Despite the pain and sadness that continues to radiate through me, I inch closer until I can glance down and see the broken images. The first one that captures my attention is one of me and my sister, our arms wrapped around each other, faces smushed together like always as we beamed with a sense of childlike joy that feels impossible to replicate.
The glass is cracked right down the center and I hate it. I hate the fracture it represents, and I refuse to accept it. Quickly moving to separate them, my hand touches the frame, but before I can fix the issue, my head jolts back and my eyes close as I stand in a tense, tight trance.
A vision consumes my mind, drenched in screams and shouts that echo through the halls, pain thick in the air as a man whimpers on the floor beside me.
Not just any man; it's Odie.
He’s sobbing over my father's lifeless body.
The emotions clog my throat, my heart aching at the sight. His sobs echo those ricocheting in my chest as a creak from the door catches his attention. Odie’s gaze snaps toward the sound, his sobs pausing as his eyes narrow and anger transforms him.
Black smoke pours from every fiber of his being, ready to take action against the man in the hallway.
“Rickard,” he snarls, and my eyes widen in disbelief. “You did this?” he roars, and Rickard shakes his head, slowly lifting his hands in surrender.
“Listen to me, Odie. Listen to me very carefully.” The man gulps, his eyebrows furrowing as he takes in the sight of my lifeless father. “This was not me,” he says, tensely. “I swear it on all that I am,” he promises, swiftly dropping to one knee with his head bowed, a defenseless stance if I've ever seen one.
“Then who?” Odie growls, and Rikard tilts his head up. Their gazes clash. “This is the work of The Sanctum.Youare The Sanctum,” he bites, and Rikard nods.
“I understand that, but their actions are notmine. I am there in hopes of bringing justice to this world so I can save the Forresters.”
“The Forresters are lost to their own son?” Odie interjects, his magic thickening in the air as rage threatens to consume him. “What is this then?”
“This is power hunger, and I need to offer up something right now before they go for the boy.”
“What?”
“We don't have time. I'm trying to tell you, something must happen at this moment. They are on their way to the tower. Someone has told them where the boy goes to hide. If they have him, they have everything. We must protect him.”
“How?” Odie’s face pales as he blinks in disbelief at the man before him.
“I don't know.”
“I hoped to come here and speak to the king, but I see I'm too late. The Sanctum is shattered and broken before it's even begun. All of it is connected to Jude Forrester, someone I bear no will to protect, but I believe it is under some form of his command that the boy be taken. The events of today… this wasn't him, but the boy… this will be his future if we don’t stop it.” He hangs his head in defeat. “We must protect the boy,” he repeats, and my heart aches, knowing they’re talking about me. “I tried to protect the younger Forrester boy, but it's out of my control. I will die here, right now, at your hands, even though I am not the enemy, but you must do whatever it takes to protect him.” His desperation grows more urgent.
“Why do you care?” Odie asks, uncertainty flitting through his eyes as a single tear trickles down Rikard's face, a strangled sob in his throat.
“Meredith.”
Understanding washes over Odie's face at the mention of my mother's sister.
“She's gone too?” Odie confirms, and Rikard nods. “It seems I'm not the only shadow fae with love for another not of our kind,” he states, and Rikard nods again.
“I’m sure a time will come and we can discuss this further, but right now, we must protect the boy.”
“We must offer them something instead,” Odie says, glancing down at my father as he brushes at his damp cheeks. He presses a kiss to his fingertips before placing them on my father's head and rising to his feet.
“What do we offer them?” Rikard asks, and somehow, Odie stands taller as his magic disappears.
“We offer them me.”
I gasp as the vision flutters away, disappearing just as quickly as it arrived, leaving my heart pounding in my chest as my hands tremble and realization washes over me.
I fall to my knees, the blunt force unnoticeable with the pain that takes hold of me.
My father died in this very spot, Odie gave himself up in this very spot for me, and now I feel my world ending in the same place.
Defeat and despair is all consuming until I hear it… a whisper in the wind, and my heart aches in an entirely different way.
