5. Adrianna

ADRIANNA

Darkness sweeps around us, my heart racing in my chest as I try to breathe past another hiccup.

I'm scared. So scared, but Daddy's hand wrapped around mine promises me he's right there.

"Come, Addi. Keep a hold of Nora's hand, too. We must hurry," Daddy whispers in a worried voice that I don't really recognize. He's always so calm and collected; this is nothing like him at all.

My dress is heavy, weighing me down, and I can see Nora is struggling too, her little fingers tangled with mine as our father drags us down the darkening corridors. I know every inch of our home. I could walk it with my eyes closed and come out unharmed, which is why my tummy twists with worry when we take the right corridor.

"Daddy," I breathe, the panic evident to my own ears too.

He glances over his shoulder with a sad smile on his face. "It's going to be okay, my love. It's all going to be okay."

Something about my vision is grainy, my eyes struggling as the castle grows darker. I know how many steps to take in the right direction, the issue is, I really don't want to be here.

My father comes to a stop at the hidden doorway that leads to the secret passage. It's my least favorite. I've taken it only once, leaving my parents panicked, but I vowed never to do it again when I reached the other side. It's scary out there.

"Daddy," I murmur again, my bottom lip wobbling with worry as I look up at him.

His free hand rests on the access point while he squeezes my fingers firmly with his other. "Addi, I promise you, everything is going to be okay, but we're no longer safe here, and keeping you and Nora safe is my number one priority. Always."

I stare deep into his eyes, the blue pools brewing with unspoken words, and despite the fear that continues to cling to me like a second skin, I nod. His crown glistens in the darkness, his clothes dirty and stained red. I don't understand what's going on, but I trust him with my whole heart.

Shouts ring out from behind us, echoing through the halls, and Nora cries out in panic.

"Mama!"

I feel my father's hand slip as he releases me to console Nora. "She'll come soon, my love. Soon."

Frowning, I tilt my head at him. He said it the same way he always says things that aren't true. He's been teaching me how to tell a lie. That was one right there. I open my mouth, ready to point it out, when a deathly snarl looms around the corner.

"Quickly, girls, quickly!" he orders, opening the latch and edging us through the passageway.

It's pitch black in here. The uneven floor makes it difficult to take each step as the feeling of cobwebs brushes against my arms. My tummy turns as I bite back a sob. A glimmer from the moonlight peers through the opening at the other end of the passageway, and as much as I fear it, I fear the snarl of the creature just as much.

Holding on tightly to Nora's hand, I stay at the front, leading the way, while my father holds up the rear to make sure no one is following us. Pressing my foot onto the open ledge, I steal my breath as panic tightens in my chest again.

The choppy water laps at the rocks below, beckoning us to take the leap and feel the fall. Nora tugs at my hand, clawing with her free hand at my wrist to release her, but if she thinks my hold is too painful, she has no idea what could happen if she falls.

Keeping to the edge, I take a deep breath, pressing my back against the wall behind us. Nora follows suit, but her fighting against me doesn't stop.

"Daddy," I call out, my words far quieter than I would like, but he manages to hear me over the howling wind. He doesn't respond; he simply signals for me to take the steep slope to my right.

I'm cautious and careful, taking one step at a time. Although I'm probably going too slow for Daddy's liking, he doesn't rush or hurry me. Hope blossoms in my chest as I see the ridge of the meadow at the top of the incline, safety steering us closer.

"Let go of Nora's hand, Addi. Then I will lift her up to you, okay?"

I peer at my father before dropping my gaze to where Nora's hand rests in mine. My gut tells me not to let go, to keep her at my side and protect her at all costs, but despite my protectiveness, there's no way we will get up into the meadow otherwise.

Nora sniffles, her eyes puffy, tired, and full of tears. My nose twitches with a burn that I know means I'm going to cry too, but I can't. Not yet. I have to keep it together for her. Lifting her small hand to my lips, I press a little kiss to her knuckles, and the corner of her mouth tips up. She does the same, as we always do. I take another deep breath and release her hand.

I don't want to waste a single moment, so I turn for the ledge and curl my fingers into the top, using the exposed tree roots to push up as fast as I can. The second I'm perched on the edge of the meadow, relief flooding my body, I turn and outstretch my arms, ready to help Nora.

Daddy does most of the work, lifting her up high, but I still wrap my little arms around her waist and pull tightly. So tightly that we stumble backward in a heap, a giggling pile of mischief as we forget our circumstances for just a moment.

Her big blue eyes shine under the moonlight. She is my sister, my best friend, my everything. If we just lay here like this, then all of the darkness will go away.

