CHAPTER 140: VISIONS.

CHAPTER 140: VISIONS.
~Ava’s POV~

Two months.

Two strange, quiet months where everyone acted like the world had settled… except me.

The baby was growing well, strong, steady, never giving me the sharp warning pains anymore. Mira said I glowed. Damon pretended not to stare at my stomach like it offended him and fascinated him at the same time. Eric kept watch around the cabin like some overly alert guard dog.

And me?

I kept seeing flames every time I closed my eyes.

“Are you even listening?” Mira nudged my shoulder gently as she set a bowl of fruit on the table. “You’re drifting again.”

I blinked. “Sorry. Just tired.”

“Again?” Her brows dipped. “Ava, that’s the third time you spaced out this morning.”

I forced a small smile. “Pregnancy fatigue.”

Mira didn’t look convinced. “Or something else?”

I didn’t answer. I couldn’t. The visions were sharper now, so vivid they felt like memories. A battlefield. My voice roared. Blood on the ground. A shadowed figure reaching for me. And the baby… glowing inside me like a star.

“Don’t push yourself,” Mira murmured softly. “You’re doing good, Ava. Really good.”

I nodded because she needed reassurance, not because I believed it.

A knock sounded on the door.

Damon stepped in, brushing snow off his jacket. “Ava. How are you feeling?”

“Fine,” I replied automatically.

He studied me. “You look pale.”

“I’m always pale.”

“You know that’s not what I mean.”

I sighed. “It’s just morning sickness.”

“You’re in your second trimester,” he countered.

“So? Morning sickness can come and go.”

He didn’t argue. Not verbally. His eyes did all the accusing.

Mira cut in quickly, “She needs rest. That’s all.”

Damon exhaled heavily. “Just… tell me if anything feels off. Anything.”

I opened my mouth to reassure him, again, but the moment I blinked, another image flashed through my mind:

I stood in a field of shadows. Wolves, hundreds, kneeling. Blood dripping from my hands. A voice whispering: “You cannot run from this, Ava.”

My breath hitched.

“Ava?” Damon stepped forward.

I shook my head. “Nothing. Just dizzy.”

Mira frowned. “Sit down before you fall.”

I sat. Because honestly, my legs were shaking.

Damon crouched in front of me. “Whatever you’re seeing, you don’t have to hide it.”

“I’m not…”

“You are,” he cut in quietly. “You think I don’t notice when your eyes go blank for a full minute?”

Mira shifted uncomfortably. “Maybe she should tell him.”

I groaned. “Tell him what?”

“That you’re having visions,” she said bluntly.

I shot her a glare. “Mira!”

Damon froze. “Visions?”

I swallowed. “It’s nothing. Just… dreams.”

“Ava.” His voice lowered. “Tell me the truth.”

The pressure in my chest built. I couldn’t keep lying, not when they could clearly see through me.

“It started weeks ago,” I whispered. “At first it was flashes. But now… it’s like… watching the future.”

Damon’s jaw tensed. “What kind of future?”

I hesitated.

Mira placed a hand on my arm. “Just say it. We’re here.”

“A war,” I breathed. “I keep seeing war. Me… leading it. Fighting wolves I don’t know. And shadows everywhere.”

Silence filled the room.

Damon stood slowly, pacing once in frustration. “This is because of the baby.”

Mira stiffened. “Damon…”

“No,” he snapped. “We can’t pretend anymore. Her powers weren’t this intense before.”

“And how is that the baby’s fault?” Mira shot back.

Damon’s expression darkened. “Kieran’s child was never going to be normal.”

My stomach twisted at the sound of his name. “Don’t talk about him like he’s…”

“In a coma?” Damon said flatly. “Ava, he’s gone. You need to accept that.”

I shook my head fiercely. “No. He’s alive. I feel him. I know it.”

Damon’s voice softened. “Feeling something isn’t proof.”

“It is for me,” I whispered.

The room grew still.

Finally, Mira clapped her hands once. “Enough. Arguing won’t help Ava. The visions, do they hurt?”

“No,” I said honestly. “They just… pull me. Like something calling me.”

“Something?” Damon demanded. “Or someone?”

I didn’t answer.

Because another vision slipped in uninvited: A golden light,Kieran’s voice, distant but fierce: “Ava, run.”

My throat tightened.

Damon stepped in front of me again. “If the visions get worse, you need to tell me immediately. Do you understand?”

“I’m not fragile,” I muttered.

“You’re pregnant,” he countered. “That’s enough.”

I rolled my eyes. “I’m not a glass cup.”

“No, but you’re reckless,” he shot back. “And stubborn. And constantly pretending you’re fine even when you’re not.”

Mira sighed. “He’s not wrong.”

“Not helping, Mira,” I muttered.

She grinned. “I know.”

A soft kick fluttered against my ribs.

Damon noticed my expression shift. “Baby?”

I nodded, placing a hand on my stomach.

His gaze softened for a second before he hardened it again. “See? You’re not just you anymore. Be careful.”

“I am.”

“Lie,” he muttered.

I ignored him.

Mira leaned closer. “Ava… about the visions. Is there anything specific? Something we can interpret?”

I hesitated. Then I forced myself to speak.

“I see myself… standing at the center of a battlefield. Everyone is looking at me. Like they’re waiting for something.”

“What something?” Mira asked.

“My command,” I said quietly.

Damon stiffened. “No. Absolutely not.”

“Damon…”

“You are not going to war,” he stated. “I don’t care what your visions show.”

I stared at him. “You can’t stop fate.”

“I can damn well try.”

He walked toward the door.

“Where are you going?” I asked.

“To get Eric. To make sure you don’t leave this cabin until your visions stop.”

I shot up from my chair. “Damon!”

He paused but didn’t look back. “If something is calling you, then something is trying to take you from me. I won’t let it.”

Mira whispered under her breath, “Damon, she’s not your prisoner.”

“She’s under my protection,” he corrected.

The door slammed behind him.

I sank onto the chair again.

Mira leaned against the table. “He’s scared.”

“I know,” I whispered.

“But you’re scared too.”

I closed my eyes. “Mira… what if the visions are real? What if… I’m supposed to fight?”

“You?” she whispered.

I nodded slowly. “I think my baby is trying to show me something. Warn me.”

Mira was quiet for a long moment.

Then she asked very softly:

“Ava… do you want the visions to stop?”

I shook my head.

“No,” I whispered. “I think they’re guiding me.”

A wind brushed across my skin, warm, almost comforting.

Another vision flashed: A crown made of fire. Kieran’s hand reaches for mine. A voice whispering: “Prepare.”

I snapped back with a gasp.

Mira grabbed my hand. “Ava?”

I

met her eyes, breathing hard.

“Mira… something is coming,” I whispered. “Something big. And I think… I think I’m the one who’s supposed to face it.”

Her grip tightened.

“Ava?”

I swallowed.

“I think I’m supposed to lead a war.”