Gyda Lionrock thinks her visit to Asclan Peak is for one reason and one reason alone-to procreate and finally welcome that child of her own. She could have never guessed she would also leave something behind inside the mountains, but it was her hear...
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"Sometimes I feel invincible," I said, looking at the two women sitting in front of me. "Like I can carry on with these lies and excuses until the very end, and nobody will ever find out. But other days I'm panicking, thinking there is no way I can keep going on like this." I sighed. "Every week, I'm sneaking out of the library to meet Orvar in secret. How long will it take before Ms. Glover finds out I'm not where I'm supposed to be? And how long will Mom be oblivious to these weekly walks of mine? How long will she believe I'm strolling in the woods to clear my mind before finding out it's actually you and the swamp I'm visiting instead?"
"I'm guessing today is one of the panicking days, hm?" Beatrice asked as she poured boiling hot water into three cups. She set the teapot aside at the table.
"I suppose I feel a little panicky today, yes," I answered, looking at how she fixed me and her some tea. Amira wanted water only.
We sat at the dining table, all three of us inside the house since Beatrice wouldn't be receiving any other visitors today—or in future times. She'd closed her doors to everybody after what had happened last week.
She didn't do that for herself, though, as she was a fearless woman and wouldn't let other people boss her around, not even when they'd threatened to kill her. She'd done it for her daughters. And I think that was a wise decision.
Her body still showed evidence of the violence, many colors and bruises decorating her face and arms, and possibly the body parts that were hidden underneath her clothes as well. Luckily, she looked a lot better than seven days ago. I was happy about that.
"I also had such a strange dream last night," I continued, grabbing my cup of tea and folding my hands around it. "I woke up with the oddest feeling."
In my dream, I'd seen the skull symbol again. Probably because of my meeting with Zachary. After bumping into him, the symbol was even more on my mind than before.
I'd realized that the woman who'd visited Beatrice was probably more dangerous than we thought she was. Because why did she have the same ring as Zackary—a man and part of the elite themselves?
In my dream, however, the skull and letters were chiseled into stone, instead of engraved in gold. Gray stone, to be precise, which was decorated with tufts of green moss and hung above my head. I'd been so afraid. But it wasn't the Skull that scared me; it was something else, something I couldn't remember. And right before I woke up, my mother's hand grabbed mine. She smiled at me, her cheeks flushed. "Little Gyda", she'd said. "We need to go home." She pulled me with her. And I felt safe again.
I only remembered flashes of the actual dream, but it was the feeling that stayed long after I had woken up that made me feel so...so strange. Scared? Panicky? Restless? I couldn't describe it in words, but it wasn't a pleasant sort of feeling.
"It's just your hormones, love," Amira said, grabbing my hand that rested on the table. She held it and patted the back of it. "One pukes her stomach out and the other is freaking out. Hormones have no mercy." She heaved a sigh, looking miserable and pale.
