somethings not right 86
760 Words
Chapter 86
Amber POV
Something wasn’t right.
I felt it before I understood it.
Like a chill crawling under my skin… like something watching me from the inside instead of the outside. I stood near the balcony doors, staring out over the kingdom. Everything looked normal. Guards at their posts. Villagers moving through the streets. Smoke rising from chimneys. Peaceful. Too peaceful. My hand pressed against my chest.
“Why does it feel like something’s about to happen…” I whispered.
“Because it is.”
I froze.My breath caught as that voice slid through my mind, smooth, dark… familiar. “No…” I shook my head slightly. “Not now.”
“”You feel it too,”” she purred. The shift. The imbalance.
“Stop,” I muttered, gripping the edge of the balcony railing. “You don’t get to just…talk whenever you want.”
A soft, almost amused laugh echoed in my head. Oh, little one… I’m always here. A sharp pain pulsed behind my eyes, and I sucked in a breath. Then…
“Amber?”
I turned quickly. Ripley stood in the doorway, watching me closely. His expression wasn’t relaxed like usual. His body was tense, like he was already on edge. He felt it too.
“I’m fine,” I said too quickly.
His eyes narrowed. “No, you’re not.”
He stepped closer, his gaze scanning me like he was trying to find something physically wrong. “What is it?” he asked quietly.
I hesitated. How do I explain a voice in my head that feels more real every day? “I just…” I swallowed. “I feel off. Like something bad is coming.” Ripley didn’t brush it off. Didn’t tease. Didn’t question if I was overreacting. That alone made my stomach twist.
“I’ve been feeling it too,” he admitted. That made my chest tighten.
“You have?”
He nodded slowly. “The borders have been… restless. Patrols are reporting small things. Nothing major, but enough to feel wrong.”
My fingers curled slightly.
It begins, Fenrya whispered.
I flinched. Ripley noticed. “Amber,” he said, stepping closer. “Talk to me.”
I looked up at him, really looked at him. My chest ached at the concern in his eyes. “I think…” My voice faltered. “I think she’s getting stronger.”
Silence.,Heavy. Dangerous. Ripley’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t step away. Didn’t look afraid of me. Instead, he reached for my hand. "She doesn’t get you,” he said firmly. “Do you hear me? She doesn’t win.”
My breath hitched. “”He is wrong,”” Fenrya murmured. I am already here.””
A sudden wave of dizziness hit me. My vision blurred, then sharpened. For just a second… Everything looked different.
Darker. Sharper. Alive in a way it shouldn’t be. I pulled my hand from Ripley’s grip, stumbling back.
“Amber…” “I’m fine!” I snapped. Too fast. Too sharp. Not me.
We both froze. My heart pounded. “I… didn’t mean…” I whispered, shaking my head. Ripley didn’t react to the tone. But I saw it.
He noticed. He just wasn’t saying it.
“”Do you feel that? Fenrya whispered, pleased. That slip? That moment? “”You are losing your hold.””
“No…” I breathed. “I’m not losing anything,” I muttered under my breath. Ripley stepped closer again, slower this time. Careful.
Like I might break. Or worse…Like I might not be me at all.
“We need to tell your parents,” he said.
My head snapped up. “No.” The word came out instantly. Too fast.
Too defensive. His eyes narrowed. “Amber…”
“No,” I repeated, softer this time. “Not yet. Please. They’ll panic… they’ll lock everything down… and if this is nothing..”
“It is not nothing,” Fenrya whispered, almost laughing.
I clenched my fists. “I just need time,” I said, forcing my voice to steady. Ripley studied me. Every second stretched longer than the last. Finally… he nodded.
“Okay,” he said. “But you don’t leave my side. Not until we figure this out.”
A small breath of relief escaped me. “Okay.” But even as I said it…
That feeling in my chest only grew stronger. Like something was getting closer. Not just inside me… Outside too. Far beyond the castle walls…,Something was moving. And whatever it was…
- Writer
