CHAPTER 32

Chapter 32:

I ended up in a place I knew very well, but it all felt off. The house I grew up in had rooms that now looked really weird and stretched out. Dark shapes kept moving at the edges of what I could see. It felt like I was a tiny kid again, maybe about five or six, hiding behind the big couch in our living room.

“You can't do this, Ryder!” My mom's voice, which was usually quiet and comforting, was now full of a kind of fear I'd never heard. “The prophecy isn't supposed to be pushed. You'll destroy everything!”

“Don't be naive, Emily.” The responding voice sent chills down my spine. Deep and commanding, it held an undercurrent of barely contained rage. “The old ways have made us weak. It's time for a change, and your daughter is the main factor.”

I looked cautiously from behind the sofa, my heart racing. My parents were standing opposite a tall man with very white hair and bright red eyes. Ryder Storm. Even in my dream, I recognized him and what he would turn into.

“We won't