Aria*
The blood on my mirror faded.
Mostly.
In the days after Elyra’s ultimatum, the letters darkened from wet crimson to dried rust, then slowly thinned to ghostly stains. If you walked into my room without knowing, you might think it was a trick of the warped glass, old age, nothing more.
I knew better.
Even after the color dulled, I saw the words perfectly whenever I closed my eyes.
REBORN GIRL. CURSED WOLF. COME TO ME BEFORE THE NEXT BLOOD MOON… OR I COME TO YOU.
The map on my desk didn’t help.
It sat there every time I entered the room, a silent dare.
The parchment was stiff under my fingers, edges frayed, the ink of old borders and rivers faded but legible. The little X that marked the witch’s last known cabin looked almost innocent.
I’d traced it so many times that my fing
