THE ONLY PRINCE [High Fantasy Quest Adventure w/ Fae Romance]

Chapter Twelve

WHEN I WAKE up, the memories of my nightmares linger like cobwebs in the corners of my mind.

The image of a raven perched on a gnarled branch, its glossy feathers catching the moonlight.

A tall figure cloaked in complete darkness. Glacial light blue eyes that pierce, flecked with gold, like sunlight dancing on the frozen water of a lake.

With a gasp, I sit up, my heart pounding in my chest. I twist my knuckles into my eyes, but the figure's gaze seems to follow me like a shadow. They blaze through my shut eyelids, and I have to force myself to open them, half-expecting to see those glowing light pools of arctic blue staring back at me.

But the room is empty.

The early morning light filtering through the curtains casts a warm radiance over my room, but I cannot shake off the feeling of unease that clings to me like a second skin. I get out of bed, and the air feels colder than usual, as if the darkness from my dream has seeped into reality. My hands bunch up at my sides, longing for something to wrap around myself.

My shoulders seem light somehow, impossibly pulled up by gravity instead of down, like a weight has been removed. Rolling them back does little to adjust the feeling of missing pressure.

I must have fallen asleep in my dress and been carried to bed. The kingfisher blue fabric hangs off my shoulders in disarray, the bottom hem partially shredded and ripped. Goosebumps rise along my arms.

I glance down at the torn fabric, confusion knotting my brow. How had my dress been ripped to shreds like this? I reach out to touch the frayed edges, the threads rough against my fingertips.

What had happened last night?

The last thing I remember was...

Trying to recall the night before sends a dull ache to the back of my head.

A face framed by dark chestnut locks appears before me, distorted and blurred, as if through a rippling pond. And then, a whisper of a touch against my skin, cold and fleeting. Shadows dart at the edge of my vision, mumbling secrets I can't quite grasp. Each attempt to piece together the events of the night is met with a wall of fog, blocking my memories with an impenetrable barrier.

I shake my head, trying to dispel the lingering confusion. Fragments of memories slip through my hold like water, leaving me grasping at nothing.

Maybe I fell while I was hanging horseshoes for Aunt Elora?

But that wouldn't explain my dress.

At the thought of Aunt Elora, a sharp sense of alertness shoots through me. Faster and faster, I feel the racing pump of my erratic heart start again.

I just need to wake up.

I stumble towards the mirror, and the stranger in the reflection seems to be someone else entirely, a doppelganger who has slipped into my skin in the night.

The dark circles under my eyes stand out starkly, and there's an unnatural dullness to the color of my cheeks, as if I've been out in the cold.

But it's Summer.

I splash my face with water from the near basin and the cool liquid shocks me into complete wakefulness. Droplets slide down my dark skin, simmering down my jaw and collarbones like dew on flower petals.

I trace the lines of my face with trembling fingers, as if trying to map out the changes that have taken place overnight. There's tension in my jaw, a tautness in my cheeks that wasn't there yesterday. But when I meet my own gaze, even despite the shadows under, I see a glimmer of something more powerful than before staring back at me.