Chapter 73 He killed himself?

Chapter 73 He killed himself?
~Elira~

The trees blurred around me as I ran.

My feet barely touched the ground, yet the forest stretched endlessly before me. Wind whipped against my face and the earth trembled beneath every stride, but none of it mattered. I just had to keep moving.

Everything was too loud.

Leaves rustling overhead sounded like thunder. Tiny insects crawling beneath fallen bark grated against my ears. Somewhere far off, water dripped into a stream, and I could hear every single drop. The scent of wet earth, wild flowers and rotting wood flooded my nose all at once until breathing itself became difficult.

I stumbled, clutching my head. The moon hanging above me seemed too bright. The darkness between the trees felt too deep. Even the beating of my own heart sounded deafening.

But I kept running. And then light exploded in front of me and I froze.

A woman screamed. Her cries tore through the woods like blades.

She was bound to a tall wooden altar, thick ropes cutting into her wrists while flames consumed the wood beneath her. Fire licked at her dress and climbed higher as she thrashed against her restraints.

“No!”

The word escaped me before I even understood why. I had never seen her before. I didn’t know her. Yet the sound of her agony broke something inside me.

Then the image vanished and another appeared.

It was blood, lots of it in a bowl. Hands carefully collecting blood inside a sacred vessel carved with strange symbols.

More blood poured into it and someone lifted the bowl towards the moon.

The woman screamed again. I clutched my head and forced myself to run.

“No!”

The images came faster now. First, it was darkness, and then the blood, fire and deafening screams. 

And all of a sudden, someone fell. The body collapsed heavily onto the ground and my breathing stopped.

The face slowly came into view. It was Drex.

“Drex!” Fear seized my chest.

His eyes closed and his body went still.

“No!” The woman’s screams mixed with my own.

The sounds grew louder. Everything became too loud.

“No!” I screamed.

My body jerked violently.

And suddenly, my eyes flew open.

I sat upright with a gasp, my chest heaving so hard that it hurt. Sweat clung to my skin and my hair stuck to my face. Tears rolled freely down my cheeks while my hands trembled uncontrollably.

I looked around wildly. I was in Kael’s chamber.  The curtains swayed gently in the evening breeze.

I was alone.

“Kael…” My voice came out weak.

Almost immediately, the door burst open. “Elira!”

Kael stormed inside and reached me within seconds. “Are you alright?”

I practically threw myself into his arms. My body shook against his as I held onto him like I was afraid he would disappear if I let go.

He embraced me tightly. “The guards heard you scream and came for me.”

I buried my face against his chest. “I thought you’d be here.”

His hand immediately moved to my hair. “I’m sorry. I was in a meeting with the blacksmith.”

I frowned and slowly looked up at him. “The blacksmith?”

His expression darkened. “And Drex collapsed.”

My eyes widened. “What?”

“As soon as he collapsed, a guard came running to tell me you were screaming.”

Fear gripped me again. “Drex?” I asked hurriedly. “Is he alright?”

“He’s alive,” Kael reassured me softly. “Morwen is with him now.”

I stared at him. My breathing became uneven. “I saw him.”

Kael frowned. “What?”

“In my dream.” My voice trembled. “I saw him collapse.”

His eyes narrowed with concern. “What else did you see?”

I sat up slowly. “I don’t understand any of it.”

He sat beside me. “Tell me.”

I swallowed hard.

“I saw myself running through the woods. Everything felt wrong. Too loud and bright. I could hear everything and smell everything and it felt like my head was going to explode.”

I lowered my eyes. “And then I saw a woman.” My voice cracked. “She was burning.”

Kael's expression changed immediately.

“She was tied to some wooden altar and she was screaming.” Tears blurred my vision again. “I don’t know who she is, Kael. I’ve never seen her before, but hearing her scream…” I shook my head. “It felt like I was dying with her.”

He listened quietly.

“Then I saw blood. So much blood being collected into a strange bowl.”

His brows furrowed. “And then?”

“And then I saw Drex collapse.”

Silence fell after that. 

Kael finally nodded. “We cannot dismiss anything right now.”

I looked at him helplessly. “What if I’m losing my mind?”

He shook his head. “No.”

“Then what is happening to me?” I cried. “I see things, I hear things, I kill people and now I dream about things before they happen. I can’t keep doing this!”

He immediately pulled me against him. “Hey.” His voice softened. “We’ll figure this out.”

I sobbed into his shoulder. “It’s exhausting.”

He said nothing.

“All I wanted…” I whispered brokenly. “All I wanted was to be with my mate, raise children and be happy.”

His arms tightened around me. “I know.”

“That’s all I wanted.”

“I know. And I’m sorry,” he whispered. “If I could take this burden away from you and carry it myself, I would.”

That only made me cry harder.

“But before we can fight it, we need to understand it.”

Eventually, I nodded weakly. “I want to see Drex.”

Kael hesitated. “Elira…”

“I need to.”

He sighed. “Alright.”

As soon as I stood up, dizziness hit me and the room spun violently. I staggered backwards, but Kael caught me immediately.

“Easy.”

“I’m fine.” I answered almost immediately. 

“You are not.”

“I need to see him.”

Reluctantly, he helped me out of the room, one arm firmly around my waist.

When we entered Drex’s room, Seer Morwen and one of the physicians were already there.

Drex lay peacefully on the bed, too peacefully that fear gripped my chest.

Morwen bowed. “My King. Your Majesty.”

The physician followed. “His body is healthy,” he said. “Yet he refuses to wake.”

“This is strange,” Morwen muttered while staring at him.

I swallowed. “I saw him in my dream.” Everyone looked at me. “I saw him collapse.”

The physician's eyes widened.

“I also saw a woman being burned alive and blood being collected into a bowl. I don’t know who she was.”

The physician immediately cleared his throat. “I believe my work here is done.” Without waiting for permission, he practically fled.

Morwen watched him leave before turning back to me. “What else did you see?”

“That was all.”

She stared into space.

Kael folded his arms. “Could she be seeing the future?”

Morwen tilted her head. “Or the past.”

I looked at Kael. “The past?”

Morwen nodded slowly. “I need to understand this better.”

Kael spoke up. “The blacksmith said something before I could question him.”

She turned sharply. “What?”

“He said…” Kael paused. “‘It has started.’”

Morwen's eyes widened as she immediately stood. “We need to speak to him.” Without another word, she hurried out.

Kael and I exchanged looks before following her.

“He should still be nearby,” Kael muttered.

We had barely stepped into the hallway when a guard came running towards us. “My King!”

He stopped and bowed. “Your Majesty.”

Kael frowned. “What is it?”

The guard swallowed. “You might want to see this.”

Something about his face made my stomach twist. Kael and I exchanged looks before following him. Morwen followed closely behind.

The walk to the palace gardens felt far too long.

The guard suddenly stopped when we got to the garden. I looked up and my entire body went cold.

A rope hung from one of the trees, and at the end of it… The blacksmith. His lifeless body swayed gently in the breeze.

His eyes were open and his tongue hung slightly from his mouth. For a second, nobody moved.

Kael stared in disbelief. “He killed himself?”

Morwen's face had gone pale.

And I… I couldn't breathe. The world around me blurred.

“No. No. No.” 

My chest tightened.

My breathing became rapid and tears immediately filled my eyes.

Something was terribly wrong. And I could feel it.

“No!!!”