<b>CHAPTER </b><b>117 </b>
I shifted on the floor, every muscle screaming with exhaustion, my eyelids <b>heavy </b><b>as </b><b>stone</b>. My body ached from running, fighting, and narrowly escaping death more times than I <b>could </b>count. Yet beneath it all, a faint pulse thrummed through me–subtle <b>at </b>first, almost <b>like </b><b>a </b>whisper beneath a roaring wind.
Elias was already awake, sitting back on the chair next to the window. His eyes followed <b>me </b>as I flexed my fingers, a faint tremor running along my arms. “You’re shaking.” He said <b>quietly</b><b>, </b>his tone calm but wary. “And it’s not just because you’re tired. Something’s… happening.”
“I… I don’t know<i>.</i>” I admitted. “It’s like… something inside me is waking up.”
Before I could speak, the door creaked open. A swirl of gray ash drifted in<b>, </b>curling around the doorway before fading into the hut.
Elias jumped to his feet, and I backed toward him, fearing the sorcerer had returned.
Then she stepped fully into the dim light–the Ash Queen.
She moved with an almost unnatural grace, her ash–colored robes flowing around her feet, the swirling particles around her hands as if alive. Her presence wasmanding, yet calm, a quiet authority that made every instinct in me tense.
I knew that she contained power. But now it was like she was trying to show off what sort of power she possessed. How she was able to use her power and what she could do.
Elias straightened immediately, cing himself slightly between me and her. “What do you want?” His voice was steady but wary, protective.
The Ash Queen lifted her hands in a gesture meant to soothe, not threaten. “I am not here to harm you. I am here because the sorcerer you fear is real, and he is dangerous. I have opposed him for longer than either of you have lived, and I am here to help you stand against him.”
I shifted again, exhaustion pressing into my limbs like a physical weight, but the pulse in my chest grew stronger, curling along my arms like molten fire. “Why should we trust you?<b>” </b><b>I </b>rasped. “Why now? Whye to us now when we needed helpst night?<b>” </b>
“Because hiding does not save lives.” She said softly, her gray eyes catching the <b>lighting </b>through the window. “Because you survived what many others would not. That makes <b>you </b>important. And the sorcerer cannot be allowed to continue.”
Elias’s gaze flicked to mine, a mixture of caution and something that looked like hope. <b>“</b><b>You </b>
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expect us to just take your word for it?” He asked. “After everything we’ve gone through?”
“I do not ask for blind trust.” She replied, crouching slightly to bring herself closer to us. Her eyes swept over both of us, serious yet calm. “I ask only that you see the truth. I cannot do this alone. And neither can you. But together…<i>” </i>She let her words hang, and the swirl of ash around her hands seemed to emphasize her sincerity.
I felt the warmth in my chest pulse again, stronger this time, and the shimmer along my arms. reacted, tracing patterns I hadn’t consciously created. “It’s… responding.” I whispered. “To me
or maybe to all of us.”
The Ash Queen nodded. “Yes. Your power is alive. It has been growing even when you did not notice. Today has pushed you to your limits, and now it has awakened fully. You must learn to control it, to focus it, or the sorcerer will exploit it.”
Elias stepped closer, his eyes scanning my arms, then locking with hers. “So what now? We just… start learning? Right here, in this hut?”
“For now.<i>” </i>She said. “Slowly. Carefully. The sorcerer must not know the full extent of what you are capable of–not yet. But you will begin. And when the timees, you will be ready.”
I flexed my fingers again. The shimmer spread further, dancing over my skin like liquid fire. Exhaustion still gnawed at my mind and body, but it no longer dragged me down–it sharpened my senses. Every sound in the hut, every flicker of shadows felt alive. Elias watched me closely, awe and concern in his eyes, but I saw the same faint thread of hope flickering there I felt inside.
“You’ll need to practice.” The Ash Queen said, addressing both of us. “Controles through focus. Discipline and courage. Every moment of doubt is an opening the sorcerer will exploit. You must trust yourself… and eventually, perhaps, you will learn to trust me as well.”
Elias let out a slow breath, nodding, the tension in his shoulders easing fractionally. “She’s not pushing herself too hard.” Elias said, determination evident his words. The shimmer along my skin pulsed brighter, responding almost as if it recognized his reaction. <fn4ac6> Checktest chapters at FιndＮovel</fn4ac6>
The Ash <i>Queen </i>allowed a faint smile to flicker across her face, soft and fleeting. “Good. Begin with small steps. Learn to channel your power. And remember–you are not alone. Not
now<i>. </i>Not ever.<i>” </i>
And beside me, Elias, cautious but ready. The Ash Queen’s presence was unsettling, yes, but purposeful, grounded, and oddlyforting. For the first time all day, I allowed myself to believe: perhaps together, we could stand against the sorcerer–and perhaps, just perhaps, we could survive what wasing and emerge stronger for it.
The Ash Queen moved closer. The swirl of ash around her hands began forming shapes-
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creatures, symbols, flickers of light–that shimmered briefly before dissipating into the air. Your power is not only for survival.” She said. “It is for resistance, for protection, for shaping the oue of this realm. But it requires focus and control. Every moment of doubt weakens you. Every hesitation can be exploited. <i>You </i>must face it, acknowledge it, and bend it to your will.”
I flexed my hands again, the shimmer crawling along my arms in response to her words. Exhaustion still pressed in like a weight, but the pulse in my chest grew stronger, more insistent. Every nerve ending thrummed, alive and electric<i>. </i>My body felt like it was bing something more than human–something raw and dangerous <i>and </i>vital.
Elias leaned closer, his eyes wide, his hands hovering near mine, almost reverently. “I… I think I can feel it too.” He said, voice barely above a whisper. “It’s like it’s <i>connected </i>to both of us. Together, maybe we can learn to control it.”
Elias has never had any power before in his life. But being here in this realm seems to be showing us that that might not be the case.
“Yes.” the Ash Queen said, a flicker of approval crossing her ash–gray eyes. “The bond between you strengthens the power within. But it also creates vulnerability. You must learn to focus your intent, or the sorcerer will exploit any weakness.”
“Why didn’t you
tell me all of this at your castle?” I asked, cautiously.
“Because Arthur was there. And he had no idea about any of this. About the power that the sorcerer was going to identally unlock after approaching you.<i>” </i>The Ash Queen said.
I swallowed hard, letting the warmth pulse through me. The exhaustion pressed in, gnawing, yet there was rity beneath it–an awareness I had never known. I was alive in a way that terrified and exhrated me at once.
“I… I think I can <i>do </i>this.” I whispered, my voice steadier than I expected. “I think I can control it… if we <i>practice</i>.”
Elias smiled faintly, cautiously. “Then we’ll do it together. If this power is going to be part of us, we’ll learn <i>to </i>use it, <i>no </i>matter how dangerous it is.”
For the first time that day, a fragile thread of hope wove through my exhaustion and fear. The night pressed against the hut’s walls, dark and heavy, but inside, there was light. The shimmer along my skin pulsed softly, a sign this new power might be a gift I could learn to wield.
Beside me, Elias, awake and resolute, grounded me. The Ash Queen’s presence was unsettling yet purposeful, her intent clear.
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For the first time in forever, I allowed myself to believe: together, we could stand against the sorcerer and survive what wasing–perhaps even triumph.