The dream came in fragments, like shattered glass floating in ink.
A woman's voice called to her—soft, familiar. My little star... run...
Crimson spilled like ink across marble floors. Screams echoed in golden halls.
And eyes—glowing red eyes—looked back at her from a mirror.
Jayden jolted awake, her breath ragged, heart pounding in her chest.
It was morning. Sunlight streamed through the trees, dappling the forest floor where she lay wrapped in Azrael's old cloak. The dream slipped from her memory, but the ache remained. Her fingers curled into the fabric over her chest, trying to grasp something—anything—of what she saw.
She remembered... warmth. Arms. A woman's voice. And then pain.
Jayden sat up slowly. The forest was quiet. Too quiet.
"Azrael?" she called.
No answer.
She stood, eyes scanning the shadows until she caught sight of him. He stepped from between the trees like he'd always been there, his presence silent and cold, the edge of his cloak catching on the wind.
"I must leave for a while," he said. "There are souls that need to be gathered."
Her heart dropped. "You're... leaving me here alone?"
He studied her for a moment, then extended his hand. In his palm shimmered a glowing ruby, strung on a dark chain.
"Take this," he said, voice low. "If you are ever in danger, call me through it. I will come to you—immediately."
She stared at the gem. "Why would you give me something like this?"
He leaned closer, his gold eyes like firelight. "Because you are mine to protect."
Jayden felt her breath hitch. She held the necklace tight against her chest, swallowing the lump in her throat.
When he vanished into shadows, the silence that followed felt heavier than before.
Jayden wandered through the forest with no real direction. Her dream still haunted her—the feeling of fear, of something chasing her, and the soft whisper of a woman who once tried to protect her. There was something there. Something she wasn't seeing.
A twig snapped behind her.
She turned—and froze.
Royal guards. Five of them. Faces grim, swords drawn. The same crest from her nightmares gleamed on their chests.
"There she is," one snarled. "The cursed girl."
She stumbled back, hand reaching for the ruby at her throat, heart racing—
But before she could utter a word, a force exploded in front of her.
A figure stood between her and the guards—glowing faintly blue. A ghost.
A woman in flowing, torn royal robes, hair twisted in a braid like a crown. Her eyes were filled with fury as she spread her arms in front of Jayden.
"She is under my protection," the ghost said, voice cold as ice. "Touch her, and I will tear your souls from your bones."
The guards halted. One dropped his weapon.
"A spirit—! What the hell is this?!"
"Run," the ghost growled.
They did.
Jayden stared, her heart in her throat. The ghost turned to face her, her expression softening. And then, in the gentlest whisper:
"You've grown... Princess."
Jayden's eyes widened. "Wait—what did you—?"
But the ghost vanished like mist in the wind before she could ask more.
She didn't move for a long time. Only when the wind stirred again did she turn—Azrael stood behind her, his expression unreadable.
"I felt something," he said. "I came as soon as I could."
Jayden ran to him. "A ghost... she saved me. She knew me. She called me... princess."
Azrael's eyes narrowed. "Describe her."
"She was... regal. Like someone from the palace. She looked right at me, like she remembered me. And... she glowed. Like the ghosts I've started seeing."
Azrael was silent for a long moment. "The faint black veins on your arm. The silver in your left eye. These are not just remnants of the curse. You have something else now."
"What do you mean?"
"My touch, when I first spared you... it awakened something in you. A connection to the dead. You're human, yes. But not only human. You can see them now—ghosts who still walk this world, souls tied to your blood."
Jayden pressed her hand to her chest, where the ruby still pulsed faintly. "Then... I'm really not going crazy."
"No," he said. "You are waking up. Your blood remembers. And they're starting to remember you."
Jayden turned toward the trees, where the ghost had once stood. For the first time, she didn't feel afraid of what she saw in the dark.