The Enchanted Five

Book 1 Chapter 21

Ari slept, but it wasn’t peaceful. The cave was cold, the stone hard beneath her, and her body exhausted from fear and running. But the moment her eyes closed, the darkness around her shifted, warmed, and a soft voice whispered her name.

“Aribella.” Ari’s breath caught. She knew that voice.

“Mom?”

Light bloomed around her, soft and golden, and suddenly she was standing in a field she’d never seen before, rolling green hills, ancient stones, and a sky streaked with violet dusk. Maeve stood beside her. Not sick, tired, or fading. Whole and Radiant.

Ari’s throat tightened. “This… this isn’t real.”

Maeve smiled gently. “It’s real enough. A memory. A truth you need to see.” The wind shifted, and the world changed. Ari found herself standing in the past.

The castle looked the same but younger, brighter, alive with magic. The Warriors trained in the yard. Lanterns glowed along the walls. And at the center of it all stood a woman Ari recognized from portraits:

Eilidh. Beautiful. Fierce. Laughing as she sparred with a tall, broad‑shouldered man whose presence Ari felt before she understood. Bram. Younger. Wilder. Eyes full of light, she had never seen in him. Ari’s chest tightened painfully. Maeve touched her arm. “This is before the curse.”

The scene shifted. Morgana appeared, dark hair whipping in the wind, eyes burning with something ancient and hungry. She stood before the ward stones, chanting words Ari didn’t understand but felt in her bones. The ground trembled. The sky darkened. Maeve’s voice was soft. “She wanted power. She wanted control. And she wanted the bond the gods had given to Eilidh.” Ari watched helplessly as Morgana raised her hands and unleashed a wave of magic that cracked the earth. Eilidh screamed. Bram ran to her, too late. The blast struck Eilidh full force, throwing her back. Bram caught her, falling to his knees, cradling her as the light faded from her eyes. Ari felt the grief like a physical blow. Bram’s roar shook the heavens.

Maeve whispered, “This is the moment everything changed.” The curse rippled outward, twisting the land, poisoning the magic, and binding the prophecy into place. The five daughters. The bloodline. The danger.

Ari trembled. “Why am I seeing this?”

Maeve turned to her, eyes full of sorrow and love. “Because you needed to understand the truth. Bram is not bound to another woman. He is bound to a tragedy. And to the prophecy you now carry.”

Ari swallowed hard. “Mom… what am I supposed to do?”

Maeve cupped her cheek. “Live. Fight. Choose your own path. And trust the bond when it comes.”

The world began to fade. Maeve’s voice softened. “You are not alone, Aribella. You never were.” Ari gasped awake in the cave, heart pounding, the echo of ancient magic still humming in her veins. And for the first time…she understood.

Her heart hammered, breath coming in sharp bursts as the last echoes of the dream clung to her, Eilidh’s scream, Bram’s roar, Morgana’s curse, her mother’s voice whispering Aribella like a lifeline. The cave was still dark, but something had changed. The air hummed. A low, pulsing vibration rolled through the ground beneath her, like the earth itself was waking up. Her pendant glowed faintly against her chest, warm and steady. Then, in the far distance, a flare of magic rippled across the estate. The wards. They lit up like a constellation, one after another, bright enough that she felt them even from the cave. A wave of energy swept through the forest, brushing against her skin like a searching hand. Her mother’s voice echoed faintly in her mind.

He’s coming.

Aribella scrambled to her feet, grabbing her bag. She stepped toward the cave entrance just as something crashed through the underbrush outside, heavy, fast, powerful. Her breath caught. A massive silhouette moved between the trees, too large to be human, too upright to be a full beast. The shape stepped into the faint morning light and...Aribella screamed. Bram, or what was left of him, stood there in a half‑shifted form. Muscles bulged beneath torn clothing, claws extended, eyes glowing gold. His jaw was elongated, teeth sharp, breath steaming in the cold air. He looked like a nightmare. She grabbed the nearest branch and swung it in front of her like a weapon. “Stay back! I swear to God, I will hit you!”

The creature froze. Then it stepped forward, slowly, and the monstrous edges began to melt away. Bones cracked, claws retracted, fur receded. Within seconds, Bram stood before her in his human form, chest heaving, eyes still glowing faintly.

“Ari...” His voice was rough, pained. “It’s me.”

She lowered the branch an inch. “You scared the hell out of me!”

“I know.” He swallowed hard. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to… I couldn’t fully hold the shift. I needed to find you.”

Her anger faltered.

“You… you came for me?”

“The wards lit up,” he said, stepping closer. “They reacted to you. To your fear. To your dream. They led me straight here.”

Aribella’s breath hitched. “You found the clearing where I fought Kellan.”

His jaw tightened. “Aye. And when I saw the tracks… I thought...” His voice broke. “I thought I was too late.”

Something inside her softened. She lowered the branch completely. “We have a lot to talk about,” she whispered.

Bram nodded, eyes never leaving hers. “Aye. We do.” And for the first time since the fight in the field… Neither of them ran.

Aribella stepped closer, the last of her fear fading as she finally noticed the blood on Bram’s arm — thin cuts, some deeper, all fresh.

“Oh my god, you’re hurt,” she breathed.

“It’s nothing,” he said, but the wince betrayed him.

Ari dropped her bag and knelt, pulling out a small tin of salve and a bundle of herbs. “Hold still. Wynter gets into trouble constantly. Mom taught me how to fix just about anything.”

Bram watched her, silent, as her warm hands worked gently over his skin. When she finished, she stood and met his eyes. “Let’s go home.”