Chapter 93 Never leave you
~ Lyra's POV ~
I found myself standing in the forest, and fear crept over me all at once because I had no idea how I got there or what purpose had brought me to that place. The thought alone was enough to make my chest tighten.
The air was freezing cold, biting into my skin with ruthless insistence, and I rubbed my arms repeatedly in a futile attempt to lessen the sting of the chilling wind brushing against me.
When I lifted my gaze, my breath caught in my throat. A stormy black cloud hovered above the towering trees, swirling violently like a living thing with a mind of its own. It moved in a slow, deliberate whirl directly over the forest canopy. It looked as though rain was imminent, yet something about it felt deeply wrong. I knew, without any explanation, that the cloud was unnatural.
At that moment, a sound drifted through the trees from somewhere in the distance. The noise tugged at me insistently, and no matter how much fear clawed at my insides, I could not resist it.
My feet moved on their own, carrying me toward the source. I emerged into a clearing, and the sight before me shocked me to my very bones.
Dead bodies lay scattered across the ground, strewn carelessly as though their lives had meant nothing at all. They were people I did not recognize, and I did not even get the chance to wonder who they were or how they had died, because the sound that had drawn me there reached my ears again, much louder and far more urgent.
It sounded like labored breathing and the unmistakable noise of someone struggling. Someone was in trouble. Panic surged through me, and I quickened my pace, desperate to reach them before it became too late. I pushed through sharp bushes and thorny branches that scraped against my skin, ignoring the pain as I rushed forward. When I finally reached another clearing, my heart seemed to stop beating altogether.
Kael was there.
He was on his knees, collapsed against the forest floor, his head bowed low. His posture was bent forward, as though his strength was draining away with every passing second. One hand clutched his side tightly, and even before my eyes registered the dark stain spreading across his clothes, my nose caught the unmistakable scent of blood. Without a single moment of hesitation, I rushed to him and dropped to my knees in front of him.
“Kael,” I called his name, my voice trembling. He did not respond, even though I was so close I could feel his uneven breaths. Fear spiked sharply, and I tried again. “Kael, look at me,” I said, reaching for his jaw and gently lifting his face so I could see his eyes.
“Lyra,” he murmured at last, recognition flickering weakly across his face. “You are here.”
“Yes, I’m here,” I said quickly, forcing steadiness into my voice even as my heart pounded violently. His breathing grew rougher, each breath more shallow than the last. “I’m with you now. How did you end up here. Who did this to you,” I asked desperately, but all I received in response was a strained groan.
Then his expression tightened into a frown. “You are not supposed to be here. Leave now. Run, Lyra,” he said, pushing weakly at my shoulder.
“No,” I said firmly, shaking my head. “I am not leaving you. I am not running away. Tell me who did this, and I will make sure they pay.”
His strength failed him completely, and he collapsed forward. I caught him just in time and pressed my hand against his wound, applying as much pressure as I could as his body grew heavier against mine. He felt weaker with every passing second, and panic threatened to overwhelm me.
Confusion tore through my thoughts. I needed to take him to Kaitlyn, because my healing power was not working, but I could not carry him on my own. I needed help. Desperation forced me to look around the forest, and that was when I noticed them.
Figures cloaked in gray stood all around us, silent and unmoving as they watched. My blood ran cold.
“Who are you,” I demanded, scanning their forms and trying desperately to make out a face beneath their hoods. It was impossible. Their features were distorted, and the distance between us only made it worse. “Reveal yourselves. Why did you do this to him. What do you want,” I screamed, somehow knowing with absolute certainty that they were responsible for what had happened to Kael.
They did not answer me.
“Bring her. She is the one we seek,” one of them finally spoke. His voice echoed unnaturally, rolling through the clearing like distant thunder. The sound alone sent shivers racing down my spine.
“Lyra, please leave here now. Run to safety,” Kael pleaded weakly, his voice barely more than a whisper.
“No,” I said, shaking my head fiercely. “I am not running away again. Not without you. I will not leave you.” My voice broke as memories surged forward. “The last time I ran away, I lost my aunt. I am not losing you too.”
I turned to the advancing figure, anger burning through my fear. “Come on. Come on and face me, you coward,” I shouted. “Stop hiding behind masked faces.” I directed my rage at all of them, even those who remained still. As the one who had been ordered to take me stepped closer, his face began to sharpen into focus. “Come on,” I taunted again. “I dare you.” I needed him to keep coming. I needed to see who he was.
He took one more step toward me, and just when I thought his face would finally be revealed, the ground beneath him and the others began to dissolve. It melted away as though it were nothing more than heated wax, swallowing them whole.
“I will not let you die,” I said urgently, turning back to Kael. “Hold on a little longer. I will go get help.” But the moment the words left my mouth, the ground beneath us also began to give way. Kael fell first, slipping from my grasp.
“No, Kael,” I screamed, reaching for him as I was pulled down as well. I fell onto a hard surface as the world collapsed around me.
I opened my eyes abruptly and realized I was back in my assigned room in Ironfang, sitting upright on my bed. My heart raced violently in my chest, and my eyes were wide as they locked onto the wall ahead of me. It took several seconds to understand that what I had just experienced was nothing more than a nightmare.
Kael rushed into the room within seconds, his face heavy with worry.
“Are you all right,” he asked as he approached me, stopping only when he stood barely an inch from the bed.
“Yes, I am all right,” I said, nodding slowly.
“You were screaming,” he said softly. “Was it a nightmare.”
I nodded again and allowed my body to sink back against the bed as I released a shaky sigh.
“Do you need company,” he asked gently.
“No, thank you. I will be fine,” I replied. “You can go back to your room and continue sleeping.”
He hesitated, as though he wanted to argue, but eventually he nodded. “Very well then. Good night,” he said before turning and leaving the room.
As the door closed behind him, a disturbing ache settled deep in my chest at his absence. This was the same person I had refused to abandon in my dream, the same one I had been willing to fight the world for.
What was wrong with me?