Havynlee opened her eyes – and the world she found was not her chambers.
A garden stretched endlessly before her, drowning in silver light. Flowers glowed faintly, each petal releasing fragrances too rich, too intoxicating to belong to earth. The air simmered, heavy with sweetness that clung to her lungs until every breath felt drugged. The silence was uncanny, broken only by the hush of a breeze that stirred the crystal-like leaves.
Strange figures sat upon pale benches in the distance, then faces blurred, as if the realm itself refused to let her see them. Some sat calmly, others strolled without sound, moving as though weightless.
This was not earth. This was not life. And yet…..It was no dream.
Her bare feet touched the crystalline path, and though she made no sound, the ground itself seemed to hum with each step. She turned, heart racing – Then froze.
Beneath a great willow that bled silver light stood a woman. She was dressed in flowing white, the dress shifting like smoke, bare feet brushing the luminous grass. Black curls cascaded down her shoulders, her face radiant and so hauntingly familiar.
Her lips parted soundlessly. The world spun. It was like staring at her reflection – older, ethereal, etched with sorrow.
Her hand lifted without thought, trembling, as if reaching for a reflection. "You….you look like me. Are you –" her voice cracked, "S-seraphielle .... My mother?"
The woman smiled, soft and aching. "Yes, Havynlee. I am Seraphielle."
Havynlee staggered forward, her eyes wide, her heart hammering so fiercely it hurt. She reached, brushing the petals of a nearby bloom, and gasped at the softness, the fragrance that clung to her fingers. This was real. Too real.
Her chest tightened. Her throat burned. "This isn't a dream," she whispered hoarsely. "Where am I?"
Sera's eyes softened, though her gaze pierced like moonlight through glass. "Between life and death. Where breath ends and eternity begins. A place the living are not meant to linger."
Havynlee's throat tightened as her words stumbled out. "Then...I'm dead?"
Sera stepped closer, her aura wrapping around her like a cloak of warmth and sorrow. "Not yet. But close enough for me to find you. Your soul leans too close to the edge. Death spurs you onward, and so I was allowed to meet you."
"M….mother." The word clawed itself free, strange on Havynlee's lips.
Sera's breath hitched, her composure faltering as her eyes shone with tears. She cupped Havynlee's cheek tenderly, her touch so warm, so achingly soft it broke Havynlee open.
"My beautiful child," Sera whispered. "They dressed you in chains when you should have been crowned. They call you cursed when you were my miracle."
Havynlee choked, clutching her mother's wrist as tears slipped down her cheeks. She wanted to scream every question, every wound, but her voice was lost.
Sera leaned closer, pressing her forehead to Havynlee's. "You carry me within you. My blood. My sorrow. My wrath. It is why they fear you. And so many souls are tied to you." Her hand lowered to rest lightly above Havynlee's heart. "And why he –" her lips curved bitterly. "The son of the red sovereign, he won't let you be."
"What are you talking about? Son of who?" Havynlee stiffened, her tears halting. "Souls…..tied to me?"
"Yes," Sera whispered. "More souls than you can bear. You're a thread between worlds. And they will come for you – dark ones, hungry ones. Creatures promised something through your blood."
Havynlee's voice trembled, "But why me?"
A silence stretched. Then Sera's smile shifted – sad, almost proud. "Because you are not ordinary. You are the echo of me, and yet not me. You are what should not exist, yet here you stand."
Her hand pressed Havynlee's racing heart. "There is something within you. A powerful, unstable fire that refuses to sleep. It will burn, it will terrify you. But do not fear it – what frightens you is also what saves you."
Havynlee shook her head, her tears spilling faster. "I don't – understand. You said we…..you said I wasn't the only one. Who else?"
A flicker of something sharp – almost anguish – broke through Sera's composure. Her voice grew soft, cryptic. "You are not the only one born of forbidden blood. But you must discover her yourself. Her path weaves with yours, though you do not know it."
Havynlee's brows furrowed. The words made no sense. Each riddle dug into her chest, leaving her more lost, more desperate.
"Why can't you tell me everything?" She begged.
"Because you are not ready." Sera's tone was gentle but unyielding. "Truth is a weight that will crush you if you bear it too soon. Your journey will show you, not I. You will walk with pain, with love, with betrayal. And still, you must walk."
Her fingertips grazed Havynlee's cheek. "Your time is not here, my child. You still have much to finish. Many will need you before the end.
"I don't understand –"
"You will," Sera murmured, brushing a curl from Havynlee's damp cheek. "When the veil thins. When shadows rise. When every mask is stripped away. You will."
Havynlee felt the garden quake, the glow of the flowers dimming like dying stars. Fear crawled up on her throat. "Don't leave me." She whispered, desperate now, clinging to the warmth of her mother's presence. "Please stay. I've only just found you. Don't go."
"I cannot. This place does not belong to you yet. You must return. The living calls you back."
"But I've –"
Sera pressed a finger to her lips. "Hush, my little one. You are not alone. You are not weak. And though they will hunt you, you were not made to."
The willow trembled. The air split. Sera's form began to blur, dissolving like smoke in the wind.
Havynlee sobbed, reaching desperately, but her hands closed on empty air. The willow, the flowers, the benches, all dissolved into darkness.
"Mother –"
Sera's last words clung to her, haunting and tender, as everything collapsed into darkness. "You will understand when the time comes. Until then…. Live."
Air pushed back into Havynlee's lungs. Her body convulsed violently, her throat dragging in ragged gasps. The sweetness of the garden was gone –
And Havynlee's eyes snapped open, gasping into the cruel worlds she had left.