31 Gracie is in Trouble
Gracie POV
I was jolted out of bed by my own ear piercing, glass–shattering scream. My breath was heavy and sweat was heavy on my brow. I used the back of my hand to wipe the wetness off my face. My cheeks felt flush and my body was still shaking badly as I tried to calm my racing heart.
The same haunting vision of the prophecy and Everly’s subsequent nightmares have plagued my sleep since Everly shared that first vision with me. It has been two weeks since my visit to the palace and I have secluded myself ever since. I could not let any of them know that I too was effected by the
visions.
In the thousands of earth years I have been alive, I have never been able to interact with a vision or dream, until Everly. I looked at my arms and they were scorched black, steam still rising from the burns. Luckily, the potion I took before I drifted to sleep prevented me from feeling pain when I was in my physical body, at least enough for me to make my now daily trip to the healing springs.
However, my dream was different today and not in a good way. They are getting worse. It started the same. The night sky devoid of stars, black smoke filled the air making it hard to breathe; the bloodbath scattered on the open field, the only light was from the roaring fires around the battlefield. I am pulled to the hill that is engulfed in blue and black flames. Like always, the flames part for me, but now every time I travel to the hilltop, the black Dame licks my skin like it did to Everly. Now, each time I pass through the fire, it scorches my skin more and more. But this time, it consumed half my body. The pain crippled me and I felt like my very soul was going to be pulled out of my body. My vision went black and a deep booming laugh surrounded me.
“Oh Gracie” it taunted. “Gracle” it whispered by ear. A dark tendril like shadow reached out and caressed my face, leaving a burning trail of sizzling flesh across my left cheek.
A dark outline Image of a man appeared before me and red glowing eyes popped open, a
smile could be seen from the glow of his eyes. He then passed through my body and i. of the darkest beast shook the infinite space, a sinister
I was like every molecule exploded.
“The girl with the golden mark is mine!” I heard his words clear in my mind as my world shattered around me, my soul engulfed in excruciating flames, jolting me awake where I was safe in my bed. A headache was pounding in my head.
The mountain caves I called my home for the last few millenniums was always my safe haven. The crystals in the surrounding caverns were seeds of the old magic and offered protection and sanctuary since the beginning of time. But I wasn’t safe anymore.
ΣΤΟΝ ΤΙ
with
I slowly made my way to the full–length mirror against the wall and locked upon my shaking and charred form. Not only were my arms charcoal, but my nightgown was in tatters and covered in cinders, my chest and right leg was also covered in black and raw skin, my purple blood seeping through the remaining fabric of my nightgown. My cheek was marred with bright red bubbles from my ear to my lip and a bright green color lined the gash. Poison.
I hurried through the sacred tunnels, already feeling sluggish and more tired with every step I took. I began to see black spots dancing in my vision and my chest felt like it was full of stones. I luckily entered into the sacred space that housed the healing waters of old, sending a small plea for help to Mother herself.
My vision went completely black my body hit the water hard, the coolness of the water encasing my body and the feeling of peace was the last thing I felt before my heart gave out.
Third Person P
POV
+10% Bonus
08:46
Everly woke up
up with a jolt, her head was pounding, her vision was blurry, her breath was heavy and her tears were flowing freely down her face.
Jupiter and Alexander woke up to her sobbing and quickly shook the remanence of sleep from their eyes.
They immediately began to comfort her first with just words so as not to startle her and when Everly recognized them, she leaned into Jupiter’s chest and he engulfed her small body in his warm embrace. Alexander held her hands in his and began drawing soft circles to sooth her aching mind.
She had been getting nightmares almost every early morning once the guys started leaving the bedchambers to get ready for the day. It had been over a week since Everly met the dragon beasts and it was clear both Everly and all six of the men were growing closer each day. They rarely didn’t all sleep in the same room since they returned from the mountain top, the beasts wanting to be as close to their mate as possible.
The beasts were able to keep her peaceful slumbers but when they were forced to leave her side, she often fell into a fit of terrors so the Kings all decided that at least one of them was to remain with her while she slept. They needed to talk to Grucie.
31–Gracie is in Trouble
When Everly’s heart rate came back to a livable pace and her consciousness was aware of her surroundings, she looked at her mates with gratitude and smiled at them, muttering a small thank you.
“Want to talk about it?” Jupiter asked cautiously, kissing the side of her head for probably the twentieth time in the last ten minutes.
“It was about Gracie.” Everly said, still breathing hard as she was trying to wrap her head around what she just saw. “I was her. She looked in the mirror and her body was full of burns like the one that was on my arm. Her face was, oh my Jupiter, it was so scary!” She began to cry again. She could feel the ache in her body and her body was shaking. Her mates just stayed quiet, waiting patiently for her to process her thoughts and then tell them when she was ready. “She…she then started walking through some dark tunnels like she was in a cave and then her vision went out and it was like I was standing in front of her and I saw her stumble into a whirling hot pool and she disappeared and I felt her pain. I couldn’t breathe. It was… it was awful and then there was nothing. I kept screaming her name and then there was blinding white light and I woke up here.” Everly’s tears were streaming like a river and dripped down her nightgown, staining the soft fabric with a large wet spot around her chest.
“Shhhh. It’s okay sweetheart, it was just a dream” Alexander said sweetly. He cupped her face and leaned forward and started kissing her tears away. Jupiter’s arms tightened around her and Everly felt safe.
“I’ll see if Lucien can contact Gracie and make sure she is okay. Will that make you feel better?” Alexander asked his beloved, his nose playfully caressing her own. “Yes please” Everly whispered out.
“Okay p
princess, you got it!” He replied and kissed her gently on the lips in a loving little peck. The sun was just starting to pop through the thick curtains so they all decided to get ready for the day.
The Kings had a council meeting today in the Grand Council Chamber. She would not be able to join the meeting this time but she would be allowed entry at the end to formally meet the Grand Council members. The Kings quickly took their turns and got ready for their day. Everly stayed lying in bed, her body feeling exceptionally drained and she opted to rest some more.
Jupiter and Alexander left when Stella and Rose came to replace them and the three girls piled on the bed. Rose was promoted to a lady–in–waiting at Everly’s request and Stella and Rose became fast friends. The three girls munched on breakfast treats and Everly found herself drifting into a slumber.
She was woken up a few hours later by her friends and was directed to get ready to meet the Council.
She was dressed in a regal blue knee–high pencil skirt that flared at the bottom and white satin short sleeve shirt and matching blue pumps. Stella braided her hair and Rose helped apply light makeup. They hurried out the door and down to the Grand Council room.
Guards at the door told them that only Everly was allowed into the chamber and that they were early so she may not be able to go through the main doors but that she could go ahead and enter into the waiting area as long as she was quiet.
Everly slipped through the first door and saw another set of intricately designed wooden doors. The waiting room was minimalistic and had a few white leather lounge chairs. She was all alone so she decided to sneak into the other chamber and did just that.
She stepped into the cathedral–like room and stood near the doors. But her attention was grabbed when she heard something that made the pit in her stomach drop. She didn’t realize she made some sort of a loud gasp until all the people in the room turned and looked at her.
She saw the shocked faces of her mates and even more surprised looks from fifteen old, wrinkled grey–haired men with expressions ranging from anger to embarrassment like they were just caught stealing cookies from the cookie jar..
She immediately turned around and flung open the heavy wooden doors and ran through the castle halls. Her vision was blurry. Her heart was hurtig
+109 She could hear the protests of her mates fading in the background but all Everly could think about was getting out of there and blocked them out. The ran through the palace and out the doors, through the back garden and into the surrounding woods.
