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Lifeless.

Cold.

Her corpse laid in a coffin, her wings tucked in neatly. The others at the funeral wept, Lord Ilu clinging on Avenay’s arm as sobs wracked his body. Carnations perfumed the room with an overwhelming sweetness that drifted on the breeze from the open doors.

A torrent of emotions ran through Avenay, but she pushed them down. There were more pressing things to deal with than useless emotions.

Firstly, being that, “This can’t be real.”

Ilu didn’t listen. The others in the room were too caught up in their grief to notice how absolutely absurd it all was. She frowned, looking about. Where had she been last? Her mind was hazy, but she hadn’t been in Lesern, that was for certain. She had been traveling… In a forest. With Enid and the others.

She whipped her head around, taking in her surroundings. It had to be a dream, yet it felt so real. Ilu’s warm hand on her arm, the feel of the breeze on her face from the window.

But her travel companions were nowhere in sight. She yanked free of Ilu’s grasp, and he gave her a puzzled look. She stumbled back a step and caught herself on the table, slicing her hand on the edge. Hissing, she brought her hand up to examine. Blood bubbled out, then dripped down her arm. A swipe of her finger made it smudge and streak. It was warm and sticky. Copper filled her nose and her stomach tightened.

No, this couldn’t be real.

She glanced back at the casket. Back to her sister.

That looked real, too.

“I know you’re grieving, dear,” Ilu said as her father stepped up beside him, worried. “You haven’t been yourself since she died.”

They stepped toward her, and she stepped back. “You’re trying to convince me that this is real, but I know it’s not.”

“Avenay…” her father said, voice pitying.

Was she crazy? Had she imagined all of it?

She closed her eyes and took in a steadying breath, shutting down all the emotions warring within her. But one persisted. Glinting like gold, tugging tight like a string. The one she had felt with Enid. She pulled on it and the world tilted and shifted. Bright light came from her skin. The sounds of the room died away as a scream echoed across the walls and inside Avenay, filling every space and cavern, permeating into her very heartbeat.

The scream was Enid’s.

She followed the line, unraveling what she could. Enid was terrified. The scream ran along her bones, across sinew, scraping along nerves.

“Enid!” she cried out as her vision went black and she stumbled.

When she opened her eyes, brilliant light surrounded her, coming from within. She pulled it back in and the scene from before was gone. Her sister wasn’t dead, and she hadn’t been at her funeral.

It had to have been an enchantment. How she’d managed to dispel it, she didn’t know. Her hands shook, the weight of that torment trying to come out through her body.

The woods surrounded her again, but there was no sign of the group. The fire from last night left a burnt ring and small signs that they had been there remained, but otherwise, she was alone. She gathered her things, pushing them into the pack and stood. She didn’t know what to do or where to go, but she walked to the path, hoping to find a hint of anyone or anything.

Then she felt it again. The scream. It lit up her body in agony, the terror of it ripping across her so keenly that she must have heard it, yet the forest remained silent.

“Enid!” Her voice echoed in the woods, mingling with the wind through the leaves, caught up and discarded.

She had to find Enid. Dipping inside, she found that line between them, having no time to think over why she could trust it, and followed it. She ran through the forest, stumbling over roots and rocks, crunching limbs and twigs under her swift feet.

Coming to a clearing, she stopped. Enid lay on the ground, writhing against some invisible enemy, her face full of anguish, tears creating streaks down her dirty cheeks.

“Enid!”

But it was no use. Enid couldn’t hear her. She yelled again and again, trying to grasp her shoulders, but each thrash of Enid’s arms kept her at bay.

What could she do to help? What had happened when her vision was dispelled? Her light had been shining. She let it out slowly at first, brightening it bit by bit until the clearing was as bright as staring into the sun.

Finally, Enid stopped thrashing, an arm flying up to cover her eyes, and Avenay let the light fall away. She crouched down, reaching out to wipe Enid’s tears. The demon looked at her in bewilderment and wonder, the anxious lines of her face falling away. Until she seemed to realize she was crying. Then a look of horror came over Enid’s features and she stood hastily.