As if it could hear my hesitation, the mist trembled. With a taste of ash and metal, every breath I took returned cold. My shadows no longer clung to me; instead, they hovered restlessly, attracted to the figure as though it had always been their master.
"Why me?" My voice cracked too thin, too human."Why do you keep bringing me back here?"
The figure c****d its head, and its veil opened wide for the first time. Though not exactly mine, the face that was exposed was close enough to make my stomach turn. A mouth that curved in a way halfway between a smile and a wound, eyes that resembled hollow moons, and skin that was cracked with faint silver veins.
It said, "Because you are unfinished. Half-claimed by shadows, half-claimed by wolves. It makes sense why you tear at yourself.” It li
