Dark Descent (Darkhaven Saga # 7) - Danielle Rose Page 0,3

to expel them. I choke, my lungs burning from contact with the air, wet and musty.

Despite the harsh changes, I recognize this place. Even as I slumber, safe within the confines of the manor, I am aware that I am dreaming, that I am not truly here—at least, not physically. My mind is alive, my imagination rapid-firing the details of that night that played out so many moons ago.

I watch them from a distance as the sun begins to set, casting shadows, distorting features, turning my once-heroes into villains. I watch myself—a young girl on the verge of a brutal attack. She has no idea her life is soon to change.

I am small and feeble, with a fire burning deep in my soul, a red-hot fury sparked by the desire to appease my elders. I never knew my devotion would be so hard to shake. That girl has no idea it will take countless betrayals and a tsunami of bloodshed to sever her link to the witches.

I don’t know why I am here, why my mind keeps forcing me to relive this particular moment. The night my father was murdered by rogue vampires is seared into my spirit energy, the pain never lessening even though I am no longer that fragile little girl. Still, guilt hovers overhead, overshadowing the darkening sky. It wraps around me, edging me closer to my past and away from the sanctuary of the forest.

I have relived this past memory countless times, and I know every second of every moment. I know exactly how it plays out. Even when I am not in this place, I can still hear my father’s screams, my mother’s wails. I still feel my uncertainty. I may not have witnessed my father’s death, but that little girl was aware of it, of what happened.

I ask myself again, Why am I here? I still have no answer. My mind may be alive, but my lips are mute. The spirits have no intention of guiding me through this vision, so I must see myself through it.

I think about this place, about everything that happened that night. I watch my family, their movements repetitive in my mind, but something is off. I notice the differences, all the little ways that girl no longer resembles the woman I have become. When she smiles, there is a glint in her eyes, a glisten I lost long ago. I can thank my mother for that, for the loss of life that once made me vibrant and happy.

My parents are beside her. They are content as they celebrate life, enjoying what they assume is just one of many more days they have together. They are wrong. Tonight, their lives will be upended courtesy of a single careless mistake. The simple decision to picnic in the forest, venturing deep in the woods, creates a cataclysmic event with long-lasting ripple effects.

I take another step forward, and I am greeted by the tree line. One more step and I will be in the field, where wildflowers are overgrown just enough to hide the blanket and basket.

The wind is shifting now. The clouds roll in, covering the setting sun. The world darkens, and I have to squint to focus on them. I take another step, but they don’t see me. Burdened by the desire to escape, they never even notice how close I have come. But even if they looked up at this exact moment, meeting my gaze, would they see me? This is but a memory.

Quickly, my parents abandon this place, carrying the childlike version of myself toward safety yet finding only danger. I don’t have to follow to know what happens next.

Mother leaves. Father fights the vampires. I never see him again.

I don’t follow them. Instead, I stare at the space where they sat only moments ago, sensing the rush of residual heat in the spots where their bodies rested against the cool, hard earth. It dissipates quickly, unlike this dream.

The amulet at my clavicle electrifies, stinging my skin, urging me forward. So I follow, like I always do. I stomp through the mud, tearing through the overgrown brush along the forest floor.

I reach them easily, and just as I thought, they have no idea I am here. Mother is screaming, and Father is ushering her away. The little girl is crying in her mother’s arms. I meet her eyes, cloudy and muddled by tears, and she blinks them away, never breaking eye contact with me.

I take a deep breath