Chapter 54: Chapter 54
They laid on the bed quietly, with Trevor caressing her waist in a gentle manner. His hot breath washed over her face as he drifted into sleep. She leaned closer, covering him properly with the blanket.
She glanced towards the window which revealed a dark sky. She had worked all day, but wasn’t feeling tired enough to sleep. Her eyes were wide open, while her brain was contained with thoughts of— "who am I? And would Veilwood reveal the truth?"
It was a pity that she had to suspend her travel to Veilwood because of the spreading blight, but it was something she had to do to protect herself and the people.
She heard something like a whisper and straightened herself on the bed. The voice called her name again, "Maria, Maria."
She faced Trevor, whose eyes were closed in deep sleep and wondered who was calling her.
"This is strange," she muttered to herself and lay back on the bed.
Then, she heard herself being called again, and this time, it was louder than a whisper.
She stood up from the bed and flashed the candle around the room in confusion, trying to find who was calling her.
"Follow my voice," she heard the person say.
"Who are you?" Maria asked as she glanced around the entrance, trying to find who was talking to her.
"I’m Aria. Just follow me. I’m your wolf."
Her eyes widened slightly as she heard the mention of her wolf. Trevor stirred a bit in the bed and when Maria’s gaze returned back to the door, she saw a trail of golden light leading towards the left.
"My wolf?" She whispered to herself, still not understanding what was happening.
"Just follow me." The voice came again.
She picked up a wooden bat by the door because she wasn’t sure if she could trust the voice blindly. The yellow lights shimmered towards a path. She followed it closely, and it led her to her room.
When she entered it, the door closed instantly. She jerked a bit at the abrupt slamming.
The lights converged at a spot and became shaped like a wolf. The wolf glowed with the golden light.
Maria gasped. "You’re my wolf?"
"Yes." Aria responded. "I know you’re wondering why I’m visiting this way, instead of being in your body."
"Who am I?" Maria asked with her voice still trembling.
"You’re a powerful wolf from Veilwood. Not many people can see the souls of their wolves lurking around, but you Maria, you’re a seer."
"You’ve been lurking around all these while?"
"There’s a greater power in you Maria, I just can’t get in yet."
Maria narrowed her eyes, not really understanding what the wolf meant. Since she had stayed in the rogue territory, she felt like a normal person and couldn’t resonate with the great power that Aria referred to.
"I don’t understand."
She was still squinting her eyes in utter confusion at the glowing wolf in front of her, then she noticed the wolf looking at the right side, towards the door.
She followed her wolf’s gaze and nearly choked on her spit. Freye stood there, just like that day in the dungeons, her cloth was disabled, her lips charred, bruise marks covered her body, and her hair looked like a bird’s nest.
"Freye?" Maria muttered as the Freye who stood in front of her was the spitting image of the woman she met in the dungeons. But Freye and Trevor and everyone else said it was a lie. How come she was seeing this? She blinked her eyes a couple of times to make sure she wasn’t dreaming.
Freye walked towards her, and Maria took several steps back with trembling legs. "This isn’t real." Maria’s lips quivered. "Trevor told me there are no dungeons. I don’t want to imagine things. Both of you should leave my head."
"There are no dungeons." Freye said with that calm frail voice that Maria once heard in the dungeon. "And there is no Freye either. I’m just a vision that’s using the body of someone else."
Maria’s breathing quickened and she glanced at the wolf, and back at Freye.
Freye paced around the room slowly, continuing with what she was saying.
"I’m not the real Freye, I’m just a vision. I know you have many questions after seeing me in that dungeon, but none of it was real, it was a vision."
She paused talking to look at Aria who nodded at her.
"So, why did you say Trevor is evil and locked you down there? It makes no sense."
Freye chuckled and sat on the bed.
"Trevor didn’t lock me down like you think, but he’s doing something worse. He’s working for the forger, who has plans against Veilwood. I’m a reflection of the future of the women of Veilwood who would eventually be oppressed, and have their gifts stripped from them. The forger is forging something, and I smell a war brewing."
Maria opened her mouth to say something, but the right words refused to come. She was already overwhelmed by the presence of a glowing wolf, not to talk of a woman who was speaking of things which sounded extremely foreign to herself.
"Wait!" Maria exclaimed as something clicked in her mind. "The forger?" She went down memory lane. The day Trevor fought with his brother, she had heard the brother say that the forger needed more females. So, he needed females from Veilwood. Was this the reason Trevor kept her beside him all these while, because he wanted to give her to the forger? Her skin became cold as these thoughts ran through her mind.
"Trevor is your mate. He isn’t going to harm you." Aria said to her.
Maria furrowed her brows, wondering how the wolf knew what she was thinking. "Can you..."
Aria nodded "Yes. I can read your mind. All wolves can do that."
"If Trevor isn’t evil to me, then why is he evil to the other women from my pack?"
Freye shrugged her shoulders. "I don’t know the direct answers to that, but the main reason you’re seeing my vision is because I want to tell you of the disaster that is brewing. You have to return to protect your people, you’re the true leader of Veilwood."
Maria folded her arm across her chest and asked the question that bothered her since Freye came. "What about Devon who brought you food in the dungeon? Is he part of these visions?"
Freye chuckled. "Sometimes the visions may be deceptive, especially when you see them for the first time. Devon wasn’t in the visions that night. It was just you and I, Maria."
By now, Maria had stood up from the bed and was pacing around the room in quite a restless manner. In summary of what they revealed, she now knew she was from Veilwood, her people were in danger, there’s an evil man called the forger out there, and Trevor isn’t as innocent as he seems, and she was also a seer.
"Tell me more about myself."
Aria resumed speaking. "You didn’t come here just by accident. It was fate that brought you here, for the sake of your people." Maria listened to her with rapt attention.
"Your name is Maria. You’re an alpha’s daughter and the alpha-to-be of your pack. You have one of the rarest and powerful gifts which is that you’re a seer. You will remember the rest of your life when you return back to Veilwood, and of course, I’m your wolf, but for some reason, I can’t enter into your body."
"What’s the reason?" Maria asked.
"You’re not fully healed, and there’s a greater power in you, so there’s no space for me now. Perhaps when you heal properly, you would be able to accommodate both of us."
"I see," Maria muttered while nodding her head.
A knock sounded on the door, and Alice already entered before Maria could respond. She held the usual tray containing Maria’s tonic.
Maria’s breath hitched in her throat as Aria and Freye were still there. She wondered why they hadn’t hid yet.
"I heard some whispers from outside the door. Is everything okay Luna?" Alice asked as she settled the tray on the small table near the bed.
"I’m fine. I was just saying some prayers to the moon goddess to help our lands." Maria lied.
With the way Alice didn’t make mention of Freye and Aria, it was obvious that she couldn’t see them.
"I hope they accept our prayers." Alice said before excusing herself from the room.
After she was sure that Alice had left, she resumed talking with the companions in her room.
"Something feels off about that woman," Aria said as Maria sipped the usual medicine that Alice brought for her. "I sense otherworldly energy, like Veilwood energy mixed with something else."
"She once mentioned that she was from Veilwood." Maria said as she lowered the cup from her mouth.
"Veilwood hasn’t cast out anyone as rogues for years. What could she be doing in rogue lands?" Freye chipped in.
A bile of suspicion began to rise in Maria’s throat. She had never noticed anything off about Alice, but with what they were saying, it seemed like she had to ask Alice more questions.
As she was still sipping the tea, Freye waved her hand in the air and a terrifying scene appeared on the wall, almost making Maria spit out her drink.