<h4>Chapter 462: Nightmare Begins</h4>


    <strong>Chapter Unedited</strong>


    <strong>****************</strong>


    <strong>Chapter 462</strong>


    <strong>~Zara’s POV~</strong>


    Thete-afternoon sun painted long, golden streaks across the cobbled path as we pulled into the drive. The gates had barely shut behind us when Snow turned off the engine and gave me a sidelong nce.


    "Home," he said quietly.


    I smiled. Not because of the house, but because he’d said <i>home</i> like it meant something again.


    We stepped inside, the familiar scent of aged pinewood and cinnamon from the hallway diffuser wrapping around us like a warm wee. But we didn’t even make it past the front hall before I spotted a familiar figure seated by therge window in the parlour.


    Siona.


    Her long hair was braided over one shoulder, and she stared out into the garden like the wind itself carried secrets. Her body was still, but her magic buzzed faintly in the room like quiet thunder waiting to roll.


    "Siona?" I called softly.


    She blinked and turned, her face unreadable for a moment before a ghost of a smile tugged at her lips. "Zara."


    I stepped into the room, Snow close behind me.


    "There isn’t much time," she said, rising from her seat. "I came to speak to you about your training. Your power is shifting. Evolving. You need control before it begins responding to emotion instead of intent."


    I straightened, guilt brushing my chest. I knew she was right. "When do we start?"


    "Today," Siona said. Then nced at Snow. "If you’re strong enough."


    Snow shook his head, crossing his arms with a quiet smile. "She just got back. Let her rest. Tomorrow morning. I’ll bring her to the training field myself."


    Siona’s shoulders rxed, and she dipped her head in understanding. "Very well. But I won’t wait long." She left with quiet steps, disappearing like a whisper down the corridor.


    Once she was gone, Snow looked at me again, his gaze soft. "It’s good to be home," he murmured.


    I nodded and nced around. The walls, the polished floor, the light pouring through the ss panels—it all looked the same, but I didn’t feel the same. I was no longer the Zara who had left here in rage and heartbreak. And Snow... he wasn’t the boy I had loved before.


    He was more. So was I.


    Snow reached out and brushed his knuckles along my jaw. "You’ve been looking around like you don’t remember this ce."


    "I do," I whispered. "But I also remember leaving it."


    He exhaled slowly. "Zara... I know I’ve said it already, but I’m sorry."


    I silenced him with a kiss, slow and tender. "Carry me to the room, honey."


    His lips curved. "As you wish."


    He swept me up with ease, his scent wrapping around me as he climbed the stairs. When we reached the bedroom, I noticed a small pile of neatly folded new clothes stacked on the chair.


    "You—?"


    "I had your things brought from your old ce. And... I might’ve asked E to pick out new ones too."


    Iughed softly. "You’re dangerous."


    He leaned down and whispered, "Only for you."


    We spent the rest of the evening in quietfort, nestled against one another, no words needed—just the silent understanding that whatever came next, we’d face it together.


    But that night...


    The darkness came for me.


    <strong>~Zara’s Dream~</strong>


    At first, it was just shadows. A grey fog curling through a wide, open canyon that looked too familiar to be real.


    I stood barefoot, the ground beneath me pulsing like a heartbeat. Then I heard it.


    A whispering chant. Soft. Haunting.


    And then the screech.


    The sky cracked open and I looked up—toote.


    The Kraken.


    Its massive tentacles whipped through the air, crashing down around me. The memory flooded in—the storm, the scales, the way the ship cracked in half. I tried to move, but my legs wouldn’t obey.


    The waves roared.


    Just when the cold foam rose to drown me, I blinked—and I was in the canyon again. Only now, it was the Serpent Crane. A massive beast of shifting scales and dozens of zing eyes. It slithered through the rocks, towering high above me, tongue flicking toward the scent of fear.


    I screamed as it lunged. But before it could strike—


    I was falling. Again.


    This time, into the <strong>Forbidden Fog</strong>.


    The world twisted around me. Shapes emerged. Ghosts of my father. My fears. My failure. I saw myself screaming as Snow died in my arms again. Blood soaking his shirt. My hands trembling. My magic sparking uselessly as Vera’sugh echoed in my ears.


    I saw the mirror again. My reflection shifting, then bing monstrous. The self-doubt. The voices. The twisted clone of me that had said—


    <i>"He’ll never love you again. Not truly."</i>


    I reached for the mirror, shouted at it to break. But it shattered first—and I was pulled through.


    And then, the final trial.


    The Dragon.


    The mes licked the sky. Scales the color of liquid gold shimmered like fire incarnate. I stood in front of it again, weaponless, staring into its molten eyes.


    But this time, it wasn’t angry.


    It was smiling.


    The dragon shimmered, twisted, morphed—Davion.


    His silver hair flowed like molten threads. His violet eyes glowed.


    "I warned you," he said, voice like silk and embers. "The price of resurrection is never paid in full."


    "What do you mean?" I asked, heart hammering.


    "You returned with him," Davion continued, stepping forward, mes flickering behind him. "But in doing so... you gave something of yourself to me. Something I intend to collect."


    I stumbled back. "You said you’d help—"


    "I did." He smiled, wicked and sharp. "And now, I’ming for you, Zara Gold. Not in trial. Not in battle. In truth. In fire."


    His mouth opened, and a roar unlike anything I’d heard split the skies.


    mes burst toward me—blinding, burning, endless—


    <strong>I screamed in reality as I rose to a sitting position.</strong>


    My body jolted upright in bed, lungs gasping for air, heart racing like a war drum. My throat felt raw, and sweat slicked my skin. The sheets were tangled around my legs.


    Beside me, Snow shot up. "Zara? Zara!"


    I couldn’t answer. My hands trembled as I reached up to my face.


    Snow turned on themp, the soft glow casting shadows across his worried face. "Was it a nightmare?"


    I nodded, breathing shallowly.


    He pulled me into his arms instantly, hands running along my back, his voice low and steady. "It’s okay. You’re safe. You’re home."


    I buried my face into his chest, as hot tears rolled down my cheeks. Being confronted with everything we had been through was just....


    But my mind was still there—in that dream—with Davion’s voice echoing in my skull.


    <i>"I’ming for you."</i>


    And I believed him.


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