SHADOWS IN THE LIGHT
Evelyn’s POV
Morning came slow.
I was still lying in the healer’s bed, blanket pulled to my chest, staring at nothing.
I hadn’t slept. Not really.
Not after what I saw.
Not after the window opened on its own, or that thing stood under the moonlight watching me.
The figure in the garden wasn’t a dream.
I was sure of it.
I kept replaying it in my head. Over and over. The shape. The way the air had changed. The way my body knew it wasn’t human before my mind could catch up.
It wasn’t the trial.
It followed me here.
Whatever it was.
And it wanted something.
I sat up slowly, careful not to pull at the healing wounds under my ribs. The healer had said I was stable—but I still ached. Deep inside. Not just the pain of injuries, but something heavier. Like part of me was still stuck in that gate.
I pulled the blanket tighter around my shoulders and looked at the window again.
Still locked.
The curtains didn’t move this time.
The sky outside was clear now, blue with streaks of soft white clouds.
Peaceful.
But I didn’t feel peaceful.
I felt like I was being watched.
And not just from the garden.
Later That Morning
Sebastian came back after breakfast.
He knocked once, then stepped in like he already knew I was awake.
He looked better than last night—less pale, more steady—but I could still see the tension in his eyes.
“Hey,” he said, setting a bag of food on the table. “They brought real coffee today. I nearly cried.”
I smiled weakly. “That bad, huh?”
He walked over and handed me a warm cup. “You’d be surprised how fast council food loses charm.”
I took the cup, holding it with both hands.
It smelled good. Rich and strong.
He sat beside me, eyes scanning my face.
“You look...”
“Like I’ve been hit by a train?”
“Twice,” he said softly, “and then dragged.”
I laughed, but it hurt, so I stopped.
“I’m okay,” I whispered.
“Liar.”
We sat in silence for a while. The coffee warmed my hands, but not the cold in my chest.
“I need to tell you something,” I said quietly.
Sebastian looked at me.
I hesitated. My heart picked up speed.
I wanted to say it. About the figure. The window. The way the air changed.
But instead—
“I had a nightmare last night.”
He nodded slowly. “From the gate?”
“Yes. Kind of.”
He didn’t ask more. Maybe he could see I wasn’t ready to explain. Or maybe he knew I was leaving something out but didn’t want to push.
That’s what I liked about him.
He didn’t demand every broken piece.
He waited until I handed them over.
One at a time.
Later that day, Reyna came.
She stood at the door, dressed sharp and crisp like always.
“Permission to enter?” she asked.
I nodded, already pulling the blanket tighter.
Reyna walked in, holding a black folder. She looked me over, eyes pausing for a second too long on my face.
“You look better,” she said, flipping open the folder. “The council member are concerned.”
The council member.
Right.
I almost forgot I wasn’t just some patient here. I was still under trial.
Still being watched.
Reyna handed me a paper.
“The final gate will open in two days,” she said. “Until then, you are ordered to rest. No training. No spellwork. No weapons.”
My hand tightened around the paper.
“And if something happens?” I asked.
Reyna raised an eyebrow. “Nothing should.”
“But if it does?”
“Then call for help like anyone else,” she said. “You’ve already survived more than most. Don’t get reckless now.”
I wanted to argue.
I wanted to say something had already happened. That something was out there—and maybe already in here.
But again, I didn’t.
I just nodded and let her leave.
The moment the door closed behind her, I grabbed the paper and tossed it on the floor.
I wasn’t helpless.
And if that thing came back…
I wasn’t waiting to die again.
The halls were quiet after dark.
I couldn’t sleep. Again.
So I slipped out of the bed and padded slowly down the hallway. The healer said I could walk, just not too far. I figured a few turns around the wing wouldn’t kill me.
But I wasn’t walking for fresh air.
I was searching.
Listening.
Waiting to feel it again—that shift in the air. That cold pull that told me I wasn’t alone.
I reached the end of the hallway and leaned against the wall, hand on my chest.
Nothing.
No strange air.
No flickering light.
No shadows.
Just silence.
I stayed there a while before heading back to my room.
But when I got to the door—
It was open.
I froze.
I had closed it.
I knew I had.
“Hello?” I whispered, stepping inside.
No one answered.
Everything looked the same.
Same blanket. Same chair. Same coffee cup on the table.
But the window?
The window was open again.
Wide this time.
The curtains blew hard in the wind.
A storm was rolling in now—fast and loud.
I moved to shut the window—
And stopped.
Because sitting on the edge of the bed…
Was a white rose.
Not a fresh one.
Wilted.
Like it had been picked days ago.
I stared at it.
Frozen.
Lucas used to bring me white roses.
He said they matched my skin. That they were “pure.”
I hadn’t seen one since—
Since I died.
My chest rose too fast.
I turned, looking out the window.
And I saw it again.
The figure.
Closer this time.
No longer in the garden.
Now standing just outside the courtyard wall.
It didn’t move.
Didn’t speak.
But this time… I saw its eyes.
Not gold. Not human.
Black.
And hollow.
Like something wearing a mask made of shadow.
I slammed the window shut and backed away, nearly tripping over the chair.
I grabbed the rose and threw it in the trash, heart pounding.
This wasn’t from Lucas.
It couldn’t be.
This was something else.
Something playing games.
And it knew too much.
Too much about me.
Too much about my past.
Too much about the life no one else knew I had lived.
I had to tell someone.
I had to tell Sebastian.
But what if he didn’t believe me?
Worse—what if he started asking questions?
About why this was affecting me more than it should.
Why I knew things I shouldn’t.
Why I wasn’t like other wolves.
I dropped into the chair, hands in my hair.
What was I supposed to do?
I had survived two gates.
I had faced my past.
But now?
Now the past was fighting back.
And it didn’t care about rules anymore.