Emerald Shadows

Chapter 7 : The Nightmare

Kael was running, his breath coming in ragged gasps, the darkness closing in around him. The trees of the forest loomed like shadowy giants, their twisted branches reaching out like claws trying to ensnare him. He could feel the ground shifting beneath his feet, threatening to swallow him whole, but he couldn't stop—he had to keep moving, had to find her.

Emerald eyes flashed before him, haunting in their intensity, pleading and defiant all at once. They were the only thing that stood out in the suffocating blackness, drawing him forward even as he wanted to turn away. He didn't understand why he was so drawn to them, why they filled him with a sense of both longing and dread.

A voice echoed through the darkness, low and taunting, as if it were coming from every direction at once. "You'll never find her... You'll never save her... You'll never save yourself..."

Kael tried to shout back, to demand answers, but his voice was gone, swallowed by the void around him. He pushed on, his legs burning with the effort, his heart pounding in his chest. But no matter how fast he ran, those eyes were always just out of reach, taunting him with their impossible beauty and the weight of his own failures.

Suddenly, the ground gave way beneath him, and Kael plummeted into the abyss. The world spun around him, and he could feel the cold fingers of death closing in. But before the darkness claimed him, he heard one final whisper, soft and laced with an unbearable sadness.

"Why do you hunt me, Kael? Why do you betray yourself?"

He woke with a start, his body drenched in sweat, his heart racing as if he had truly been running for his life. The nightmare clung to him like a shroud, the image of those emerald eyes burning in his mind. Kael sat up, running a hand through his damp hair, trying to steady his breath. But the fear, the confusion—none of it would leave him.

Kael knew what was at stake. If he didn't find Elara, if he didn't bring her back to the Magi Order, it would mean his death. Sir Aldric had made that perfectly clear, and Kael had no illusions about the fate that awaited him if he failed. But even more terrifying than the threat of death was the gnawing uncertainty that had taken root inside him—an uncertainty that had been growing ever since he first laid eyes on her.

He had always been certain of his duty, certain of his loyalty to the Order and to the king. He had hunted sorcerers for years, never once questioning the righteousness of his mission. But Elara... she was different. Something about her had shaken him, had made him hesitate, and now he was paying the price.

Kael clenched his fists, anger flaring in his chest. He had been trained to suppress his emotions, to remain cold and detached in the face of danger. But with Elara, he couldn't. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw her face, heard her voice, and felt a pull that he couldn't explain.

He didn't understand it. He didn't want to understand it. All he knew was that it was tearing him apart, making him doubt everything he had ever believed in.

"You're weak," he muttered to himself, disgusted by the turmoil inside him. "You can't let this happen. You have to find her. You have to finish this."

But even as he tried to steel himself, to focus on the mission ahead, the doubts wouldn't go away. The truth was, he didn't want to find Elara—not because he feared failure, but because he feared what he might have to do if he succeeded.

Kael pushed himself out of bed, his body aching from the tension that had settled into his muscles. He walked to the small window of his quarters, staring out at the dark, silent forest. Somewhere out there, she was hiding, and he was supposed to bring her in, to hand her over to a fate that he knew would be brutal and unforgiving.