Chapter 38
WILLOW
The aftermath of Aiden’s defeat settles around us like a heavy fog, and for a moment, the clearing is unnervingly silent. My breath catches as I watch Windy, standing in the center of the clearing, bathed in the soft glow of the fading light. She looks different—stronger, almost otherworldly—but before I can say anything, she starts to flicker, like a dying candle.
“Windy?” I call out, but she doesn’t respond.
She just gives us one last, unreadable look before her form shimmers, and then—she’s gone.
Panic claws at my chest as I rush forward, searching the space where she stood just seconds ago. "Windy!" I shout, my voice echoing through the clearing.
Nothing.
No response.
She’s vanished, and it’s as if she was never here at all.
“Where the hell did she go?” Wallace demands, his voice rough with desperation as he scans the area, eyes wide with shock.
“She can’t just disappear like that,” Warrick growls, his eyes narrowing as he begins pacing frantically. “She’s got to be around here somewhere.”
“She’s gone, just like that,” I mutter to myself, still in disbelief. I try to focus, to sense her presence like I usually can, but there’s nothing. It’s like she’s been erased from existence.
“No, no, no,” I say, running my hands through my hair, trying to keep calm but failing miserably. “This doesn’t make any sense. We have to find her.”
Wallace is already moving, his eyes blazing with determination. “We split up. She can’t be far. If she’s in trouble?—”
“We don’t split up,” I interrupt, my voice sharper than I intended. “We stick together. If Aiden had any tricks left, we’re safer as a group.”
Warrick nods, his face set in a grim line. “Agreed. We’ll cover more ground that way too, but if she’s somewhere she doesn’t want to be found?—”
“She does want to be found,” I snap, cutting him off. “She wouldn’t just leave us without a reason. We’ll find her.”
We fan out, keeping within sight of each other as we scour the area. I search every inch of the clearing, calling out her name, feeling the anxiety build in my chest with every second that passes.
“Windy!” I shout again, hoping for some kind of response, anything to show she’s okay.
But all I get is silence, and it’s driving me insane.
Minutes feel like hours as we search, my mind racing through every possibility.
Did something happen during that last blast of magic?
The questions swirl in my head, and I can’t make sense of any of it.
“She can’t just be gone,” Wallace mutters, his voice thick with frustration as he kicks a rock across the clearing. “We were right here!”
“Keep looking,” I say through gritted teeth, refusing to accept that she’s just vanished into thin air. “We’ll find her.”
The forest is vast, and if she doesn’t want to be found, we might never see her again. The thought sends a jolt of fear through me, but I push it down. There has to be something we’re missing.
Then, a glint of light catches my eye—something faint, barely noticeable, but it’s enough to make me stop in my tracks. It’s coming from a small grove just off the main path, almost hidden by the thick underbrush.
I push my way through, branches scratching at my skin, and there, in the center of the grove, I see her.
Windy is lying on the ground, her body surrounded by a soft, glowing aura that pulses with the rhythm of her heartbeat. She’s unconscious but alive, thank the gods. Relief floods through me so intensely that I nearly collapse.
“She’s here!” I yell back to Wallace and Warrick, who come crashing through the underbrush a moment later. They stop short when they see her, the same relief and fear flashing across their faces.
“Windy,” I whisper, kneeling beside her and brushing a strand of hair away from her face. “What happened to you?”
“Is she okay?” Wallace asks, his voice thick with concern as he crouches beside me, checking for a pulse. “She looks—different.”
“She’s breathing,” I confirm, though her aura is unsettling. “But something’s changed. This magic—it’s not like anything I’ve seen before.”
“What do we do?” Wallace asks, looking between us.
“We stay with her,” I say, my voice firm despite the worry gnawing at me. “We wait until she wakes up, and then we figure out what the hell just happened.”
Hours pass as we sit beside her, the three of us keeping watch, our nerves frayed and our patience wearing thin. I can’t take my eyes off her, every rise and fall of her chest is a small reassurance that she’s still with us. But the longer we wait, the more the anxiety builds.
Then, just as the first light of dawn begins to filter through the trees, Windy stirs. Her eyelids flutter, and she lets out a soft groan, her hand twitching as if reaching for something.
“Windy?” I say, leaning closer, my heart pounding. “Can you hear me?”
She blinks, her eyes slowly focusing on us, and for a moment, I see something in them that I’ve never seen before—a deep, ancient knowledge that sends a shiver down my spine.
“I’m here,” she whispers, her voice weak but steady.
“What happened?” I ask, desperate to understand. “Where did you go?”
Windy takes a deep breath, as if gathering her thoughts, and then looks at each of us in turn. “My magic took me to meet the anscestors,” she says quietly, her voice tinged with something I can’t quite place. “To understand the power inside me. I didn’t want to leave you, but I had to. And now…I know what I need to do.”
“What do you mean?” Wallace asks, his brow furrowing.
“I’m connected to them in a way I never imagined,” she explains, her voice growing stronger. “But it’s more than that. Aiden’s defeat—it awakened something. Something that’s been lying dormant, waiting for this moment.”
“Awakened what?” I ask, my concern deepening.
“A power that can either save us all or destroy everything,” she replies, her eyes filled with a determination that sends a chill through me. “And I’m the only one who can control it.”
We exchanged worried glances, the weight of her words sinking in. This isn’t over— not by a long shot.
“Then we’ll face it together,” I say, my voice steady despite the fear gnawing at my gut. “Whatever comes next, we’re with you, Windy.”
She smiles a small, grateful smile that makes my heart skip a beat. “Thank you,” she says softly. “I couldn’t do this without you. Any of you.”
Wallace nods, determination setting in his jaw. “We’re in this together.”
“And if this power thinks it can take you from us,” Warrick adds, his voice full of conviction, “it’s got another thing coming.”
Windy closes her eyes for a moment as if drawing strength from our words, and when she opens them again, there’s a fire burning in them that wasn’t there before.