Chapter Fifteen
Back home, everything spun around me before darkness claimed my eyes.
When I opened them, I was underwater. Cold, endless, and silent. My lungs screamed for air as I kicked upward, my arms slicing through the icy depths until my head broke the surface. I gasped, coughing, confused.
There was no ocean, no waves—just a lonely shoreline that bled into a dark, endless forest.
Where am I?
I looked around, trying to make sense of what I was seeing. Maybe this was a dream. To test it, I picked up a sharp stone from the ground and pressed it against my skin. The sting was real. I hissed as a drop of blood formed.
Then I heard it.
"Come, my child."
The voice was smooth, melodic, and hauntingly familiar. It carried warmth that wrapped around my heart, drawing me forward. I knew I shouldn't follow it—but my legs moved anyway, guided by something stronger than fear.
"Come, my child…"
