Her face lights up, her nose crinkles, and those ocean blue eyes glance at me with nothing but pure love. I don’t care what brought us together; she is all I care about in this passing moment. It’s her and me against the darklings and those who side with them. All of them deserve to die atourhands.
Movement behind her catches my sight, and my eyes leave Jodelle for a second. I crane my neck to peer behind her, and my eyes widen when I see who it is. Then my eyes drop to what she’s holding. My magic falters as I lose my concentration, and a blast of raging shadows cuts through my flesh. I cry out at the intrusion, as the torn fabric instantly colors a deep scarlet, my skin is shredded to pieces, and I can see the white bone protruding through. I stumble and trip, falling on my back, while black clouds of smoke continue their relentless attack on me. I do my best to fight them off, but my eyes are glued to Jodelle. I watch through a haze of dark smog how a blade slices through her delicate skin, separating the flesh between her throat and head. The shadows are not enough to obscure the obscene scenery. Blood begins to pour from the gaping flesh wound as she begins to gurgle, crimson dripping from her lips, as she stares at me in bewilderment, unable to fathom what just happened. Again, the dagger cuts through her skin, making another deep wound to accompany the other. As I lie on the ground, an arm reaching for Jodelle, her eyes lock onto mine as she drops to her knees in slow motion, her blood the ink to write our final chapter, and there is nothing I can do but read it till the end. The sound of her knees finding the solid ground is deafening. The person behind her grabs her now tainted hair, crimson smeared across the blonde strands, and slashes the dagger one more time through the gashes that are already there,severing her windpipe in the process. I am forced to witness Jodelle taking her last breath, unable to protect her from the one person I never thought would hurt me like this—the one I trusted despite everything that had happened.
I let out a muted cry, unable to form any words that capture the heartbreak I experienced in that very moment as love became a wound that will never heal. Her chest, stomach, and entire body are covered in hot blood; small wisps of steam leave her form. Jodelle’s chest barely moves anymore, and the moment she takes her final breath is a memory that engrains itself in my brain as she falls forward. Her beautiful face sinks into the dirt, and with her demise, the world around me fractures. I find my voice, a hymn I am unable to stop.
“JODELLE!!!”
The shadows slowly withdraw, freeing me from their hold as I scramble onto my feet and run toward her lifeless body. I fall to my knees beside her and lift her up. I brush away the mud from her still face, then cradle her tightly in my arms. Tears stream down my cheeks as her name lingers on my lips, while the world turns silent and cruel. Inside, I am screaming loudly, and I don’t stop, even when my throat is raw. I rock her body against mine as I feel the warmth draining from her skin.
An immense pain begins to unfurl from my insides as my heart is torn from its mortal shell. I try to breathe, but I cannot take in any air as if invisible hands are cutting off my air supply. I start to claw at my throat with one hand, taking shallow, forced breaths. While Jodelle’s life unraveled before my eyes, thread by thread, mine is set ablaze with an unbearable intensity of pain that I am unable to survive.
I am unaware of the glances from those around me. No longer possessing the strength to hold onto Jodelle, I drop her as I frantically rake my fingers through my now matted, black hair, my forehead covered in sweat.
“It hurts,” I groan. “It fucking hurts.”
It feels as if my skin is peeling itself from my flesh, agonizingly slow, layer by layer, an ache that refuses to subside. Arms wrap around me and pull me into an embrace; the warmth that seeps into my body offers a small comfort, and I lean into the person. When I look up and see who is holding me, I crawl back, pushing her away. I notice the glint of pain in her gaze at my rejection, but I don’t care.
“Fynn…” she begins.
“NO!” I cry out. “YOU DID THIS! YOU KILLED HER!”
My words echo across the field, an emptiness that’s become my new world, filled with ache and despair, all because of her.Shedid this to me.
No remorse shows in her gray orbs as she stands up, towering over me while I sit defeated next to Jodelle’s dead body.
“It had to be done, Fynn,” she says sternly. “One day, you’ll thank me.”
“You destroyedmeby killing her, Mother! You destroyed our fate!” I lash out. “I can feel my heart being plucked apart; there’s no way I can survive this ordeal.”
My gaze lands on Harlot, her ruined shoulder, that tick of hers that’s healing her, showing no concern for me. Then I see Caria and that other witch. Both stare at me in a way I can’t decipher; their lingering gaze is eerie, and it creeps me out. Faas is nowhere to be found; the coward snuck away from it all, even though this was all his idea. It's his fault that my Jodelle is gone. My body convulses, and I drop to the ground. I curl up like a fetus next to my lover, who’s but a ghost, only her vessel still here. The one person who loved me despite my flaws. My mind clouds, dark desires beginning to spin—a need unfurls in the pit of my stomach, a need to join Jodelle in eternity, our own little forever. My eyes start to dart around, searching for somethingsharp, until they land on the leather sheath that holds the dagger hanging from my mother's belt. I bet Jodelle’s life essence still smears across the blade, staining it crimson.
“He’s going for the dagger!” I hear Caria scream, and my mother easily evades my reaching hand.
“Don’t be foolish, boy,” my mother sneers.
“He doesn’t want to hurt you… He wants to end his life to join Jodelle in the hereafter,” Harlot says in a small voice. “I… experienced something similar when Elijah died… All that can help him now to forfeit that desire is true love…”
“Jodelle was my true love,” I cry at her.
“No, she wasn’t, Fynn! It was all the curse’s doing, none of it was real, she wasn’t your soulmate,” Harlot says.
“What do you know! My own soul died when she breathed her last breath! How can you say it wasn’t real?!”
“Because I went through it myself, you idiot!”
“I hate you! I hate all of you… Jodelle… You can’t leave me…” I whimper.
I cling to Jodelle’s pale, cold form, pulling her into my embrace, and sob as I nuzzle her neck.
Harlot turns to our mother, and she whispers something to her, both glancing my way. Even when I’m down, they still scheme against me, making my life even more miserable. My sister calls for Caria, more hushed voices, words I am unable to hear, let alone follow. All I hear is my own heartbeat thumping loudly as if it tries to break free from the cage that is my ribs. The sound drowns out almost everything else. I succumb to the pain, and I let it consume me. Perhaps I’ll find death in it, along with peace. Our own soul story without a need for oxygen.
I rub the sleep from my eyes, but I still feel groggy as I take in my unfamiliar surroundings. Part of it feels like a dream, surreal, yet it’s also like déjà vu, as if this is not the first time I've woken up in this place. I hoist myself up and sit up straight. A witch’s house, it seems. Large plants decorate windowsills with murky glass, while herbs are lined up on the kitchen counter and tucked between smaller plants. Different-sized vials containing glimmering substances, which I assume are potions, are positioned in a cabinet that hangs crookedly on a wall. Worn Grimoires are scattered around, some stacked, others by themselves. Pieces of paper with words scribbled on them are littering a desk, and on the chair that accompanies it, a stack of dusty books.
The moment I get up, my head starts to throb, and an ache begins to spread in my chest; the hollowness I feel inside eats at me. The pain that squeezes itself around my heart is bearable, a dull sensation as if the muscle is wrapped in rose thorns.
The sound of a door opening catches my attention, and I jerk my head toward it too quickly, dizziness taking over, causing me to drop flat on my back again.
“Fynn?” a familiar voice says.
