Caden’s POV
The mont Sumr said "my mother," my body tensed.
Gunnar didn’t move at first, but I saw it clearly. His jaw tightened hard, like he was trying to hold sothing back. His eyes stayed on her, sharp and unreadable, but there was sothing else under it. Sothing deeper that he wasn’t letting out.
"What are you saying Sumr?" Gunnar asked.
His voice wasn’t loud, but it carried across the room in a way that made everyone go quiet.
Sumr didn’t answer imdiately. She took a small breath and stepped further into the room, closing the door behind her like she didn’t want anyone else hearing this.
Leslie looked confused, her hands still hovering over Cane, but even she stopped what she was doing for a mont.
Sumr walked closer until she was standing near the table where Cane was lying. She looked at him first, her face tightening slightly, then she looked back at Gunnar.
"I see her," she said.
Gunnar’s brows pulled together.
"You see who?" he asked, even though it was obvious.
"Mom," Sumr replied.
The word landed heavy.
"No," Gunnar said imdiately, shaking his head once. "No, we’re not doing this."
"I’m not lying," Sumr said quickly. "I see her in my dreams everyday, I’m telling the truth."
"That doesn’t an anything," Gunnar replied, his voice getting harder. "Dreams are just dreams."
Sumr didn’t back down.
"These are not normal dreams," she said. "She talks to ."
That made Gunnar go still for a second.
I stepped closer without even realizing it, my attention fully on her now.
"What do you an she talks to you?" I asked.
Sumr looked at briefly, then back at Gunnar again.
"She’s not gone," she said. "I know everyone thinks she is, but she’s not. She’s just... sowhere else."
Gunnar let out a breath, but it wasn’t calm.
"You’re a child," he said. "You don’t understand what you’re saying."
"I do understand," she replied, her voice stronger now. "She’s not dead. She’s just not here."
"That’s not how this works," Gunnar snapped.
"Then how does it work?" she shot back imdiately. "Because I see her. I hear her and I know she’s not gone."
The room went quiet again.
Gunnar didn’t respond right away this ti.
He just stared at her, like he was trying to figure out if she believed what she was saying or if this was sothing else.
Sumr turned her attention back to Cane.
Her expression changed again, softer this ti but still serious.
"I’m not going to let anything happen to Uncle Cane," she said.
Her voice dropped slightly, and I could hear the guilt in it.
"This is my fault," she added.
I frowned."What do you an?" I asked.
She looked down at her hands.
"If he didn’t go to get the Silvarin for , he wouldn’t be like this," she said quietly. "He only did it because Sapphire poisoned . If I wasn’t poisoned, he wouldn’t have gone, and he wouldn’t have gotten bitten."
"No," I said imdiately.
I stepped forward and let go of Cane, moving closer to her. I lowered myself so I was at her level, making sure she looked at .
"That’s not your fault," I said clearly.
She didn’t look convinced.
"It is," she said. "He was trying to save ."
"And he would do it again," I replied. "Every single ti. You know that. Uncle Cane loves you"
She stayed quiet for a second, then nodded slowly.
I could see she still felt guilty, but at least she heard .
I stood back up and glanced at Gunnar.
He hadn’t moved.
He was still watching her, but now his expression had changed slightly. The anger was still there, but there was sothing else mixed in now. Sothing uncertain.
Sumr followed my gaze and looked at him too.
"This could be your chance," she said.
Gunnar’s eyes narrowed slightly."For what?" he asked.
"To see her again," Sumr replied.
That hit harder than anything she said before.
Gunnar’s body tensed, and for a second, it looked like he might shut the whole thing down again.
"You need to stop," he said. "You don’t know what you’re talking about."
"I do," she insisted. "If she’s alive, then we can find her. And if we find her, she can save Uncle Cane."
Leslie finally spoke up again, her voice careful.
"You’re saying your mother can cure a Gravemaw infection?" she asked.
Sumr nodded."Yes."
Leslie looked like she didn’t believe it, but she didn’t dismiss it imdiately either.
"That kind of healing..." Leslie started, then stopped.
Gunnar ran a hand over his face, clearly frustrated.
"This is getting out of hand," he said. "We are not chasing ghosts because of dreams."
"She’s not a ghost," Sumr said quickly.
"She’s gone," Gunnar snapped.
"No, she’s not!" Sumr shouted back, her voice breaking slightly now. For soone still at her age, I could already see the replica of Gunnar’s anger quite in her.
Everything went still again.
Gunnar looked at her, and for a second, neither of them spoke.
Then Sumr took a step closer to him.
"If she’s really gone, then why do I see her?" she asked.
Gunnar didn’t answer.
"Why does she talk to ?" she continued. "Why does she tell things?"
Gunnar’s jaw tightened again.
"What things does she tell you?" I asked quietly.
Sumr looked at , then back at him.
"She said there’s still ti," she said. "She said she’s waiting."
"For what?" Gunnar asked before he could stop himself.
"For you," Sumr replied.
That hit.
I saw it clearly this ti. Gunnar’s control slipped just for a second before he forced it back.
"No," he said, shaking his head again. "No, you have to stop, you’re getting on my nerves"
"It is true," Sumr insisted.
Gunnar turned away slightly, like he needed a second.
"This is not going to help your uncle Sumr," he said, pointing at Cane. "This is just a distraction."
"It’s not," Sumr said. "It’s the only way to save him."
Gunnar didn’t respond.
Sumr looked at him for a mont, then her expression changed again. It beca more serious, more focused.
"There’s sothing else," she said.
Gunnar looked back at her, already annoyed.
"What now?" he asked.
She hesitated for a second, then spoke.
"I’ll tell you how to find her and If you go looking for her... you have to understand sothing first."
Gunnar frowned.
"What are you talking about?"
Sumr took a breath."You can’t love her again," she said.
That ca out of nowhere.
Gunnar’s expression went cold imdiately.
"Excuse ?" he said.
"You already have a mate," she continued, her voice steady even though this was clearly hard for her to say. "Aunt Riley."
Gunnar didn’t say anything, but the tension in the room spiked again.
"If you find mom and you try to bring her back..." Sumr continued, "then Aunt Riley is going to die."
"What?" I said, confused.
Leslie looked just as shocked.
Gunnar stepped closer to her, his voice low and dangerous now.
"Watch what you’re saying," he warned.
"I’m telling the truth," she said.
"How would you even know that?" he demanded.
"Because she told ," Sumr replied.
The silence that followed was heavy.
"If Riley dies..." Sumr continued, her voice quieter now but still clear, "then all of you will go down with her."
My chest tightened.
"What do you an, all of us?" I asked.
She looked at .
"You, Uncle Cane, and him," she said, nodding toward Gunnar. "Your lives are tied to your true mates. If your mate dies, you don’t survive long after."
I felt like the air left my lungs.
"That’s..." I began, but I didn’t finish.
"Rember the prophecy," Sumr said and paused, her eyes moving between everyone.
No one spoke. No one moved.
Then she said the last thing.
"Mommy is not the right person to live, Riley is."
User Comments
0 comments from readers