Prologue
Prologue
Dora – Dreaming
I walk in the forest. The air is still, the flowers bright, swaying gently in the calm wind. Peace settles through me, soft and whole.
Then the sky becomes too bright.
Stars whirl above, spinning faster and faster until they smear together into one blinding wash of silver light.
I’m small—too small. My legs barely carry me as I stumble across damp earth. The trees tower above, twisted, their branches clawing at the moon. Cold mud sucks at my bare feet.
Shouting breaks through the distance. Firelight flickers behind me.
“Dora!”
The name tears across the night. Wrong somehow. Too old. Too familiar.
I stumble again.
“Run, little one. Run.”
This voice is softer. A whisper. A hand clasps mine.
A girl runs beside me—my height, my hair, my face. But when I turn to look, her features blur like fog. My chest aches with knowing. Whoever she is, I know her.
She squeezes my hand. And then she’s gone.
I scream.
The forest vanishes beneath me and I fall, weightless, slow, like a leaf drifting in deep water.
Arms catch me.
A woman. White hair like starlight, eyes glowing silver through clouds. Her scent is lavender and ash.
“You must not forget,” she whispers. Her voice is warm, her words colder than snow.
“Do you know who you are?”
I try to answer, but my throat locks. My chest burns.
“You were never meant to be alone.” Her fingers press against my forehead.
The world flashes silver—then black.
I startled awake, my heart pounding fiercely against my chest, every nerve tingling with fear, sweat clinging to my skin.
The consuming darkness enveloped me, devoid of the comforting presence of the forest, the crackling warmth of a fire, or the tender gaze of the girl who haunted my thoughts. In the profound silence, only the harsh rasp of my own breath echoed in the night.
“I wasn’t alone,” I murmured, the words hanging heavy in the oppressive stillness.
But I didn’t know why I said it. Or who I meant.
I propped myself up on unsteady elbows, gazing at the stars beyond my window.Ordinary stars. No spinning, no silver light. Just cold pinpricks of sky.
I forced myself to breathe slow. In. Out. Calm.
It had to have been the movies Olivia demanded we watch last night. Horror marathons will can cause nightmares.
Right?
But deep down, I knew that wasn’t true.
I closed my eyes, seeking solace within the cocoon of sheets enveloping me. Tomorrow was a big day. I needed my rest.
Even if I didn’t believe I’d get it.
