Chapter Eleven

Brielle's POV

I couldn’t take it anymore. The nightmares were tearing me apart, and the flashbacks during the day left me constantly on edge. That night was proof that it was getting worse.

Zane had tried to be there, tried to reach out but I knew he wasn't the one I needed. My heart yearned for someone different, someone I was too broken to meet after the incident of the previous night.

I found Lucien in his study, buried in his work as usual. His eyes met mine, and I saw that he looked concerned for a split second.

“You look better than last night, are you?” He asked, standing up.

I hesitated, feeling a bit stupid.

“Thats what i want to talk to you about. I dont know what's going on with me but I'm slowly losing my mind. Everyday, every moment, my heart quakes in fear,"

His expression softened a bit.

“Tell me everything.”

I exhaled before I explained, "It started once a day, then progressed. I am always back to the cliff, falling off.I can feel it, the waves slapping across my face as I get propelled towards my death,"

I paused to breath when the feeling became too intense to bear.

"I die over and over. I don't know how much more I can take of it,"

“Dreams are often representation of what our wolves feel, what they had sensed." Lucien said. “I don't know whats happening within you but I know who might. There’s a priestess in the woods. She could help shed some light in this,”

I was surprised.

“A Priestess? ”

“They are trained for this. I could have advised a hospital but I doubt they could discover the root of the issue," He pointed out.

"Can we leave now?" I inquired. I was in haste to get the issue fixed.

"Aren't you going to get Zane?"

I hesitated to give the response but I had to be honest, "I doubt he will understand,"

"Let's go," Lucien said as he grabbed his jacket.

******

The journey was awkwardly silent. I tried thinking up conversations but nothing came to mind. The trek wasn't as long as I expected it to be.

Soon, we got to a small cabin hidden among the trees.

An elderly woman opened the door, her slit eyes sharp and her lips terribly charred.

“Lucien, what brings you here?” She asked, her eyes shifting to me. “And who is this?”

“Brielle,” Lucien said. “ She's the reason we are here, she needs your help,"

She nodded, stepping aside to let us in. The cabin was filled with strange artefacts, and the air heavy with the scent of herbs and incense. She motioned for me to sit, her eyes never leaving mine.

"Noone ever comes to say hi. You always bring problem to my doorstep," She beckoned us to take a seat.

"Well, you are pretty busy. It would be rude to disturb your very important business," Lucien gave a response that made her snicker, exposing her brown dentals.

"So what brings you, girl?"

I took a deep breath and explained everything. She listened with a non chalant look, her slit eyes staring at me keenly while I spoke.

She breathed heavily by the time I was done.

"You never bring a boring issue to my treehouse," She said to Lucienbsho smirked in response.

"Let me see your hand girl,"

She grabbed my hand and mumbled strange words to herself. suddenly a calm bit terrifying wind blew into the apartment, causing the air to become eerie.

After a while, she calmly adjusted on her Ricky chair and poured herself tea.

“You did indeed die during your jump from the cliff.”

My heart skipped a beat.

“What do you mean? I’m here, alive.”

"Are you though?" She shot back.

"What do you mean?"

"Your body is here, your mind is here, but is your spirit here?" She asked and I had no answer to that.

"There is a point called the veil. A place between life and death but you my girl, was pushed back to life from that point by someone longing to be alive. Someone longing for vengeance, someone who died in that very cliff,"

"So you are saying I'm supposed to be dead?"

"Lucien," She called out calmly.

"Where did you find this girl from? She's slow," Lucien chuckled as he fell back on the couch.

"In all consideration, you died but came back with a spirit looking for closure," She answered my question.

"Now you are inflicted with dreams of the person's death, so that you can remember yours. Right now your memory is blank,"

"No, my dreams are about my death. I die in the dream,"

"You experience the person die, it's not you. never you," She replied.

At that point, I thought about it and realized that there was no name nor face to confirm that I was.

"Now it left behind a curse,"

I glanced at Lucien, who looked equally stunned.

“Who is this person? Why does she want revenge?”

"I have no idea on that," She answered.

"Can it be broken?" Lucien asked.

The priestess sighed.

“It’s possible, but it will be difficult. The curse is powerful and deeply entwined with your soul.”

Lucien stepped forward. “What do we need to do?”

“You need to confront it and find out what it needs,” She replied with a trembling voice.

“But you have to be careful, she's sticking around for a reason. If that reason is something keen, she might not let go until she has completed it,”

“I'm ready,” I uttered with hesitation.

“I need the nightmares and drama to end, so please,”

“You might want to relax, baby girl,” Lucien urged.

“She said it's risky, why not evaluate the risks,”

“So now you care about me?” I reacted in shock, staring into his eyes for some emotion.

“You didn't speak to me for months after you rejected me,”

“You are dating my brother!” He snapped out of the blue. His chest contracted as he exhaled heavily. I stared in awe because it was the first time he showed genuine emotion.

“What then do you want? My sympathy?”

“I don't want to know what's happening,” The old lady spoke, disrupting the discussion.

“But I think you are on a clock. You need to take that curse out or you are going back to the veil,”