{ARIA'S POV}
My feet felt like they didn't belong to me anymore.
My entire body screamed in protest with every agonizing step I took. The sole of my feet was torn, raw blisters, blood crusting between my toes. The forest didn't care. It tore at me with brambles and jagged stone, indifferent to how much I bled. I didn't know how long I'd been walking. Hours? Days? Maybe I was already dead, wandering the edges of some godless place.
But when I stumbled into a small moss-covered clearing, my legs buckled before I could stop them. I dropped to my knees. Couldn't even catch myself. The dirt was damp and soft beneath my fingers. I should've stood back up, but I didn't. I couldn't.
Instead, I pulled Mira's locket from under my scorched dress and opened it.
Her face smiled up at me, framed in silver. A piece of her that wasn't been ruined by fire or blood or men with too many knives and not enough souls.
A sob ripped out of me like a wound tearing open all over again. It wasn't quiet. It wasn't soft. It was everything I'd been trying to bury.
Screams, loss, terror, helplessness, rising up like bile in my throat until I curled into myself and sobbed until I couldn't breathe.
I didn't know how long I was like that. Might've been minutes. Might've been an hours.
But I snapped out of my grief when I heard a low growl rumble behind me.
I froze. My head jerked up.
There, just beyond the trees, glowing yellow eyes watched me.
I sucked in a breath. "A wolf," I whispered, barely audible.
It slowly crept forward. I could see it's ribs poking out with each step it took.
It was hungry.
Panic clawed its way up my spine. I scrambled back, looking wildly for anything. Stones, sticks, gods even a miracle, but there was nothing. Nothing but cold dirt and the ache in my limbs.
"No," I whispered, my voice cracking. "Stay back!"
But it didn't stop.
It crouched and then it lunged at me with it's teeth.
The fear surged and with it, something else.
Heat. Light. Power.
It flared through me, crackling across my skin like lightning. My hands sparked.
A pulse exploded from my palms like a hammer of force. It slammed into the wolf and hurled it backwards. It hit a tree with a sickening crunch and fell, limp.
I stared at my hands, my breath coming in short, sharp bursts.
The magic faded as quickly as it came, leaving my skin ice cold and trembling.
I couldn't sit there and wait for the next thing to find me.
I got up and ran.
—
Time blurred. The trees all bled together. Guilt stayed close, closer than my own shadow.
When night fell, the cold cut sharper than the branches. I was so tired so I stopped to rest.
That's when I heard it.
Male voices.
I ducked low, my heart pounding against my ribs.
"Spread out! The witch couldn't have gotten far!"
I dropped to the ground and crawled into a thick brush, pressing myself into the dirt. I covered my mouth with shaking hands.
"You think she's the one who did that to the others?"
"Does it matter? She's a witch. That's reason enough."
Boots crushed the soil nearby.
I squeezed my eyes shut and bit my tongue until I tasted blood.
Silence....
"Nothing here. Let's move on."
Only when their voices faded did I breathe again.
I crawled out slowly and ran as fast as I could without looking back. I ran and ran with until the trees finally thinned and the forest opened into a clearing.
A crooked cottage stood at its center with smoke rising from the chimney.
I should've run. Should've turned and disappeared deeper into the woods but my legs were trembling. My throat hurt. And my stomach was twisting in on itself.
I stepped toward the cabin and when I reached the door I stopped.
"Should I knock?" I thought to myself. "What if this is a trap? Why would a cottage even be in the middle of nowhere?!"
Before I could decide, the door creaked open and I flinched back.
An old woman stood in the doorway, wrapped in black. Her silver-streaked hair shimmered in the dim light. Her amber eyes stared into mine.
"You're not very subtle, child," she said, voice even. "Come inside. You look like you're about to faint."
I hesitated.
"Can I really trust her?" I asked myself.
"Who are you?" I asked, my voice hoarse.
"Someone who doesn't want to see you dead on her doorstep. Inside. Now."
I followed. Mostly because I couldn't stand anymore.
The warmth hit me first, then the smell of herbs and simmering broth. Her home was cramped but tidy. Not a speck of dust in sight.
She handed me a cup.
"Drink."
I eyed her warily. "What is it?"
"Water. With a hint of sage and rosemary. It won't kill you."
I sniffed it. Then while watching her closely, I drank. It hit my throat like rain on dry soil. I drank it down so fast I choked.
She chuckled softly as I coughed. "Slow down, girl. It's okay, take your time."
I wiped my mouth. "Thank you," I muttered.
"No need," she said. "You've been through a lot."
My lip quivered. I hated how quickly the tears came.
"You have no idea…" I whispered.
She sat beside me, placing a hand lightly on my back. "What's your name, child? How old are you?"
"…Aria," I said after a long pause. "I'm eighteen."
She smiled faintly. "Aria. That's a beautiful name. I'm Rhea."
Her eyes flickered with power. I felt it... like a soft ripple in the air.
"You're a witch," I said, voice tight.
"You say that like it's a curse."
"It feels like one," I snapped. "You don't know what I've done."
"I do," she said calmly. "I saw it all. Before it even happened."
My eyes widened with disbelief. "You what?!"
"I'm a clairvoyant witch. I saw you in my dream, I saw what happened to your family. I saw the chaos and destruction you rained down on your village."
I stared at her, anger starting to boil inside me. "Then why?! Why didn't you do anything to stop it?!"
"Because seeing and changing are not the same." Her voice didn't waver. "If I could've saved your sister and your parents… I would have."
Rage flared inside my chest. "So you just stood there and watched it happen?!" I screamed, tears blurring my gaze.
"I'm an old woman. I would've gotten myself killed. The threads of fate are cruel things, Aria. Somethings are just meant to happen, it's destiny. But something… something showed you to me in my dream. It called me out here for a reason."
"Don't talk to me about fate!" I hissed. "Fuck fate! I care that they're dead and I'm not! I care that my sister—" My voice broke. I turned away.
She waited. Didn't try to comfort me. Just let the silence stretch.
Finally, she said, "Your power is raw and untrained, but very strong. There's something ancient inside you. Something that can't be ignored."
"I never asked for any of this."
"None of us do," she said. "But you're not alone, Aria. There's a sanctuary. A place for witches like us. We can help you control what's inside you. We can give you safety. A family."
"A family?" That word cracked something inside of me and I immediately shot up from my seat.
"Don't," I warned. My voice shook. "Don't say ever that word. I don't need a new family. I already have one. And I liked them just fine before they were ripped away from me!"
Rhea stood too. "I'm not trying to replace them."
"Then stop acting like you are! I don't even know you and I am NOT going anywhere with you!"
Silence hung between us.
She nodded slowly. "You don't have to trust me, but I won't leave you alone to die out here."
I stared at her for a long time. The concern on he face didn't waver.
"You must be very hungry," she said softly. "How does a bowl of chicken soup sound?"