Page 47 of Voices in the Stars (The Lost Witch #1)

I wanted to scream as Atlas slammed the door in my face.

Sinking to the ground, I ran my hands across my face before leaning back against the wall.

A dull throbbing took place behind my eyes.

There was little doubt in my mind that our conversation would end well.

I certainly didn’t think it would end with him storming out, though.

Nausea twisted my stomach as another wave of memories flashed through my mind.

They weren’t as clear as before. Purple bed sheets.

Snowflakes floating from the sky through a window.

They hadn’t stopped since Atlas brought me inside.

It took every bit of control I possessed to not show any discomfort in front of him.

It felt like I needed to tell him what I now knew.

Though, I thought he would be happier about it then he was.

Now, the distraction of our conversation was gone, and the memories were coming back faster.

With a groan I stood, keeping a hand pressed against the wall as I stumbled back into the bedroom.

Light from the setting sun shone through the window as I flopped onto the bed.

It was early, but my entire body was weighed down by exhaustion.

The throbbing kicked up until there was a steady pounding throughout my skull.

I grabbed Atlas’ pillow from beside me and slammed it across my face, letting the darkness chase away some of the aches.

Images kept flashing through my mind, each one staying longer than the last. There was a small group of children sitting around me.

Benches had been shoved back against the walls so there was room for us to sit in three separate circles.

Colored circles danced around the wood floor from the light coming through the stained-glass windows.

Women in dark red dresses talked down to us.

Each one looked like at least one of the kids in their group.

I glanced up at the woman talking to us before finding her child sitting across from us.

My father smiled over at me as he walked between the groups.

His attention wasn’t mine for long as he carefully listened to each of the women.

I knew I should’ve been paying attention to what was being said.

It would be important later. Instead, my attention was pulled to the world moving through one of the few clear windows.

A lady ran by with her arms full of books.

One tumbled to the ground. She glanced between it and somewhere off in the distance.

A few words were mumbled past her lips before she kept running.

My gaze followed her until it was caught by someone else running.

This time they charged right up to the window I was staring out of.

A smile broke out as Atlas waved a hand at me before pointing at the door.

I tried to keep ahold of this memory, wanting to see where he was taking me as I ran out of the temple with people yelling behind me. Instead, it quickly faded away to be replaced by another.

I was standing in a forest. Child me was off in the distance without my father.

I flinched as a woman appeared in front of me.

She had fire red hair that was tucked up in a high bun.

When she turned to look at me, her eyes were bright green and glowing.

She flashed a large smile before turning back to the people in front of me.

It hit me then. There wasn’t a single flashback where I was seeing through my own eyes. I was a background character watching what was happening.

“These aren’t actually my memories,” I muttered, a sinking feeling settling in my chest.

“Not quite,” the woman beside me spoke up. “All of these things happened to you. These are just our memories of what happened.”

“You’re a god.” It wasn’t a question. Even if it was, her lack of response was more than enough of an answer. “What happened to my memories? ”

“I’ve never wiped someone’s memories before. I tried my best, but they’re gone.” Pity filled her eyes as she looked down at me.

“Can I get them back somehow?” My voice was quiet as I asked, scared of the answer she would give me.

“Find the man who speaks to the dead. You can help each other,” she answered.

“Help? I thought my memories were gone?” I asked.

It was hopeless as I turned to look at her, only to find myself alone. With a huff, I turned back to where child me was standing.

Leaves rustled throughout the forest. I pulled the blanket wrapped around my shoulders tighter to my body as the wind sent chills down me.

There was a group of people standing next to me.

My real father was talking next to my parents and Josi.

They were arguing and pointing at me. Behind them was Donnaway.

I could see the peaks of the house I grew up in.

My attention was quickly grabbed by the three strangers who were staring at us.

They were wearing dark robes with hoods pulled up.

My eyes squinted as I tried to get a better look at them.

I didn’t need to try for long before the three of them shared a look before marching up to us.

Something was yelled at my father, but I couldn’t make out the words as two of them grabbed my arms, throwing my blanket to the ground.

The last one was directly in front of me.

Her features were fuzzy besides her glowing green eyes and lips that were rapidly moving with her whispers.

All talking stopped as she pressed one hand on my forehead and the other on my chest. Piercing screams ripped from my throat as it felt like an open flame was being seared into my chest. She never stopped whispering even as I begged her to let me go.

To stop what she was doing. Everything was hot.

Sweat poured down my face as my limbs flailed.

The two holding me just tightened their grips.

Then it stopped just as quickly as it began.

I was dropped onto the ground. My hands grabbed at my chest where the new ember smoldered in my chest as I sobbed.

Josi came running up to me. She wrapped me in a tight hug as I heard the woman speak.

“This will help protect her. ”

My Donnaway family pulled me into the house while my father and the woman stood outside.

His head bent, whispering words into the wind.

His brows furrowed as his words got louder until he was shouting them at the town.

There was a shake in his shoulder as the woman placed her hand on his arm, joining his chants.

The world quaked with their words. Leaves rustled as the wind picked up. Any sounds of creatures were drowned out.

My own brows furrowed as I tried to understand what they were doing. It took a moment before my eyes caught it. The slight rainbow shine I had seen outside of Marie’s room was slowly covering Donnaway inside a giant dome.

Within a single blink, the dome finished trapping Donnaway, causing the town to fully vanish. I gasped as I stood, looking at the never-ending expanse of forest.

“It’s done, then?” the woman questioned.

“Yes.” My father nodded. “None of the humans will remember Feycrest. Only myself and my daughter can pass through the barrier.”

The woman’s head snapped over to him, squinting her eyes as she looked over him. “She can’t be able to leave.”

“I refuse to trap her in there with no escape,” my father snapped back. “None of us will be around to help her if something goes wrong. She needs to be able to help herself.”

“You’re a fool that is going to damn the world,” the woman commented, her voice flat like the world ending would have no effect to her.

“Maybe you need to believe in someone besides the other gods,” my father spoke before he turned, walking away from the now hidden town.

Someone was in the room with me. I had fallen asleep with the pillow pressed against my face, which is where it still laid.

Footsteps creaked throughout the room around me.

My body tensed as I stayed laying down. There was a loud noise as whoever it was kicked the boots I had thrown off, scattering them across the room.

It wasn’t until I heard the following masculine curse that I relaxed.

“Atlas?” I questioned, throwing the pillow back onto the bed.

His eyes were wide as he looked at me, hands on the bed like he stopped in the middle of crawling into the bed.

His lips twisted in a half smile before he finished climbing into the bed.

The hands that grabbed me were gentle as I was moved to my side.

An arm wrapped across my waist and pulled until I was pressed against him.

A hum left me as I closed my eyes, fully soaking up Atlas’ warmth.

“My past is a difficult subject for me,” he muttered, his voice soft in my ear.

“I know.” I nodded. “I wish I didn’t tell you.”

“No.” His arm tightened, pulling me closer. “Don’t apologize for telling me the truth. I just wish I had known it sooner. Maybe it would’ve made this easier.”

“No, it wouldn’t have.” I ran my fingers along his arm. “It’s okay to be upset about it.”

“Not toward you. None of this is your fault, just like it wasn’t mine. We were children; there was nothing we could have done about any of this. Forgive me,” he whispered before kissing along my shoulder.

“We’ll make him pay for what he did,” I said instead, feeling the anger spark in my chest. Atlas lost his mother that day, and I lost my father because of that day. If I wasn’t ready to strike back against Eris before, I was more than ready to now.