Chapter 13: The Island of Forgotten Shadows
Joy’s heart still raced as she sat in the quiet dorm room, clutching a steaming mug of tea that Zephyr had made her. Priya and Rea hovered nearby, their usual mischief replaced with concern as they exchanged uneasy glances. The vision from the shower haunted Joy—every time she closed her eyes, she saw the fire, felt the heat, and heard that voice calling her Liona. The name echoed in her head, and the face of the mysterious woman stayed imprinted in her mind.
Zephyr sat beside her, their silver hair still damp from the hurried run back to the dorm. They were the first to break the silence, their voice cautious. "We need to talk about what just happened, Joy. This isn't something we can just ignore."
Rea nodded, her dark eyes narrowing in concern. "Yeah, that was way more than just a bad daydream."
Joy took a shaky breath and set down the mug. "It wasn’t a daydream. I felt like I was there… in that place. The fire, the woman, it was all so real. And she kept calling me Liona. I don’t understand what any of it means."
Priya, usually quick with a joke, was uncharacteristically quiet. She sat on the edge of the bed, her hands fiddling with a charm on her necklace. "There’s a story my grandmother used to tell us when we were kids," she began hesitantly. "About a place, an island, where humans and witches lived together in peace a long time ago. But something terrible happened, and it was abandoned. It’s called the Island of Forgotten Shadows now."
Zephyr’s eyes widened as they caught on to what Priya was saying. "I’ve heard of that place too. It’s supposed to be a myth, but..." They trailed off, looking at Joy. "What if it’s connected to what you saw?"
Joy blinked, processing what Priya and Zephyr were saying. "An island? Forgotten Shadows? Why would that have anything to do with me?"
Rea chimed in, leaning forward. "Because, if you’re seeing visions of someone calling you Liona, it might mean this isn’t just some random connection. There could be something deeper—something from your past, or even something the Council doesn’t want anyone to know."
Joy’s mind raced as she thought back to the burned photograph in the Charm family records and the missing names. Could there be a connection between the strange vision and the secrets they uncovered in the library?
"It was more than just fire," Joy said quietly. "The woman... she felt powerful, like she was commanding something. There were screams, and I felt like she was responsible for it all. But at the same time, I... I didn’t feel afraid of her. It was like she was trying to tell me something."
Zephyr leaned closer, their voice soft. "Joy, this island, if it’s real, might hold answers. My mothers told me that it was once a place where witches and humans lived in harmony, before some dark magic tore everything apart. Maybe that’s where the woman in your vision is from."
Joy shivered at the thought. An island where witches and humans had once coexisted in peace, now lost to time and shadow. Could this Liona—the woman from her vision—be tied to the history of that island? And why would she appear to Joy now?
Rea’s dark eyes glinted with determination. "If this is about the Island of Forgotten Shadows, we need to find out more. This isn’t something the Council would want anyone digging into."
Priya nodded, her fiery curls bouncing as she got to her feet. "We’ve already got one foot in trouble, so we might as well dive in completely. We should head back to the library—maybe there’s something we missed."
Joy hesitated for a moment, still shaken by the intensity of the vision, but she knew they couldn’t ignore this. If the island was real, and if it held answers to the mysteries they were uncovering, then they had to follow the trail. Something deep inside her told her that this was connected—not just to the Charm family, but to something far larger.
Zephyr’s voice broke into her thoughts. "We should be careful, though. If this island is as important as it seems, the Council might be watching closely."
Joy nodded, her resolve hardening. "I agree. We’ll be cautious. But we need to know the truth."
With that, the group gathered their things, preparing to return to the library, where they would begin their search for any information about the Island of Forgotten Shadows. But even as they set out, Joy couldn’t shake the feeling that they were stepping into something far more dangerous than they had anticipated—something tied not only to the island’s dark past but also to the future of the Magic Realm itself.
And as they left the dorm, Joy couldn’t help but hear the voice again, faint but insistent, echoing in the back of her mind.
Liona…
Whoever this woman was, she was not finished with Joy. And Joy knew, deep down, that the shadows of the past were about to resurface, bringing with them truths that could change everything.
