AR

hin straw bed, my body curled in on itself, the taste of salt and bitterness heavy on my tongue from ho

were thin, cracked in places, and carried every sound from outside-muffled laughter of guards, distant cheers still

ore out of me anyway. My heart was screaming. I kept hearing his words-

was to him. What I had

refused to close. It should have been broken after his rejection, but it lingered, torn and fraying, refusi

nto the darkness. "Why

d my eyes, wishing for sleep to take me, to pull m

me different

found myself standing in a place I didn't recognize. A forest stretched endlessly around me, b

radiance that lit every leaf, every stone, every shadow. Its light touched me

Was this a dream?

arl

ame from everywhere and nowhere at once, wrapping around me like silk. I spun in

e moon. Her eyes glowed with liquid silver, her hair spilling down her

ling to my knees. My tears flowed free

ild," she said, her voice carrying warmth that soothed the raw edges of my h

xed on hers. "Why... why did you do this to me?" The question burst from me before I

, not the purpose of tomorrow." She stepped closer, her presence overwhelming, filling me with both fear and co

umiliated me, cast me aside, chosen anot

eeds, it has not died. It will fade with time, but your spirit will not. You are chosen not becaus

wollen skin. "The darkness will not end tonight. You will endure more trials, more betrayals. But thro

hrough me, impossibl

. "I can barely stand. I am hated by everyone, eve

cause pain forges steel, Scarlett.

The forest wavered, the moonlight dimming. The Goddess'

ng toward her. "Don't leave

self. Trust the path I have laid before you. And when you

issolved int

straw bed. My heart pounded violently, sweat clu

the distant chirp of crickets. But the echo of

o me. To me, Scarlett, the en

. Could it be true? Did I truly have more in store for

that had previously engulfed me was no longer abs

her words replaying again and again. Not

hn's betrayal, I felt a sli

pe. No

stre