POV: Amara
And behind me, in that memory, I was laughing.
The sound echoed in my mind even after the vision faded. Cold. Mocking. Mine.
I gasped, stumbling back from Rahel. He reached for me, but I shoved his hand away.
No. Don't touch me.
Amara, what did you see?
I... I couldn't speak. Couldn't breathe. The memory had felt too real. Too right. Like it wasn't just a glimpse of the past. It was the truth.
I ran.
Through the trees. Past the ruins. My mark blazed like fire across my arm, the shape still shifting, like it couldn't decide what I was.
I didn't stop until I reached the clearing where Mira always waited. She stood there now, tending to herbs, like the world wasn't breaking.
She turned slowly as I approached, her eyes soft. You remembered.
I cursed him, didn't I? My voice cracked. Rahel. I cursed him.
She didn't flinch. Just nodded. But not out of hate, she said gently. Never hate.
I stared at her. Then why?
You did it to save him.
That makes no sense!
You weren't the girl you are now. You were the weapon the gods made
Stop. I held up a shaking hand. Don't tell me I was noble. I saw myself. I laughed.
You laughed because you had to. Because if you didn't, you'd break. You were breaking, Amara.
I backed away, heart pounding. Why didn't you tell me?
Would you have believed me? she asked softly. When you still loved Kael?
I froze. I don't love him.
Mira only gave me a sad smile. Maybe not now. But once… you would've burned the world for him.
The mark on my arm flared again.
POV: Rahel
I didn't chase her. I knew better than to chase someone who needed air, but the ache in my chest wouldn't leave.
I leaned against a broken column in the ruins. Blood and ash stained the stones beneath my boots. Her scent was still here, her panic.
Then I heard the hum. Like a heartbeat. But deeper.
The air shimmered, and I fell… Fell straight into a vision.
Darkness. Red light. And her. Not Amara. Not like now. But divine. Her skin glowing gold, eyes black as storms.
She stood in a circle of fire. And I I was being made.
Bones forming. Blood drawn from rivers. Rage twisted into flesh.
And her hand above my chest, pressing something into me. A seed. A curse. Or maybe… a command.
You will love fiercely, she whispered. And destroy everything you love.
She smiled. Soft. Sad.
I'm sorry.
Then the vision broke.
I collapsed, gasping.
What the hell was that? Elias asked, appearing beside me, scrolls tucked under his arm.
A mistake, I whispered.
Funny. That's what I thought when I read this.
I blinked at him. Read what?
He held up a scroll faded, scorched at the edges.
The original prophecy. Not the version we were told.
My pulse quickened. What does it say?
He opened it, muttering as he traced the lines. It says… the curse wasn't supposed to fall on you.
What?
It was meant for Kael. But someone rewrote it. Twisted it. Reversed it.
I stared at the scroll. Who?
Elias looked up, eyes dark. A goddess. One who envied Amara's power. She changed everything.
POV: Amara
I couldn't feel the earth anymore.
Only the power humming under my skin.
The mark had stopped burning it pulsed now, like a second heartbeat.
Mira had gone silent after I left. I didn't ask where she went. I couldn't stand her eyes.
I wandered toward the ravine edge. The wind was sharp. Distant howls echoed.
Then a low snarl. A white wolf stood between the trees. Wild. Angry. Its eyes fixed on me.
I should've run.
Instead, I stepped forward.
Go, I whispered.
It growled louder, crouching low.
Go! I shouted.
Power surged through me. The air cracked.
The wolf froze. Mid-snarl. Mid-breath.
Then… it choked. Trembled. And collapsed.
Not dead.
Just not breathing.
I gasped. My hands flew to my mouth. No, no, no…
The wolf twitched, eyes wide. Still alive but struggling. The world spun.
I didn't touch it. I didn't mean to.
I just… commanded it.
The power obeyed.
A rustle behind me.
Rahel.
He stared past me to the struggling wolf, then to my hands.
Did you do that?
I I didn't mean to.
Amara. His voice was low. You stopped its breath.
I shook my head, eyes burning. I don't want this power.
Rahel stepped closer, gaze fierce, voice cutting.
Then why does it obey you?
Then why does it obey you?
Rahel's voice was low, almost a growl. His eyes flickered gold not in rage, but something deeper. Recognition. Fear.
I didn't mean to, I whispered, staring at my trembling hands. I just wanted him to stop. I didn't mean
You told his body to give up. And it listened, Mira said quietly, stepping beside me. That's not something any witch, any cursed blood, or even any goddess fragment should be able to do.
Then what does that make me? My voice cracked. A monster?
Rahel took a step toward me, slowly, like I might shatter. Maybe it means… you're more than just chosen. Maybe you're becoming her.
Her? I echoed. You mean the goddess?
She's not a myth, Elias cut in, his voice hoarse. He held out a scroll, ancient and crumbling, covered in ink that shimmered like fire. I found this in the ruins below. It's not the prophecy we were told. It's older. Purer.
I snatched it with shaking fingers, skimming the words that made no sense… until they did.
"The goddess will not return in light, but in blood. She will not be gentle. She will not forget. And the cursed will kneel or fall."
Wait, I said, breath catching. That's what Mira said.
Mira nodded grimly. But the one they teach now is different. They made it softer. Less threatening. Easier to control.
Rahel's face twisted. They rewrote it to hide what you are. What she is. They're scared.
And they should be, Elias muttered. Because if she becomes what the prophecy truly describes… every bloodline witch, wolf, vampire they'll fall.
Is that why Kael came back? I asked, my throat tight. To stop me before I become her?
Or to use you, Mira said, voice sharp. He doesn't want to kill the goddess. He wants to awaken her.
My heart thundered. And I'm the key.
No, Rahel said, stepping forward. You are the lock.
We all stared at him.
I saw it. In the vision. When the goddess made me His voice cracked. She bled to create my rage. And she laughed. Like she knew… like she wanted to lose.
I swallowed. So you were made… to destroy her?
To destroy you, he said, eyes full of sorrow. And now I'm falling for you instead.
The ground trembled beneath us. Distant howls rose in the night.
Elias looked toward the shattered pillars. They've found us.
No, Mira breathed, stepping back. Not just them. Something else.
The shadows warped near the doorway.
Rahel shoved me behind him. Stay back.
But I couldn't look away. A figure emerged, tall, robed in black, with antlers made of bone and eyes like galaxies.
The goddess. Or… me?
The figure raised its hand… and my mark seared in answer.
My knees buckled, and then it spoke, with my voice: Stop pretending you don't remember, Amara. You buried me… but I'm awake now.