Chapter 10
280 Words
The forest was quiet. Too quiet.
Every step felt heavy.
The air was thick, humming with unseen energy.
“Rafe… why is this place like this?”
“This is a boundary forest,” he said.
“Some call it the Forest of Whispers.
Lunar-Marked can hear echoes of the past here.”
“What do you mean?”
He didn’t answer.
Because suddenly—
Alina heard voices.
Soft.
Layered.
Like memories floating in the air.
“Protect her…”
“She must not awaken…”
“Seal the mark…”
“She is the key…”
Alina stumbled.
The words were familiar.
Too familiar.
“Rafe…” she whispered, gripping her head.
“I’ve heard these voices before.”
“When?”
“In dreams. In flashes. I thought they weren’t real.”
Rafe held her steady.
“That’s because they were real.
They’re echoes of your past life.”
“My past… life?”
“Yes.”
Rafe’s voice softened.
“You think this is the first time we met?”
She froze.
“What are you saying?”
Rafe looked at her painfully.
“This is our third life together, Alina.”
Her knees weakened.
“What… what was I to you before?”
Rafe’s eyes darkened with a mixture of longing and sadness.
“You were my charge.
My responsibility.
And…”
He hesitated.
“…my forbidden love.”
Her breath caught.
“Rafe…”
But before she could speak—
A cold wind sliced through the forest.
Branches bent.
Shadows rippled.
And a voice echoed:
“So this is where you ran.”
Kael stepped out from the trees—
alive, unhooded, eyes burning silver.
- Writer