As if hearing my thoughts, Daddy appears a moment later, hovering over us with his hands planted on his knees as he glances around the open space. A curse breaks past his lips, and even in the thick of night, with only the moon to guide us, I watch as the color drains from his face. His eyes latch on to mine as he reaches his hands out to cup both of our faces.

"Run, hide, I'll find you," he whispers, a solo tear tracking down his face. "I love you," he adds. Before we can even offer a response, he takes off.

Frowning, I roll in the grass so I can lift to my knees and get a good view of what he's doing, but when my eyes latch on to the glint of my father's crown, horror claims me.

There are wolves, and wolves, and wolves. Every color, every size, and all with their snarls snapping at my father. My father who is charging toward them.

The ground beneath us rumbles as he connects with his magic, and the air around us whips tighter and harsher. Nora moves beside me and I clutch her to my chest. She hasn't had any magic training yet, it's supposed to start in two weeks, so she's going to need me to guide her.

Father said to run and hide; that's what we have to do.

With my arms around Nora, I take tiptoe steps toward the outer tree line, away from the castle. Grunts and howls echo in the distance, but I refuse to look. My focus is protecting Nora, and Daddy's magic is making it almost impossible to move with the wind going crazy around us.

The tree line slowly gets closer, my heart racing in my chest, and just when I'm certain I've completed my task, a snarl rumbles through the night, but this one is much closer than the others. My eyelids fall closed as panic clutches at my chest.

I tilt my head to the left to find a jet-black wolf with storming hazel eyes and deathly white teeth inching closer. He prowls toward us, his intention clear as he licks along his pearly whites and narrows his eyes.

Clutching at my own magic, I whisper into the wind and direct the little bubble of knowledge directly to my sister without concern that the wolf will hear. I don't look at her, and I don't wait for confirmation. We've talked like this many times before; it has to work in this moment, too.

My tummy twists, a sickly burn making its way up my throat, but I fight against it and release Nora's hand. She takes off running, her feet padding along the grass in time with my thudding pulse in my ears. I'm so focused on her escape that I don't react quickly enough when a giant paw comes flying toward me.

A scream threatens my lips, but it's lodged in place as I'm pinned to the ground.

I can't breathe with the weight of the paw against my neck. I can't see with the tears quickly flooding my vision. I can't do anything but lie frozen in shock and fear. The glint of a claw on the wolf's free paw shines under the moon, looming over me, before I feel excruciating pain consume my left ear, then my right. Despite the claws framing my throat, an almighty scream of terror burns from my lips.

It's too much.

It's all just too much.

I'm certain the wolf is going to carve away at me until there's nothing left, but something seems to distract them. He's gone a second later, leaving me to curl into a ball, shielding myself from the high winds and pain consuming every ounce of me. The sobs rack my body, taking everything from me no matter how hard I try to wish it all away.

A scream fills my ears and I frown for a second, certain it's not from my own lips. My heart stops, realization dawning over me as I fight past my own pain in search of the source.

Nora.

Scrambling to my feet, I blink a few times, clearing my vision to find the same wolf who hurt me looming over her, too.

Her legs are…

She screams again, the anguish thick, and despite my need to ease my own sorrows, I push my feet into the ground beneath me, letting my magic whip through my body, but when the time comes to harness it like Daddy always tells me, I don't. I let it consume me, I let it take everything I am to protect my best friend, my sister, my everything.

My body stiffens as the air, earth, water, and fire magic warring inside of me tries to get out. They create a bright light from my palms as it illuminates the sky and stops the awful wails coming from Nora.

As quickly as the bright sky appears, it dissolves into darkness once more. My eyes land on Nora first, finding her cowering alone in the grass. My jaw tightens and my nostrils flare as I turn in search of my father.

There's no wolf in sight.

Not as I take a relieved breath.

Not as Nora's sobs slowly return.

Not as I watch my father's golden crown fall to the ground.

Swaying, I mutter my three favorite words into the wind for Nora. "I love you."

The world shifts beneath my feet and the darkness seeps in.

I jolt awake, my ears burning and my throat tight. I'm not sure if it's from the memory or the fact that I may have been crying out. Sitting up, I lean back against the headboard before wiping a hand down my face. Tears stain my hands and cheeks as my heart continues to hammer in my chest, leaving me breathless.

Pain consumes me as it does every time I have the unfortunate pleasure of reliving that nightmare. It doesn't matter if I gave Raiden a condensed version; the facts aren't his concern. My nightmares still have a way of reminding me, it seems.