CHAPTER FOUR: SHADOWS IN HER SLEEP
808 Words
The lantern in the room had burned very low so the room could be barely seen. Raine lay in the unfamiliar bed, facing the ceiling. Though the bed sheet smelled clean and nice, but it still didn't feel like a place she could rest and call home. It's a bigger space but nothing close to how her home was.
She should be sleeping easily now after the long day, but her mind was divided thinking about her brother, the new people she will be seeing around and even her supposed husband. She turned from side to side, her eyes looking toward the tall windows.
Why can't I sleep? Why does it feel like something is watching me? She began to question herself
She sat up, pressing a hand to her chest.
"Calm down," she said to herself. "You're just nervous. It's a new place. You signed a blood contract with a stranger who treats you like a soldier, not a wife. Who wouldn't feel strange?"
Still, she was still not at peace.
Eventually, her body gave in. Her eyes closed. But sleep did not bring peace.
The dream came fast and sharp.
Raine found herself standing in the middle of a thick forest. The trees were very high, their branches also long like they were coming towards her. The wind full of whispers she couldn’t understand.
She was looking dirty and even without shoes. Her gray silk dress looking tattered around her legs.
Where am I? she thought. Is this just a dream?
But it felt too real.
She turned and saw movement among the trees. A shadow stepped forward, tall and wide like a wolf. Raine stepped back shaking and afraid.
"Who are you?" she shouted but her voice was too thin to be heard and because of the heavy wind.
Behind her, another shape moved then another. Soon, she was rounded by scary creatures with big eyes, surrounding like she is a prey to be feed on.
"You're not real, you are different" she said with a shaking voice.
The biggest one came closer. Its fur rippled like ink. Its mouth opened, but the voice that came was not its own.
"The moon has chosen... but it watches in silence."
Raine frowned. "Chosen who? What does that mean?"
"The blood remembers. The flame waits. Will you run... or will you rise?"
She stumbled backward. "Wait! Flame? What flame? Why me?"
"Because you were born under blood and bone. The vow is deeper than ink. The price... is not paid yet."
The shadows crept in closer.
"Stop! Just tell me what are you? What do you want from me?"
"You must awaken, Raine. Before he does. Or all will burn."
The largest shadow lunged.
She screamed.
She woke up but the light was off, she was soaked with her sweat like someone who just fought a lion as she was breathing very fast.
It was just a dream. Just a dream. But... it felt like more.
There was a sound a creak and more. She looked up the door to her room was slightly opened.
Had it been that way before?
She got off the bed and moved toward the door, pulling her robe closer herself. She looked into the hallway but it was empty everyone seemed to be sleeping.
The lights on the wall burning very low. Something in the air felt... different. Like someone had been standing there just moments ago.
A sudden voice startled her.
"Can't sleep either?"
Raine jumped. Kael stood in the shadows leaning against the wall. His eyes shining under the flickering light.
She swallowed. "No. I... had a dream."
He stepped closer, arms crossed. "A vision?"
She blinked. "What?"
"Some dreams aren’t dreams at all in this house. The walls remember. The land listens."
She wrapped her arms around herself. "It was a forest. Wolves. Shadows. They spoke in riddles. They said I carry blood. That something’s coming."
Kael's expression tightened, unreadable. "Go back to your room. Don’t follow the voices. Not yet."
"You know what it means, don’t you?"
"It means the vow is already working. And you may be more tied to this place than you realize."
She frowned. "You speak in riddles too. Just like them."
Kael’s voice dropped. "Because some truths hurt more than lies. Now sleep. While you still can."
He turned and disappeared into the dark hallway.
Raine stood there, heart pounding. She looked back at her room, then at the long shadows.
I’m not imagining this. Something is waking up. And maybe... it’s not just me.
She went back to her bed, but she couldn't sleep at all she was just lost in her thoughts the growl, the riddle, the flame and Kael’s warning echoing in her mind.
Before he does who is "he"? The shadows had answers. But they also had teeth.
- Writer
