Déjà Vu
Isabella rises, her movement sharp, catching the light—but it’s not the smooth grace she usually commands. No, it’s something raw, a crack in her carefully built composure, as if the storm inside her has finally shattered the calm. Her face hardens, her lips pressed together so tightly that her mouth barely moves, the corners twitching ever so slightly. Fury simmers beneath her skin, like a pot too full, threatening to spill over.
I brace myself, knowing what’s coming. The air grows thick with the weight of her anger, pressing down on me like a stormcloud on the verge of bursting. I can feel it, the rush of reprimands, the sharpness of her words, ready to strike—cutting, unforgiving. But before she can speak, it comes. An awful, shrill screech erupts, tearing through the silence like glass shattering. It’s not just a sound. It’s a force—a jagged tear in the fabric of everything around us. It sinks deep into my bones, rattling my chest, and reverberates in my skull, shaking me to the core.
Grayson freezes beside her, his face draining of color. He’s caught in a moment of shock, eyes wide, locked on something distant—something I can’t see. The room seems to shrink, the air heavier, thicker with a stillness that is almost suffocating.
Isabella’s anger falters, slipping away like water through a cracked vessel. She turns to Grayson, her gaze searching his face, whispering the word as if testing it, tasting it on her tongue. "Love…" Her voice, once laced with fury, trembles now, soft with something far more vulnerable. I watch the first tear slip down her cheek, another following, their quiet paths a stark contrast to the storm inside her.
Grayson’s gaze softens as he meets hers, his eyes filled with something deep, something unspoken, that quiets the room. In that shared silence, the world seems to hold its breath, and for a heartbeat, it feels like the weight of everything—every unsaid word, every unhealed wound—rests between them.
"He did it…" Grayson’s voice cracks, low, but the tremor in it hits me like a stone sinking into water. It’s a simple statement, but it shakes the air around us, rippling through the space.
The words hang in the air—heavy, ancient, like the echo of something long past. They seem to stretch, lingering in the silence, refusing to fade.
And then, their bodies start to flicker. The outlines blur, as if they’re slipping in and out of reality, not quite solid. The light around them bends, flickering like candle flames caught in a sudden breeze. And just as quickly, they begin to fade, shifting, dimming, becoming something less human, less real. They turn into something… ethereal.
"W-what is happening?" I choke out the words, panic rising in my chest, my heart pounding in my ears. I struggle to breathe, my throat tightening. "Who did what?"
Isabella’s voice cracks, strained, as if not her own—something ancient seems to speak through her, heavy with the weight of untold years. "Our descendant… he finally did it."
Grayson’s voice follows, quiet but final, like a distant echo of something that’s been waiting for this moment. "He broke the curse… we are free."
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
The words hit me with the force of a storm—shocking, unexpected—and my chest tightens, a tidal wave of questions crashing over me. But before I can voice any of them, the air shifts again. The room feels smaller, collapsing in on itself, as if the very walls are bending toward something… something immense. And then——a portal rips into existence.
The sound is deafening, like thunder splitting the sky, and the light is blinding—sharp, silvery, a glow so bright it’s almost painful. I stagger back, breath catching in my throat as everything around me seems to pull toward it, drawn by an invisible force. The air hums, vibrating, as if the space itself is alive, being sucked into the center of that glowing maw.
I try to move, but my feet are rooted to the spot, my body frozen, trapped in some unseen grip. And then, just as quickly as it appeared, the world around the portal bends, reality itself warping, drawn to the light. The room dissolves, fading into the brilliance, and every thought, every feeling, every piece of me is drawn in—lost to the light.
"This is bad…" Isabella's voice was barely a whisper, almost swallowed by the growing roar around us.
"What’s bad?" Selene cried, her eyes wide, panic taking hold of her every word.
"He's… summoning them?" Lyra’s voice trembled, the words barely escaping her lips as she looked around, searching for something that wasn’t there.
"Who… them?" Selene asked, her gaze flicking frantically between Isabella and Grayson, trying to piece it together.
A chill crept over me. A cold realization, creeping like fog, settled deep in my chest. "No… the weapons…" My voice was a mere breath, a whisper to match the rising storm.
"You need to leave, now!" Grayson’s urgent command broke through, but his voice faded, swallowed by the chaos. "Quickly, children, undo the…"
Their forms flickered, dissolving into nothingness, leaving only the echo of their warning to hang in the air. Then, another shrill screech split the silence, louder this time, tearing through everything. The vacuum effect around us intensified, a force pulling at me, dragging at the very fibers of my being, as if the world itself was unraveling.
Selene and Lyra, their faces drained of color, gripped my arms with frantic desperation, their fingers digging into my skin. I could feel the tremor of fear running through them, their panic pressing against me like a storm. I looked at their faces, saw the fear—the unmistakable terror—but there was something else too, a familiar look, like déjà vu, a fleeting flash of something I couldn’t quite name.
A calmness washed over me, an odd peace that bloomed like a flower, serene and unbothered. A smile spread across my lips, slow and gentle. It felt almost… natural. I closed my eyes, letting the pull of everything around us fade into the background. "It’s okay…" I whispered, my voice quiet, but full of an unexpected tranquility.
"Are you mad?" Lyra’s voice cracked, fear lacing her every word. She pulled at my arm, desperate, but I couldn’t move.
"I’ll find my way back, little star…" I murmured, my voice strangely soft, like the last breeze before nightfall. There was no fear in me. Only certainty, a knowing I couldn’t explain.
Selene’s eyes widened, the recognition crossing her face as if she, too, had seen this before—this strange moment of quiet separation. With a sudden, decisive movement, she pulled Lyra away, her hands strong and firm, dragging her from the pull of the portal. Her eyes met mine for just a moment—soft, understanding, and then she was gone, taking Lyra with her, disappearing.
I stood there, alone now, watching them fade into the glow, my smile never wavering. It wasn’t a goodbye. It was a promise. A silent vow to find my way back—whenever, wherever that might be. And in that moment, I felt the silvery golden light open itself to me, felt its pull, and I let myself slip into its warm embrace.