AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Kaia lays a hand on my arm, and I pause momentarily. The scent of lavender blooms in my nose, and a sense of calm washes over me. But it feels foreign, constricting, like a garment that doesn’t fit quite right, and I shake it off until it and the lavender fade.
“I can’t let you leave,” she says when my feet hit the floor.
“Am I a prisoner?”
“Well, of course you aren’t,” she says, sounding exasperated. “But I—”
“Then you can’t keep me here.”
I fight the urge to bolt. I can’t leave here wearing nothing but a nightgown. Especially when I have no idea where the fuck here is or how to get back to Rhagana. All I know is I don’t want to stay.
There’s something about this place and the way it calls to me, the way there’s a new feeling buzzing under my skin. I don’t know what it is, but I don’t want any part of it.
“Elora, please,” Kaia implores as I wander the perimeter of the room, searching for my clothes. “I don’t know what will happen to you if you leave.”
Her voice is sincere, but the words fill me with dread. Like she’s just as worried as I am that I’m trapped here.
“You said I wasn’t a prisoner.”
She sighs and softens her tone. “You aren’t. But that doesn’t mean it’s safe for you to leave.”
I glance up at the other woman when I see her move out of the corner of my eye. When she passes in front of a torch hanging on the wall, her body…changes. One minute she’s solid, and the next, I can see straight through her to the wardrobe on the other side. A scream tears its way from my throat, and I stumble backward until my back is pressed against the cold stone wall.
“Where am I?” I demand, the breath wheezing in and out of my lungs.
“You’re in the Shadow Realm.”
I drag my gaze away from the woman who’s gone solid again and fix it on Kaia’s face. She looks serious, but she can’t be. Mortals can’t cross into the Shadow Realm.
“That’s not possible. The only way a mortal can enter the Shadow Realm is if…”
My hand flies to my throat, and this time I find myself battling a wave of grief. Of all the ways I might have died, gutted and eaten by an unnatural beast seems like an injustice. Although, since I can’t remember it eating me, it may have been a better way to go than being tortured and killed by Pramis.
I take in the room again. It’s round rather than square, with a large bed to my left, a wardrobe directly in front, and a narrow table to my right. There are sconces on the wall every few feet holding thick torches and candles in a candelabra on the table, but no windows. There’s even art on the walls. Macabre and dark, but art nonetheless.
I’ve heard stories about the Shadow Realm all my life. None of them mentioned crossed-over souls getting their own richly decorated rooms. Truthfully, I thought I’d end up in Síra. I’ve killed too many people to expect to spend eternity anywhere else.
Kaia quickly steps forward and runs a hand down my arm, dropping it when I flinch. “You’re not dead, Elora.”
I shake my head. Nothing makes sense. All of this feels more like a nightmare than reality. “Then how did I get here?”
“That’s what we need to find out. Will you please come back to bed before you freeze?”
I don’t feel cold, but I am a little lightheaded. Too many thoughts swirl around in my head to make sense of it all. Giving Kaia a wide berth, I skirt back to the bed and climb in, yanking the covers around my chin like a shield.
Kaia turns to face me, but doesn’t move any closer. “Your body resisted me when I pulled the power from your system, even though the power wasn’t yours. Do you know why that would be?”
“I didn’t even know such a thing was possible.”
“You see it sometimes in hereditary witches. The power in their blood builds up over centuries and can act as a sort of protector against sickness and injury.”
“Witches.”
A laugh tickles the back of my throat, but I swallow it down. The idea that I could be a witch is more absurd than the notion that I somehow wandered into the forbidden Shadow Realm while still alive.
“Did your family belong to a coven? Larger ones might also have an effect if you’re not a hereditary witch.”
I shake my head. “My aunt was too devoted to the Goddess of Nightmares.” I cast a sideways glance at Kaia. “No offense.”
