My eyes flew back to Georgie. I didn’t know what to do or how to save both of them.
As a gesture of comfort, I placed my hand on the girl’s shoulder, acutely conscious that this superficial contact waspowerless to ease the immense distress she was enduring. She looked up at me with fading strength, her lips moving as though she were about to speak. My breath hitched as I waited for her words, my heart pounding in my chest.
The girl’s mouth opened, a crimson tide erupting, staining the ground beneath her head as it lolled back, eyes locked open. A choked, wet gurgle emerged; a desperate cough fighting the flow. I knelt and the cool, slick blood was a shocking sensation on my hands as I cradled her head against my leg, hoping to ease her ragged breaths.
I caressed her dark short hair, Georgie’s words in the background melting with my trembling words.
“Shh,” I breathed out. “I’m here.”
Death was at her door and with each labored breath, I could only watch as it prepared to escort her soul to the other side.
I took the girl’s hand, placing it on my thigh while I continued to caress her hair. “What’s your name?” My voice broke through the air, accompanied by a faint, almost imperceptible smile.
She deserved to be remembered.
Crimson rivulets coursed down her face, splattering on the ground as her body convulsed. Her eyelids danced as she struggled to form words, a faint rasp escaping her lips.
“A . . . ri.”
“Ari?” I asked, my vision blurring. “Is that short for Arianna?”
The veins on her neck pulsed, thickening. “Y-y-es. Ari-a-a-nn-a.”
Arianna stopped moving, her gaze fixed on something far away. Her breath hitched for the last time, and the color drained from her face, leaving behind a pallid mask of stillness. A single dry leaf, dislodged by a sudden gust of wind, danced in front of her, momentarily obscuring Arianna’s face.
She was dead. She died.
For her, the world had disappeared, leaving only the echo of silence.
For a moment, the place became quiet. It was as if every animal and the forest itself was giving Arianna a moment for her death. Even the wind seemed to hold its breath, waiting.
Arianna. The name was too normal, too human compared to the corpse now lying in front of me, not a single sign of life showing through. Her name was proof that this girl—who died so awfully and spent her last moments with a stranger—once laughed and cried with happiness; had a birthday, a family, had alife.
My throat tightened, though no tears came—yet—but my chest ached in agony under the weight of it. I didn’t even know Arianna an hour ago, and now, I’d carry her name with me forever.
Arianna. The first death I have ever witnessed. The first person I held through dying.
I couldn’t make myself look away. Her lips remained parted as if she had more to say. Perhaps a story that made her laugh in the darkest moments or a final wish.
I brushed away a dark curl from her forehead, her hollow, bright eyes watching me as I did, then my fingers pressed her eyelids down, condemning her to an endless sleep.
Chapter 9
Charisma
Three people are going to die today.
The redhead’s words were a stark warning in my mind, sounding like a mournful bell for every soul about to be lost, and now the bell tolled once for Arianna.
I was on my feet before I could fully take in her death. For Arianna, the man’s premonition had become reality, claiming her life, but I wouldn’t let Georgie share the same fate. I was prepared to put forth my best effort to prevent that from happening.
By the time I got to her, her lips had turned a disturbing shade of purple as she continued to whisper the cursed words, her body still on the ground.
“Get out. Get out.”
“I’m going to get you out,” I stated, the weight of the promise settling in the silence.
The cool air nipped at my exposed skin as I stood there, rooted to the spot. A thousand thoughts and a million fears warred within me. Then, I gently slid a hand under her knees, fingers brushing against the delicate fabric of her clothing. My other hand, trembling slightly, found its place beneath her back, cupping the curve of her spine. My heart pounded a franticrhythm against my ribs, hoping my strength could bear the weight of carrying her.
