The forest was silent.
No birds. No wind. Not even the rustle of leaves.Only the sound of her breathing—broken, shaky, too loud in a world that had suddenly gone still.
Bella Swan stood alone in the clearing, her eyes wide with disbelief, heart pounding like a war drum. Her boots were soaked from the mossy ground, and her fingertips had gone numb, curled at her sides like lifeless twigs. The sky above was overcast, a dull steel gray that mirrored the storm inside her.
Edward Cullen stood before her, marble skin gleaming, his golden eyes devoid of the warmth they once held.Cold. Detached. Dead.
"I don't want you anymore," he said.
The words struck harder than a slap. They were simple. Clean. Precise. Like a knife pressed against her soul.
Bella's lips trembled, her mouth parting as if she could somehow reshape this moment by saying the right thing.But nothing came out. Because there was nothing left.
"You… don't mean that," she whispered.
Edward didn't flinch.
"You're not good for me. I'm leaving Forks. My family is already gone."He paused."You should move on, Bella. You'll forget me. Eventually."
He turned.
No kiss goodbye. No final glance.Just silence—and then the echo of his footsteps fading into the trees.
He left me.
The weight of that truth crushed her knees, sending her collapsing to the damp earth. She didn't cry. She couldn't. It was worse than pain—it was hollow.
The woods grew darker.
Clouds rolled in fast, snarling across the sky like ink spilled over paper. Fog curled at her ankles. A strange wind rustled the treetops even though no breeze touched her skin. The world… shifted.
Bella blinked.
A whisper.
Not Edward's voice.Not human.
"Child of magic… rise."
Her head jerked up. "Wh-who's there?"
Silence. Then the world trembled. A ripple in the air. A flicker of violet light pulsed from the ground beneath her. Roots twisted unnaturally. The fog thickened, swirling around her in hypnotic circles.
Her breath hitched. She stumbled back. But the voice returned, louder now, inside her mind.
"You have been broken. But you were never meant to be whole until now."
Suddenly, the pain in her chest wasn't emotional—it was fire.
Real, burning pain.Something ancient cracked open inside her, as if her soul itself had been locked in chains for centuries and had finally been set free.
She screamed.
Her back arched violently as golden flames spiraled from her spine, curling around her wrists like living serpents. Her eyes rolled back. Images flooded her vision—
—A crown made of bone.—A throne surrounded by ravens.—A circle of witches chanting her name.
Isadora.
Witch Queen.
The ground shook violently. Trees bent backward, groaning under the pressure of her awakening. A circle of charred earth spread from where she knelt.
Bella gasped, falling forward, palms hitting the ground. Her reflection shimmered in a puddle of water below her.
Her brown eyes were gone.
Now, they burned gold.