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Warmth.
It was the first thing I felt as my body stirred. A soft, comforting with wrapped around me.A soft, familiar warmth, the kind that seeped into my skin and made my muscles relax instinctively. It was nothing like the pain I remembered the sharp agony of bones breaking, the unbearable pressure crushing me as I plummeted from the mountaintop. My fingers twitched, brushing against something familiar–sheets.
A bed?
My eyes snapped open, and I sat up abruptly, my heart hammering in my chest.
The room was too familiar.
The moonlit curtains swayed lightly with the morning breeze, the scent of lavender and vanilin–lingering in the air. My bookshelves were lined with novels, my desk was slightly messy with scattered notes and pens, and my nightstand still had the small framed. picture of Mariah and me-
I was in my room.
My room.
home.
Panic gripped me. My mates- Whe
Then, I heard it.
Where were they? The battle–Mother–the Shadow Weaver. Had it all been a dream? A cruel illusion?
I froze.
Get your butt here before your breakfast gets cold!”
That voice-
I knew it.
Mariah.
The name sent a shockwave through my body.
Mariah was dead. I had mourned her. I had felt it.
Then how-?
Her voice rang out again, louder and sharper this time.
“Storm!! Did you hear me?!”
threw off the blankets, my feet hitting the flour before I even registered moving. My heart pounded against my ribs as I stumbled forward, barely able to breathe.I bolted through the hallway, my pulse roaring in my ears.
1 skidded to a stop at the doorway of the kitchen.
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And there she was
Mariah
Standing by the stove, nipping pancakes, humming a song I hadn’t heard in years. She was wearing an oversized T–shirt, her dark hair tied up in a messy bun, tattoos pecking out from beneath her cloves.
She looked just like I remembered her.
She looked alive.
I couldn’t breathe,
Before I could even think, my body moved on its own.
A strangled, choked sound escaped me as I hinged forward.
“Stormi-?!”
I crashed into her, my arms wrapping tightly around her as I buried my face into her shoulder.
We tumbled to the ground, knocking over a chair in the process. The pan clattered onto the floor, pancakes flipping onto the
counter.
Mariah groaned beneath me. “Okay, seriously–are you crazy, kid? What the hell?”
I didn’t let go.
I couldn’t.
1 squeezed my eyes shut, my entire body shaking as I clung to her. She was warm. Solid. Not some ghost. Not a memory.
Mariah sighed, clearly exasperated. “Geez, Stormi, did you forget how to say good morning like a normal person? Or do we tackle people as a greeting now?”
I couldn’t speak.
I felt her shift slightly beneath me, probably trying to get a better look at my face. Then her tone softened.
“Stormi?” she murmured. “What’s wrong?”
1 finally pulled back just enough to see her face.
And the moment I did-
The dam broke.
Tears poured down my face, hot and unstoppable. My breath came in ragged gasps, my chest tightening so hard it physically hurt.
Mariah’s expression changed instantly. The teasing glint in her eyes vanished, replaced by genuine concern.
“Hey–bay,” she whispered, reaching up to cup my face. “What is it? What’s wrong?”
tried to speak, but my throat closed up. I couldn’t get the words ou
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Mariah brushed away my tears, her fingers gentle. “Breathe, okay? t breathe. Tell me what’s going on.”
I sucked in a shaky breath, my hands still gripping her T–shirt like would disappear if I let go.
Finally, I choked out, “I thought you were dead.”
Mariah stilled.
Her brows furrowed, confusion flickering across her face. “What?”
My voice cracked. “You died. 1-1 saw it. I was there. 1- Ancher sub wracked my body. “I lost you.”
Mariah’s expression softened, but there was something else in her gee. Something I couldn’t quite place, her thumb still brushing against my check.
“Don tworey everything will be okay,” she whispered.
1 stiffened
But I knew what I had seen.
I had lived it.
Jadn’t 12
Mariah exhaled and pulled me against her, letting me rest my head on her shoulder as she gently rocked me.
“This reminds me of when you were little,” she murmured after a moment. “You’d have a bad dream, and you’d climb into my bed and cling to me just like this.”
I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to ground myself in
warmth
Was that all it was?
Ab
bad dream?
I wanted to believe it.
Desperately.
But something inside me
felt
wrong.
The battle. The Shadow Weaver. My mates-
It had all felt so real.
-I sniffled, my grip on Mariah tightening. “I don’t understand.”
Mariah pulled back just enough to meet my eyes. “Do you want to talk about it?”
A lump formed in my throat.
1 hesitated.
Then, slowly, 1 nodded.
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Mariah smiled, standing up and pulling me with her. “Come on, let‘ it down. I’ll grab some coffee*
We settled onto the old couch in the living room, and Marials pulled blanket over both of us. I curled into her side, still terrified that if I let go, she would vanish.
She ran her fingers through my hair like she used to when I was a k
“Alright,” she said softly. “Tell me everything.”
I took a shaky breath.
And then-
I told her.
Everything.
The prophecy. The lunar keystone. The Children of the Eclipse. Mother. The battle. The Shadow Weaver.
The fall.
Mariah listened in
n silence, her fingers never stopping their gentle movements through my hair.
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