She is not fragile 81
709 Words
Chapter 81
Amber POV
I don’t know how long I stayed on the ground. Time felt… wrong.
Like the world was still trying to recover from what I had become a moment ago. Ripley was still holding me.
His arms tight around me like he was afraid I might disappear if he loosened his grip. I didn’t blame him.
I didn’t even have the strength to sit up properly yet.
My body felt heavy. Not weak. Just… full.
Like something massive had been poured into every part of me.
“Amber,” Ripley whispered. “Talk to me.”
I tried. But before I could. I felt her. Fenrya. Not at the edges of my mind. Not in the background. But centered. Awake. Watching.
And then, she spoke. Not inside my thoughts. Not like before.
But through me. My breath hitched violently.
My eyes snapped open, but it wasn’t fully me looking anymore.
The air around us shifted instantly. Ripley felt it.
I saw it in his face.
Confusion… then alarm.
“Amber?” he said sharply. “Hey, what’s happening?”
My lips parted. But it wasn’t my voice that came out. It was deeper.
Older. Like the earth itself had learned to speak.
“You touch her as if she is fragile.”
The entire battlefield, what was left of it. went silent.
Ripley froze. Slowly, he loosened his hold.
“…Amber?” he said again, more cautious now.
My head tilted slightly. Not my movement. Hers.
“She is not fragile.”
My chest tightened violently. I could feel myself inside, screaming.
That’s my body…stop.. But Fenrya didn’t push me out. She shared it. Like I was standing just behind her eyes. Ripley rose halfway, still crouched beside me.
“Who are you?” he demanded.
A pause. A faint, almost amused energy rolled through me.
“You already know my name.”
Ripley’s jaw tightened. “Fenrya.”
The moment he said it, the air pressed down. The ground cracked slightly beneath us. Not violently. But as a warning.
“Good,” she said.
My fingers twitched. I finally found enough control to whisper internally.
“Fenrya… stop. Please.”
For a moment, silence. And then, softer… only I could feel it.
“You are not ready to carry them alone.”
“I am,” I argued inside.
A pause. Then, No. The word was calm. Absolute. And somehow… not cruel. Fenrya’s presence turned outward again.
Ripley had straightened fully now, stance protective, ready, even though he was clearly aware he was facing something far beyond him.
“I’m not your enemy,” he said carefully.
A slow shift in the air. “You are not her enemy,” Fenrya corrected.
Ripley frowned. “Then what am I?”
A beat. The world seemed to hold its breath.
“You are the one she will either rise with…”
A pause. My heart hammered. “…or break against.”
My stomach dropped. Ripley’s expression hardened. “I won’t break her.”
Something like approval flickered through me.
But it wasn’t enough to soften the weight of the words.
Fenrya’s voice lowered. “Then learn to stand where she stands.”
Silence. The pressure eased slightly. Just enough for me to breathe again. And suddenly, I was back in control.,My gasp broke the quiet.
“Ripley,” I rasped.
He was instantly at my side again. “I’ve got you.”
I swallowed hard, shaking.
“She spoke,” I whispered. “Through me.”
His eyes darkened slightly. “I heard.”
My voice trembled. “That wasn’t… me.”
He cupped my face gently. “It was still you in there.”
I shook my head slightly. “You didn’t feel it.”
A pause. Then softer, “I did,” he admitted.
That made my chest tighten. Because if he felt it… Then it wasn’t just in my head.,It was real.,Ripley leaned his forehead lightly against mine.
“We’ll figure it out,” he said. “Together.”
I closed my eyes.,But deep inside ,Fenrya was still there.
Not gone. Not sleeping. Just… waiting.
I wasn’t sure if I was the one holding her… or if she was the one holding me.
- Writer
