VALENTINE
I sat up, my eyes fixed on Olamide. "I do know you," I said, surprise colouring my voice. "I just thought you were human."
"I am," Olamide replied calmly as she examined our surroundings. "But I inherited a gift from my mother."
"How... how did you stop it?" I asked, my voice barely a whisper.
"Stop what?" She finally spared me a glance.
"The force that was attacking me. It looked like you could see it." I replied, looking at the shrivelled tree she somehow drained of life.
"I couldn't see it. Not exactly. But I did sever its life thread," she explained as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"I... I don't understand."
Olamide's expression softened. "I don't either. But I am learning."
I looked down at my hands, still trembling from the encounter. The ring wa
