Chapter 67

ALINA

When I woke up, my head was pounding like someone had struck me repeatedly with a hammer. Groaning, I reached for the small bottle of pills I kept on my bedside table and swallowed a couple, hoping the painkillers would soon take effect. I closed my eyes for a moment before I decided to take a bath.

I dragged myself out of bed and stumbled over to the mirror, still half-asleep. As I stared at my reflection, something felt off. I blinked several times, trying to focus. My white hair strands—the ones that had always been there in small streaks—were longer. Much longer. And there were more patches of white spread throughout my hair, giving it an eerie contrast against the rest of my dark locks. I ran my fingers through it, confused. It wasn’t like this yesterday, was it?

Did something happen between yesterday and today or was it because I was struck by the witch hunter? Shaking off the weird feeling, I decided it wasn’t worth dwelling on for too long. Maybe the stress from the pa