𓇢𓆸 prologue: how to not lose a baby
(Mary’s POV)
3:33 AM
Time is running out.
The day I feared most is finally catching up with me. I guess this is what I deserve. I saw this coming, and yet I tried to ignore it, hoping it wouldn’t ever happen. And here we are.
Tinges of regret have been prickling me for months, but the more I linger on what can’t be changed, the more precious time I waste. This is my life now—the life that was written for me. To be the only human to bear a child who could be the key to our salvation... It’s not an easy job.
I was a top agent once—now I’m a mother on the run.
This world... it’s complicated. Its secrets are tangled up worse than my nerves. Even after years inside the agency, there are things that still manage to surprise me. I was supposed to keep the peace, keep those with “extra gifts” in check. But when you cross a line—when you fall for someone you never should have—there are consequences. I learned that the hard way.
The thralls are on my heels. I’m only a few kilometers from Crestwood. I hope Freya’s charm holds—she’s always been the best cleric the agency has, but even her spells have limits, especially with the Blood Moon getting closer.
One of the grey, clawing creatures lurches and tears at my cape. I don’t slow down, but spin, firing a quick burst that sends it sprawling. Never mind the cape, Mary.
I nestle Evan in my arms and run. Fighting isn’t an option, not with him at risk.
“Mary… have hope. Fear shall not take you, for I have always been there for you.”
His voice lingers in my head. Maybe I’m hallucinating after hours in the woods, or maybe it’s something more. The more I feel like giving up, the lighter my steps become—almost as if I’m gliding, carried by something I can’t explain. Evan... could it be? Is it you?
At last, the faint shimmer of the barrier appears through the trees. I cross, clutching Evan, and the thralls vanish, their guttural sounds cut short—the charm worked.
Now, in the silence, it’s just me and my baby. I don’t have much time.
Evan, my baby. Please—grow up to become a man proud of himself.
