Chapter 23
‘Drop the box, Violet,‘ the same kind voice urged.
Like I was in a trance, I moved without thinking and dropped the box. There was a loud
thud on the ground, all heads turned to me.
The panic I had been holding back, slowly began to release itself, and before I could stop
it, tears blurred my vision.
“Violet!” Dylan rushed to my side, then wrapped his arms around me. When he held me close, I realized I had been shaking. I tried so hard to keep it together, but it was all too much. The voices, the whispers, the temptation.
A sob escaped my throat, and I buried my head into Dylan’s chest.
“It’s okay,” he whispered, hugging me tightly. “You’re okay.”
I clung to him, forgetting every bit of tension or disagreement we’d ever had. None of that
mattered anymore. I just wanted to disappear from the embarrassment. I couldn’t bear
the thought of facing anyone, and I definitely wasn’t in the mood for Kylan’s mocking or
cold words.
All I wanted to understand was why I’d heard Adelaide’s voice–and how she knew my
name.
“This isn’t working,” Dylan said, rubbing my back. “We’re making camp.”
We gathered around the fire, our only source of light in the dark. I didn’t like the dark, I
didn’t like voices–and now I had dealt with both of it.
I kept glancing around nervously, expecting for something or someone to jump from the shadows. The box carried so many voices–there surely had to be some kind of presence
around.
Clearing my throat, I shifted uncomfortably as I tried to distract myself from their
piercing gazes. Kylan and Nate hadn’t said much, but I could see the way they looked at
- me.
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They pitied me.
Yes, Kylan pitied me.
Eager to break the silence, I reached into my bag and pulled out a pack of protein bars. “I got snacks!” I waved the bag around with an awkward smile. “Anyone wants some?”
No one reacted. They just kept staring at me, as if they were waiting for me to fall apart any second. “Your loss,” I shrugged, ripping open the wrapper.
“We should’ve never let her carry that thing,” Nate was the first to speak, his voice filled with regret.
I looked at him, then shifted my gaze to Kylan, who was staring directly into my eyes. His gaze was all over the place–confused, irritated and…concerned?
Was my reaction really that bad for Kylan to look concerned?
“I think the box is connected to the ancient dark witches,” Dylan spoke.
Kylan, still staring at me–finally looked away and focused on Dylan. “What do you
mean?”
“These witches,” Dylan began, “they source their energy from gold–in this case, the box. They can’t physically harm us, but they play with your mind,” he glanced at me before looking back at the box in front of him. “They manipulate those who carry big secrets or show fear.”
So the box was fed by big secrets and fear?
As it went dead silent again, I knew the box had found its right candidates.
“Rochwall must’ve given us this box to see if we can work as a team, to test our ability to trust one another,” Dylan continued. “He wanted to make us think this would be some ridiculous challenge–like fighting a bear or some other creature–but we’re only fighting ourselves.”
Kylan scoffed, glancing down at the ground. Nate left out the scoff, but his reaction was pretty much the same.
These were people trained for every physical altercation, but now that it was something
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emotional, they didn’t know how to handle it.
“Is there a way to stop this?” Nate asked, his voice careful.
Dylan nodded. “Yes,” he said, squeezing his eyes shut, and I already didn’t like where it was going. “The way to break the spell is to share your fears and your biggest secret.”
Everyone let out a collective sigh, knowing what was awaiting us. A knot formed in my stomach at the thought of opening up. I’d always been a private person, and I wasn’t ready to share anything.
But it didn’t matter–the box demanded, and now we had to deliver.
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I think Adelaide is her biological mom
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