Chapter 7 7

Odette's Pov

I've had nightmares before but this one was different from the ones I had.

Usually, it would begin with a storm. This time, it began with the sound of flapping wings.

It wasn't just any bird's wings. It was much heavier, like a wave ripping the sky open and amidst the chaos, I stood in a forest I didn't recognize. I was standing right under the Blood Moon and the air smelled of ash and metallic, blood and death, and all around me, something was whispering incessantly.

“Go away!” I had screamed at them but their voices were much louder.

“Run, Odette!” Their voice was clearer now and it wasn't a threat. It was a warning, a warning for me to run away but not from them.

“Run before he finds you!” The voices screamed.

I took a step forward and found a woman wearing a ripped night gown covered in blood.

“Run!” Her hollowed voice said.

“Who are you?” I shouted in the dark. “Why are you haunting me?”

The woman screamed this time and we both looked down. Protruding from her chest was a blood-red claw that ripped out of her back. The woman's body slumped to the floor in a lifeless heap. When I lifted my eyes, the woman's killer smirked at me and he was none other than Aaron.

He crouched to my level and grabbed my chin. “You were such a pretty thing. Too bad you’re going to die.”

“No, don't! Don't hurt me!”

Suddenly, it was day and I was running

again, but not for my life but for

someone else's.

"Nooo!!" I screamed as I ran toward Aaron who was sitting on his knees with his hands tied behind his back.

He looked at me, his eyes filled with hatred. A man dressed in black stood behind him with a sword,  ready to execute him anytime.

"Noo.." I screamed,crying and running

toward him but a hand grabbed mine.

"Let go of me!" I screamed.

I woke up with a scream.

My body was drenched in sweat. The room was freezing but the fireplace was still on. No matter what I did, my heartbeat refused to slow and my hands… they wouldn't stop trembling.

A faint silver shimmered beneath my skin and spread up my wrist. I pressed my hands together, trembling terribly.

“No… no, this can't be real.”

I heard incoming footsteps and tucked my hands between my legs. Before the door flew open, I felt him.

Aaron.

When I caught sight of him in the doorway, standing in nothing but dark trousers, disheveled hair, bare chest, a deep sense of relief washed through me.

“Aaron!” I gasped and ran towards him, enveloping him in a tight hug. He put his arms around me and held me close while stroking my back.

I clutched his back, feeling the tight muscles of his back. He was here. He was real.

A shudder rippled down my spine and I began to sob.

“Shh..It's alright. I'm here now.” He whispered but I only hugged him tighter.

“Please, don't leave.” I sobbed.

“I won't.” He whispered in my hair as he stroked my back. And as he promised, he didn't leave me.

I woke up in the morning, my cheek pressed against Aaron's chest. The sound of his steady heartbeat and the feeling of his arms around me making me want this moment to last forever. Slowly, the peace I felt began to fade as memories of the nightmare from last night came back. It felt like a stab in the heart and I sat up quickly. As if Aaron was never sleeping he sat up right after me.

“Is something wrong?” He asked.

I just shook my head and he drew me into his arms. The thought of causing his death just like in my dream, made me shudder at the memory.

“No,” I whispered, shaking my head.

“Are you sure?” He probed.

I wanted to deny it but I couldn't. Yelling at him was the least I could do to thank him for calming me down but… how would he react to the dream if I told him?

“It's okay. You don't have to tell me.” He said softly, pulling me closer to his chest. “Everything will be alright.”

I clutched the mattress and sighed. I hoped it would.

---

Turns out things became awkward pretty fast.

For two days after the nightmare, Aaron avoided me.

He didn't send for me or eat breakfast or dinner with me, he didn't even look her way when we crossed paths in the corridor. It was awkward.

At breakfast, I caught a glimpse of him through the open archway of the Great Halls, speaking with his council. He didn't see me but when he turned as if he might, I looked away.

Clarisse hadn't come to my chamber since that night either and the silver locket still hung around my neck. I didn't understand what was going on and because of that, I barely slept.

Everytime I closed my eyes, I heard the echo of my own scream and saw the red moon. It was a nightmare.

Since Aaron refused to speak to me, I decided to get acquainted with the castle.

The Blackwood Castle was older than Aaron. That much I was certain.

The castle looked like a ruin. The stones were old but still looked sturdy. I was told to avoid certain hallways and noticed how the maids there always spoke in hushed tones.

As I navigated my way round the castle, I remember asking when a maid had mentioned something about a library. I didn't know where it was but curiosity got the better of me.

I brushed my fingers against the grooves carved in the stone and wondered what lay behind this door. Was it a library? Was it a secret room?

I couldn't tell. All I could notice was that the faint smell of parchment and candle soot grew stronger with each step I took.

I got to the bottom of the wide staircase and found a heavy oak door at the end.

I reached out a hand and pushed the door open.

A gasp escaped my lips when I realized what I'd walked into. It was a library. A very magnificent one.

The shelves were filled with plenty of books and even towered towards the ceiling. My eyes locked on a torn paper and several dried ink pots. Dust floated through the air when I shut the door behind me and I coughed.

No one has been in this place for ages. Or so I thought.

“Looking for a book?” A shaky male voice called out, startling me.

I yelped and turned to the left. Sitting behind one of the tables with a spectacle perched on his nose was a grey haired man. I hadn't seen him before and wondered who he was.

The old man narrowed his eyes at me for a few seconds as if trying to recognize me. His eyes slowly widened and he bowed his head.

“Your Highness,” he said.

I shook my head. “Please, don't… you can call me Odette.”

The man smiled faintly. “My name is Geral, keeper of the library and the oldest werewolf in the Blackwood Castle. It is a pleasure to meet your acquaintance, ma'am. Are you here on the King's orders?”

That made me pause. Aaron didn't send me here for anything. But if I lie and say he did, would Gerald let me through?

I opened my mouth to say something but he chuckled. “The sacred books here are forbidden, Your Highness. If you're curious then you can ask the King for access if he would grant it.”

“If the books are forbidden then why are you here, watching them?” I asked, curiously.

Gerald chuckled again l, then smiled. “I am the royal archivist. If I don't protect our castle's sacred books, then we might lose our history.”

There was something about him and it made me feel calm. He was the third person in this castle to ever make me feel like home.

I looked around the place and sighed. “I didn't know this place was real.”

“It's alright. Just a few people do,” he leaned back in his chair. “It was once the heart of the kingdom's knowledge before the curse fell.”

My face blanched. “What curse?”

Gerald studied me for a few moments before finally saying, “You really don't know?”

I shook my head.

Clarissa had mentioned something about a secret. Is the curse a secret?

“What curse?”

Gerald hesitated before he rose to his feet and pulled a worn volume out. He opened it carefully and showed the page to me. It was a picture of a woman with wild hair. Her hands were raised to the sky and a ring of wolves surrounded her, all kneeling before her.

My brows are knitted. “Who is that?”

“She is…”

Gerald had barely gotten a word out before a tall, bulky man dressed in black leather armour. I didn't recognize him.

“Beta Caesar!” Gerald said so suddenly.

I stared at the drawing, at the face that, for some reason I couldn't explain,  looked familiar.

“I thought the king made it clear that everyone is forbidden from reading the sacred books.” Caesar said, snatching the book from Gerald's grip.

I opened my mouth to protest but my stomach flipped upside down when he leaned closer and whispered.

“Breakfast is ready. His Highness is waiting for you.”

I nodded quietly and went out the same way I came in.

What were they hiding? Why was it so special about the book that nobody should even open it?

Curiosity gnawed at my skin and I squeezed the locket lying on my chest.

The kingdom was cursed and so was I.