Torn Between Destinies-Chapter 42 - Forty Two

The forest was silent. Not quiet—dead.

In the dream, I stood in Silverglen, but it was not the place I knew. The sky hung heavy above me, dark and swirling with storm clouds that bled ash instead of rain. The trees around me were leafless, their twisted limbs blackened as though burned from within. The land moaned. The earth cracked beneath my feet.

I could not breathe.

I turned in every direction and saw only ruin. The cottages were in pieces. The stream had dried into a hollow scar. And where there had once been laughter, firelight, and the scent of wild herbs, there was only silence and smoke.

And blood.

I took a step forward and heard the crunch of bones beneath me.

Then, the voice returned.

It came like wind, like echo, like shadow. Neither male nor female, and yet somehow both.

"You see what was stolen. What they took from me."

I spun around, searching for the speaker. "Who are you? Why are you showing me this?"

"The land remembers, child. The land bleeds because it was cursed."

A figure stepped from the dead trees. Cloaked in gray, a hood covering its face, but I knew it was not mortal. Not anymore.

It raised a hand and the wind howled through the branches. Fire lit in the distance, racing along the forest floor like a predator.

"He was a seer," the voice continued. "A guardian of balance. A wizard before time counted itself. When the first wolves took their form, he blessed them with strength. With dominion. But they betrayed him. They chose power over peace."

The flames crept closer, but I was frozen in place.

"What betrayal?" I asked. "Who betrayed him?"

"Your bloodline."

The words hit me like a strike to the chest.

"No. That can’t be."

The figure moved closer. I still couldn’t see a face, but the weight of its gaze pinned me in place.

"Luciana of Thornridge. Descendant of the first traitors. Carrier of the dual flame. Mother to the second-born."

My breath caught.

"The curse was bound to blood. It sleeps, but it is waking. The child you fear is the key. The second-born shall bear the mark. Only they can walk into the Vale of Ancients and lift what was damned."

I shook my head. "I don’t understand. What is the Vale of Ancients?"

The figure raised its hand again.

And suddenly, I was somewhere else.

Mountains rose like giants. Valleys dipped in shadow. A single path wound between stone pillars carved with forgotten runes. I saw a silver mist, and in the center of it all, a gate of bone and root, pulsing like a heartbeat.

"It is the place where the curse was bound. Where the wizard’s sorrow fed the soil. The Vale lies beyond the edge of memory."

The image vanished. I was back in the ruins of Silverglen. The figure stood in front of me once more.

"Enter the Vale," the voice commanded. "Or all will perish."

Suddenly, I saw them.

Darius, bloodied and broken.

Erya, crying in my arms, but her body fading to ash.

Our wolves, fallen. Our new home, burning.

"Stop!" I cried. "I’ll go! Just tell me where to find it!"

But the figure was already turning to mist.

"Follow the moon to the forgotten lake. There, the path begins."

The earth opened beneath me. I fell, screaming, into blackness.

And then I woke.

---

My body jolted upright, slick with sweat. I was in our den. The fire had gone out. Erya whimpered in her sleep nearby. Darius stirred beside me.

"Luciana?" he mumbled.

I couldn’t speak.

I rose from the furs, wrapped a blanket around me, and stepped outside into the cold night.

The stars burned above, sharp and unforgiving. The trees swayed, whispering secrets. I held my hands to my chest, still shaking.

I knew what I had to do.

Darius joined me moments later. He didn’t speak, just wrapped his arms around me from behind. His warmth helped me breathe again.

"Another dream?" he asked softly.

"Yes."

I leaned back into him.

"I saw the curse. The wizard who cast it. The ruin it will bring. And the place we must go."

He didn’t ask if I was sure. He just held me tighter.

"Tell me everything," he whispered.

And so I did.

When I finished, the first hints of dawn were coloring the horizon.

Darius turned me gently to face him.

"Then we prepare. We find the Vale. And we end this."

I nodded, my heart heavy but sure.

Because now I knew what haunted my dreams.

And I would face it.

Even if it meant walking into the dark alone.

----

I stood at the edge of the river that cut through Silverglen like a silver ribbon. The water rushed past my boots, steady and calm, as if it didn’t carry the weight of the decision pressing on my chest.

The dream had come again. The same chilling whisper, the same images of darkness swallowing the land, of wolves falling one by one. Erya crying. Darius bleeding. And that voice—so old it cracked like dry leaves—telling me what must be done.

"Enter the Vale of Ancients. Train for twenty-one days. Or lose them all."

I wrapped my arms around myself and looked up at the sky. Pale blue, streaked with hints of pink. A peaceful morning. It mocked me.

Behind me, the house buzzed softly. Erya’s tiny giggles echoed through the trees, followed by Darius’s warm laugh. Their sounds were sunlight. But the dream—the prophecy—was a storm cloud waiting to break.

I couldn’t tell him.

Not yet.

Maybe not ever.

If I told Darius, he would never let me go alone. He would argue, fight, maybe even follow me. But the prophecy was clear.

*Go alone.*

The Vale of Ancients wasn’t just a place. It was a test. A place of brutal training, ancient spirits, and trials of the soul. My wolf stirred inside me, uncertain. Even she was scared. But the vision wouldn’t stop. The warnings were growing louder.

I turned back toward the house, forcing my face into a calm expression. I wasn’t ready to tell him. I wasn’t even ready to say it out loud.

