whispers of the stars

ch 11...

***author's pov***

As Sia drifted deeper into sleep, the world around her faded, and her mind slipped into a dream unlike any she had ever experienced before. It began with darkness-vast and endless, like the space between stars. For a moment, she felt weightless, suspended in the void.

Then, slowly, the darkness gave way to shimmering lights-distant stars that stretched across a boundless expanse. She was floating through space, surrounded by galaxies spiraling in all directions. The stars pulsed and flickered, their glow ethereal and almost alive. It was breathtaking, overwhelming, and impossibly real.

In the dream, she found herself moving effortlessly, gliding past planets with rings of glowing dust, nebulae swirling in brilliant colors she could hardly describe. The vastness of it all made her heart race, yet there was a strange comfort in the silence of space. It was as though she belonged here, a part of this cosmic dance.

Suddenly, her attention was drawn to a distant light-a star brighter than the rest. As she moved closer, she realized it wasn't a star, but a planet. Unlike any she had seen before, it shimmered with a pale, iridescent glow, as if its surface was made of glass reflecting the cosmos around it.

She was drawn toward it, her body descending slowly until she could see its surface in detail. Giant crystalline structures towered into the sky, and rivers of light flowed through the valleys. It was beautiful, surreal, and otherworldly. She knew, without knowing how, that this was no ordinary planet-this was Oracle.

As she hovered above the landscape, something shifted. Her heart began to race as she sensed another presence-watching her. Her gaze instinctively moved to a distant palace on the horizon, a grand structure that sparkled like it was made of stars. Standing on a balcony, bathed in the glow of the planet's moons, was a figure.

His amber eyes locked onto hers, piercing through the vast distance between them. It was as if he could see her, not just in the dream, but truly see her. His gaze was intense, unyielding, and it sent a shiver through her.

Sia's breath caught in her throat. The figure in the distance-the man with the dark, commanding presence-wasn't a stranger. Though she couldn't explain it, she knew he had been watching her. Watching her for a long time.

A voice, deep and resonant, echoed in her mind. "Soon, you will be mine."

Sia's heart pounded, and just as she reached out to the figure, the dream shifted, the space around her collapsing in on itself. She felt herself falling, spinning through the stars, faster and faster until everything went dark again.

She jolted awake, her breath shallow, her heart racing in the quiet of her room. Her eyes darted to the ring still on her finger, its faint glow flickering like a whisper of the dream she had just escaped. The room felt cold, too quiet, as if something had followed her back from the vision.

Sia sat up, her hand trembling as she touched the ring. "What was that?" she whispered to herself, trying to shake the feeling of being watched.

Far away, Zyrian leaned back in his chair, a dark smile curling at the edges of his lips. The first connection had been made. Soon, the line between dream and reality would blur, and Sia would no longer be able to resist the pull of his world.

Sia's pulse quickened as she stared at the faint glow emanating from the ring. It wasn't just her imagination-it was glowing, a soft, eerie light pulsing from the glass like a heartbeat. The room, once warm and familiar, suddenly felt foreign and unsettling.

Her breathing grew shallow, and instinctively, she tried to pull the ring off again. She twisted and tugged at it with more urgency now, but it wouldn't budge. The more she tried, the tighter it seemed to cling to her finger, as though the ring had fused with her skin.

"Come on... off!" she muttered, her voice tinged with growing frustration.

The glow seemed to intensify as if it were responding to her attempts, the light pulsing faster, casting strange shadows on the walls. A deep sense of unease settled over her, the dream she had just experienced still lingering in the back of her mind. It was more than just a dream-it had felt real, too real.

"What is this?" she whispered, her voice shaking. The sensation of being watched had returned, stronger than ever. She felt the weight of unseen eyes upon her, as if someone-or something-was observing her every move.

With one final, desperate tug, she yanked at the ring, but it wouldn't move. Her fingers trembled as she realized the truth-the ring wasn't coming off.

She collapsed back onto her bed, staring at the glowing ring in disbelief, her mind racing. What was happening to her? Why couldn't she take it off?

Far away, Zyrian felt the tension ripple through the invisible bond they now shared. His amber eyes darkened with satisfaction as he sensed her struggle. The ring had her now, bound to him in ways she couldn't yet comprehend.

"Fight all you want," he whispered to the night air, a smirk curling at his lips. "Soon, you'll accept your fate."

Sia's heart raced, her mind clouded with confusion and fear. She knew something was wrong, but she didn't know how to fix it. She curled up under the covers, her hand still resting on the glowing ring. She didn't want to sleep-didn't want to return to that strange world-but exhaustion weighed heavily on her.

As her eyes fluttered shut, she clutched her hand tightly, hoping that by morning, the ring's strange power would be gone.

But deep down, she knew that things were only beginning.