Binding Stone

Part 2

Caleb slid the cup Agatha had left toward her. Cassie took it without a word. Her fingers trembled slightly against the warm ceramic, but she tried to hide it.

Silence lingered for a few seconds.

"I had a dream," she said quietly, not looking at him. "About a forest. Ruins. And a voice... calling me."

Caleb didn't respond, but his expression shifted. Cassie noticed and lifted her chin, eyes sharp.

"You know something about this, don't you?" she said, locking eyes with him. "Since I came back to this house, everything feels... strange. You showed up out of nowhere, knew exactly where I was yesterday, and now you're pretending nothing's wrong."

Caleb held his breath and met her gaze steadily. "I'm just trying to protect you."

Cassie scoffed. "From what? The outside world? Or from myself?"

She tried to sound strong, but Caleb heard something behind her words. A wound. Confusion. Fear masked in anger.

"I'm not used to relying on anyone, Caleb," she added, her voice softer now. "But yesterday... when you came... I didn't feel alone."

Caleb opened his mouth to speak, but Cassie quickly looked away.
"But that doesn't mean I need someone watching me every second. I'm not weak."

She stood, still holding her tea. "If you know something, I want to know. I need to know."

Caleb nodded slowly, but his gaze never left her-steady, unreadable.

As Cassie walked away, her posture was upright and full of resolve. But Caleb had seen it-just for a moment-that crack. The fragile strength hastily built over pieces of fear not yet sorted out.

Cassie closed her bedroom door gently, though her heart was still pounding. The tea had gone cold in her hands, yet she held on to it like the lingering warmth might somehow bring her clarity.

She sat on the floor, leaning against the bed, and pulled out an old wooden box from underneath-a relic from her mother she had never dared open before. Her fingers hesitated on the lid. Inside were faded photographs, a fraying ribbon, and a small leather-bound notebook.

Cassie opened it. The handwriting was elegant and slanted-a woman's hand. Her mother's. On the first page, it read:

"If you've found this, then the time is near. Our blood is not ordinary. And your world... is larger than I ever told you."

Cassie held her breath. She turned the page. Strange symbols filled the next section, alongside sketches-stone ruins... the same ones from her dream. The same ones she had unknowingly painted. Her fingers traced the drawings, trembling even as her mind raced with questions.

She moved to her desk, pulling out blank sheets of paper, and began to redraw what she'd seen-ruins, a ring of symbols, and something that looked like a split sun.

As she lost herself in the lines and markings of her mother's notes, a soft whisper returned to her mind. Not a human voice, but a living echo... calling her.

"Cassandra..."

Her body stiffened.

Cassie closed the book slowly, her gaze drifting to the window, where the silhouette of the forest lay in the distance.

"I'll find out everything," she whispered to herself. "I'm done waiting for answers."

Downstairs, Caleb still stood in the kitchen, watching the staircase where Cassie had disappeared. His own tea sat untouched, its steam fading into the cold morning air.