"Luciana!" Darius called from the porch, holding Erya in one arm. "You’ve been out here a while."

"Just thinking," I said, joining them with a weak smile.

Erya reached for me. I took her in my arms, breathing in her scent—earthy, new, and full of hope. She had no idea what shadows hovered above us.

"Thinking about what?" he asked.

I hesitated. "Just... the land. Making sure we’re settled. That nothing’s off."

He frowned slightly. "Still worrying about the food going bad?"

I nodded. "Yes. It’s odd."

He stepped closer, eyes gentle. "You don’t have to carry it alone, you know."

*If only you knew what I really carry.*

I kissed Erya’s forehead and passed her back to him. "I know."

But I didn’t tell him.

That night, sleep didn’t come. I tossed, turned, got up, paced. Darius slept beside me, calm and unaware.

Finally, I walked outside. The moon was full and silver, casting shadows that seemed to move on their own.

I whispered to it. "Why me?"

No answer came. Only wind.

The next day, I met Mayla near the lake. She had stayed in the village with her mate but visited often.

"You look tired," she said.

"I haven’t been sleeping well," I replied.

She studied me. "Dreams?"

I froze. "What do you mean?"

"I’ve had them, too," she whispered. "Darkness. Screams. The land crying."

My heart pounded. "Do you think they mean something?"

Mayla nodded. "I think the land is calling to someone. Someone chosen."

I didn’t reply. My chest felt heavy. I wanted to tell her. But even then, I couldn’t.

Not yet.

Later that afternoon, Darius surprised me.

"We should have another child," he said simply.

I dropped the cup I was holding. It shattered on the stone floor.

He rushed to help me clean it up. "I didn’t mean to startle you."

"No, it’s okay," I said quickly, kneeling beside him. "Just... not what I expected."

He looked at me. "I just thought... things are better. And Erya would love a sibling."

I nodded slowly, but inside, I was shaking.

Now was the worst time to grow our family. The dream warned me: if I didn’t go, I would lose them all. That included any future child.

I had to go. But I couldn’t say that.

"Let’s talk about it later," I said, kissing his cheek.

That night, I cried alone in the woods.

Every time I tried to make sense of it all, I hit a wall of fear. What if I went and never came back? What if it was a trap? But what if I stayed... and lost everyone?

My wolf urged me forward. She believed in the prophecy. She believed we could survive it. She whispered that it was our duty.

I made my decision that night.

I would go.

Not now. But soon. Quietly. Alone.

The next day, I began preparing. Gathering small items I might need—herbs, dried meat, flint. I buried them beneath a hollow tree near the river.

Erya found me there once. "What’s that, Mama?"

"Just saving things," I told her. "For later."

She smiled. "You’re always saving things."

*If only you knew what I’m trying to save now.*

Days passed. Darius kept talking about the future. Expanding the house. Teaching Erya how to shift when the time came. I nodded and smiled, but inside, I was slipping further from him.

We made love once that week, and I almost broke down in the middle of it. His touch, his warmth—it all reminded me of what I stood to lose. I almost told him right then. But I bit my tongue.

One morning, I took a walk into the forest alone. I found a circle of stones I had never seen before, moss-covered and warm under my touch. I sat there, closed my eyes, and listened.

Voices.

Soft, ancient.

I heard the same whisper again.

*"Time grows short. The Vale waits."*

I returned home shaking.

That night, I wrote a letter. I didn’t know when I’d give it to Darius. Maybe I never would. But if something happened to me... if I never returned... he deserved to know why I left.

In the letter, I told him everything. The dream. The vision. The prophecy. My choice.

I sealed it and hid it in the bottom of my old cloak, the one I never wore anymore.

The days blurred after that.

I watched Erya play. I laughed with her, brushed her hair, sang to her at night. I held Darius longer when he hugged me. I memorized the lines of his face, the way his hand felt in mine, the sound of his breathing when he slept.

I was saying goodbye in silence.

And no one knew.

One night, I dreamed again.

But this time, the voice was softer.

*"You are the key. You are the flame. Come before the moon wanes."*

That gave me my timeline. I had until the next waning moon. Two weeks.

I started training harder. Running faster, longer. Practicing my shifts, my endurance. Darius noticed.

"You’ve been restless lately," he said one night.

I shrugged. "Just trying to stay strong."

He smiled and kissed me. "You’re always strong."

He didn’t know I was breaking inside.

One day, I found Mayla waiting at my door.

"I had the dream again," she said. "But this time, I saw your face in it."

I froze. "What?"

She nodded. "You were in a place I’ve never seen. Gray skies. Old stones. You were alone."

My chest tightened.

"You’re going somewhere," she whispered. "Aren’t you?"

I looked away. "Please don’t tell anyone."

She stepped back. "I won’t. But be careful, Luciana. Some paths can’t be walked twice."

I nodded, tears in my eyes. "I know."

That night, I lay awake beside Darius, watching the moonlight spill through our window.

Two weeks.

Fourteen days.

I would go. I had no choice. The land needed me. My family needed me. Even if they didn’t know it yet.

I reached over and touched Darius’s face gently. He stirred but didn’t wake.

"I love you," I whispered. "Enough to leave you. Just for a while."

And with that, I closed my eyes, heart heavy with the hidden choice I had made.