“The story was bursting with scenes that made me feel all different emotions. Filled with twists and turns, love and friendship, hills and valleys, it is one I strongly recommend.”
~Reviewer Wisteria, Whipped Cream Reviews - 4 Cherries
|
His voice grew faint. Even with her head pounding, she understood. He didn't love her anymore. Forget her hero theory, he brought her to the dead forest for one very specific reason. Not to scare her, but to kill her. Craning her neck upwards, she stared at the velvety night sky. Rone had gone, leaving her for dead. She blinked and watched a snowy white owl land on the edge of the well. The same one she'd seen perched on the cedar. Its large eyes blinked hypnotically.
Perhaps it served as an angel, sent to collect her. To wrap its glimmering white wings around her broken body and fly her to a peaceful paradise for all of eternity. If so, she wondered why it waited. Did it doubt her goodness? Had her loss of purity before marriage somehow robbed her of passing over into the light? She wondered how much more cruelty she'd have to endure before the night ended. No one wanted her. Not even the angels themselves.
Sharp pain shot through her neck and she closed her eyes, waiting for the sensation to pass. Astrid couldn't begin to assess the amount of damage her body had sustained. When she opened her eyes again, the owl no longer kept her company. Her head throbbed. At least she felt something, though she couldn't say the same thing about the rest of her. The lack of feeling in her legs disturbed her at a core level. Without the ability to stand, she couldn't climb out. Looking up along the well, she realized even if she were able to stand, she'd never get out.
Alone, she wept, afraid the stories were true, afraid the spirits would come and slay her, though part of her almost welcomed a relief from the nagging discomforts. Another thought concerned her. No one knew her whereabouts. Astrid didn't want to believe Rone heartless and cruel, but his actions spoke volumes. What happened to his strong views on trust? Had his words of love all been lies? She struggled to remember if a change had taken place, a moment where an inkling of uncertainty crossed her mind.
And then it came to her. Complete clarity. The day he asked her to sign away her monies and fortune, along with deeds to property and valuable stocks. He promised to put it all into lucrative deals with business partners, tripling the amount of all her assets. Convinced of his reasoning, she signed the papers, giving him full access to every last possession she owned.
Money and material things held little value to her. As they planned their lavish wedding, everything else seemed insignificant. But she remembered Rone's insistence. He claimed it was his duty, as her soon-to-be husband, to oversee all her assets and make certain she'd be well taken care of. Naively she'd believed every word. All his preaching about truth being the most important component in a relationship - lies, all lies. One-sided because she'd been stupid enough to believe him while he thought only of himself. Now she lay broken and dying, and regretted having ever met him.
Pain racked her chest as she struggled for a breath. Light-headed from the lack of fresh air, Astrid could hardly keep her eyes open. A nerve-wracking scritching sound started somewhere off to her right. In the darkness she couldn't see anything. What else could exist inside a well without water? Had the evil spirits sensed her presence? Maybe they'd heard her cry out for Rone. None of it mattered anymore. Soon she'd die. If not from her injuries and loss of blood, then from the lack of air, food and water. Another sound made her body cry out in pain as she tensed. A cool draft wrapped around her exposed wounds.
Goose bumps coated her arms as she swore fingers crept around her body. Even with her eyes tight, the presence refused to leave. Its icy breath ran down her back. High-pitched cackles echoed around her ears, a chorus of death bells ringing out around her. The cold became almost unbearable. Seizing the very breath from her lungs. Stilling the blood inside her veins. Whatever it was, it would soon have her in its clutches. There was nothing she could do but accept her fate.
"Please, I can't run away," she sobbed. "Finish me."
|
