The last four words struck my heart like a hammer blow. All strength left me.
I could only stare, dumbfounded, at this man who was at once so familiar and so terrifyingly strange.
A pyre was built. The child, still wrapped in his swaddling cloth, was tossed into the flames.
I screamed and lunged for the fire, but a wall of guards blocked my path.
They forced me to the ground. I clawed at the frozen earth, dragging myself forward.
Spon, a winding trail of blood marked my path.”
But felt nothing. My world was consumed by the roaring inferno.
It enveloped my child, and slowly, slowly, it began to die down.
The guards finally released me. I scrambled forward and plunged my hands into the smoldering embers.
The smell of burnt flesh mingled with the scent of my own blood.
“My child… my baby…”
Damien’s face was a mask of horror. He rushed forward and grabbed my hands, his voice a trembling roar
Chapter 2
Damien’s face was a mask of horror. He rushed forward and grabbed my hands, his voice a trembling roar.
“Elara, have you gone mad?!”
