then maybe start explaining before something else tries to trick me into opening a door.”
A pause.
Then, finally—
Kaelith spoke.
“You’ve just told them you’re here.”
- Writer
