The grounds were strangely empty, no guards at their posts, no servants crossing the lawns. No Seraphina casting her spells.
I stopped as I noticed the light shift. Total silence descended and the trees stilled, the birds silenced, and not even the fountain gurgled. It was as though the volume had been turned downon the world. I scanned the hedges, the windows, the treetops. Nothing moved.
I raised my eyes to the sky and saw the vortex open. A spiralling contrail of light twisted to the ground a few hundred metres ahead of me. I squinted against the brilliance, then caught movement from the corner of my eye. I took a step forward with slow and deliberate steps.
My knees became jelly, so great was my shock. Maybe I was seeing things. Maybe it was another illusion, but it was Donte I saw emerging from the light.
I blinked as if to wake myself from a dream. Too stunned to react, I could only stare at his thick mahogany hair and his warm cocoa eyes. Even his walk was a joy to watch, that distinctive gait a signature I could never forget.
How could it be?
How did he find this place?
The thought that he had somehow broken through filled my heart with joy.
“Donte!” I shouted, rushing through the grounds toward him. He didn’t turn. Didn’t slow. Just kept walking toward the trees, the light curling around him.
It wasn’t like Donte to ignore me.
He moved like Donte. Looked like Donte. But the air around him felt… off.
I slowed, catching my breath. The whispers didn’t stir. That scared me more than if they had.
Was it really him? Or just another illusion? What the hell was going on with my mind? I sure as hell didn’t trust it right now.
I stopped running to let the silence settle.
Feeling eyes on me, I glanced toward the woods and glimpsed faces watching. From where I stood, I couldn’t tell who, and I began to wonder where Cillian was. Fionn had also beennoticeably absent, and for a moment, I felt uncomfortable. Something about the situation didn’t sit quite right with me.
I returned my attention to Donte.
“Donte, wait! Thank God, you found me.”
He looked at me, but the happiness I expected never materialised. Instead, he stared through me with such sadness it stabbed my heart.
“She must know. You need to be the one to tell her.”
Seraphina’s voice came like a whisper across the gardens.
“Know what?”
“Donte! What’s wrong?”
He turned to me, and for a flashing second, I thought I saw relief with a touch of sorrow, I could see it etched into the lines around his eyes.
“I’m so sorry, Tilly,” he said, his voice low.
“It causes me such anguish to be the one to tell you the truth.”
My heart shattered at the sound of his words. I approached. Suddenly I felt something knock me back with such force that I landed winded on the ground. Donte watched me but made no move to assist me.
I rose to my feet and ran to him.
Again, I was thrown back by the invisible force, but this time Imoved forward with extended arms.
When my fingers felt the faintest buzz of energy I stopped. Cautiously, I pressed forward and met a barrier as solid as stone, stretching beyond reach in every direction.
My heart sank as I realised Seraphina’s spell had been successful. Defeated, I stared at Donte standing a few metres beyond the barrier.
