Chapter 259: Chapter 259

I could barely breathe. My lungs burned, my feet ached, and every step felt like fire shooting up my legs. But I didn’t stop running. I couldn’t. The forest stretched endlessly before me, dark and wild, branches scratching at my arms as if trying to hold me back.

My chest felt tight. My whole body was hot. Too hot. I slowed down, panting heavily, my hands trembling as I grabbed a nearby tree for balance. "What’s wrong with me?" I whispered to myself, gasping. "Why do I feel like I’m burning?"

I looked down at the pendant still tied around my wrist. The place where the cord touched my skin glowed faintly red, and my hand felt like it was on fire. I hissed and tried to untie it, but the knot wouldn’t come loose. My pulse throbbed painfully under it.

I stumbled forward again, dizzy, the forest spinning around me. The wind shifted, carrying a strange, sweet scent, like old herbs and smoke. Then, through the fog and trees, I saw her.

Her hair was long and grey, almost silver, glinting under the dim moonlight. She wore a dark cloak, and her hand clutched a crooked stick as she ambled toward me. Her steps were quiet.

I froze, my heart pounding.

She looked harmless. Weak, even. But something about her presence made the hairs on my arms rise.

Still, she looked so... human. So fragile that for a second, I thought maybe my mind was playing tricks on me. I took a shaky breath and stepped closer. "Are you... lost?" I asked, my voice trembling. "Do you need help?"

The woman stopped walking. Slowly, she lifted her head. Her eyes, light gray, old, and full of something I couldn’t name, met mine. There was no fear in them. Just quiet understanding. Then, she shook her head, the motion gentle but firm. "No, child," she said, her voice calm, almost soothing. "It is you who needs help."

I frowned, my chest tightening. "Me?" I asked, confused.

Her gaze drifted down to my wrist, where the pendant hung. She studied it for a moment, then sighed. "No wonder you are tired," she murmured. "You have used too much of your power."

I blinked rapidly, staring at her like she had just spoken another language. "My what?"

She lifted the old stick she carried and pointed it straight at my hand. I followed her gaze and froze. My skin, where the pendant’s string wrapped around my wrist, was red, almost glowing. The area looked raw and hot, as if it had been burned. Then, I felt it. The pain. It started as a dull throb, then turned into a wave of sharp heat that crawled up my arm.

I gasped and clutched my wrist, staggering a step back. "What’s happening to me?"

The woman didn’t move closer. She only smiled, faintly, like someone who had seen this before. "You have used a power you do not yet understand," she said softly. "It drains you, child. The pendant does not serve one who has not awakened."

My breathing quickened. Awakened? What was she talking about? "How do you know about this?" I demanded, trying to sound brave even though my voice cracked. "Who are you?"

The woman tilted her head, her eyes narrowing slightly, as though she was studying every detail of my face. "You look just like her," she murmured, almost to herself. "The same eyes. The same stubborn fire. And that same hunger for answers."

Her words sent a chill through me. "Who?" I whispered.

She looked up at me again, her expression soft but sad. "Your mother."

I froze. My heart stopped for a second, and then it started beating too fast. "My... mother?" I managed to say, barely above a whisper.

The woman nodded slowly. "Yes. Your mother. Fierce and bright, with a soul too wild for this world. She always wanted to know everything. She asked too many questions. She never stopped searching, not even when it brought her pain."

I felt my throat tighten. "You... you knew her?"

"I did." The woman’s gaze softened. "And now I see her again...in you."

I took a hesitant step forward. "Please," I said, my voice trembling. "Tell me. Who was she? What happened to her? Where is she?"

The woman watched me for a long moment. Then, she smiled a little, but there was sadness in it. "If you wish to know more about her," she said gently, "then follow me." For more chapters visıt noᴠelfire.net

Her words hung in the air, quiet but heavy.

I stared at her, my heart pounding in my chest. "Follow you?"

"Yes," she said, turning slightly toward the deeper part of the forest. "There are things you need to see. Things you must remember. But the truth is not an easy gift, child. Once you know it, you can never unknow it."

I stared at her. The air around us felt different now, heavy, charged. I didn’t know if it was fear or curiosity that held me still. "How do I even know you’re telling the truth?" I demanded. "You could be lying. You could be one of Damon’s people, trying to lure me back!"

She chuckled lightly, her laugh soft but eerie. "Always cautious," she said. "Just like your father."

That made me freeze again. "You... you know my father too?"

But she didn’t answer. She just turned, her cloak swaying lightly as she began to walk deeper into the forest.

"Wait!" I shouted, running after her. "You can’t just say that and walk away!"

Her voice floated back to me, calm and distant. "If you truly wish to know who you are, child, then follow."

I stopped, my heart hammering. Every part of me screamed that I shouldn’t. I’d trusted too many people already, and every time, it ended with pain.

I took a slow breath. "I’ve learned not to trust anyone," I said quietly.

The woman didn’t stop walking. "Then keep running," she said simply. "But you’ll never find peace that way."

I bit my lip hard. My head was pounding. Everything in me wanted to walk away, but something about her voice, the way she said ’my mother’-pulled at me.

No. I can’t. Not yet.

I took a defensive stance, clutching the pendant in my hand. "Tell me who you are!" I shouted, the wind whipping around us.

Something snapped inside me. I darted forward, determined to stop her, to grab her if I had to. My body moved on instinct, my hand glowing faintly as I reached out.

But before I could touch her, a sudden force exploded between us, invisible but powerful. It slammed into me with the strength of a thousand storms.

"Ah!" I screamed as I was thrown backward, crashing hard against the ground. The air rushed out of my lungs. My vision spun.

"What...what did you do?" I gasped, trying to get up, but my limbs felt heavy. The pendant burned hotter, almost searing into my skin.

The woman turned her head slightly, her voice echoing faintly through the haze. "You are not ready, child. The truth would destroy you in this state. And you need to learn that it’s wrong to hurt your people."

My breathing grew shallow. "W-wait... please..."

But the world around me was already fading. My vision blurred, the trees melting into shadows.

The last thing I saw before everything went dark was her face, calm, ancient, and sad.