The Shadow (2)

Seraphina's POV

If those cracks continued to spread, if the shadows finally gave way to the moonlight, something would escape. Something far worse than the death that loomed over my mother now. A terror unlike anything I had ever known was about to be unleashed.

I stepped forward, my feet moving before I could think. But just as I took another step, my mother’s figure wavered, her form becoming less solid, like a mirage slowly dissipating into the air. She seemed to be fading away, like she was no longer part of this world, as if an invisible barrier separated her from the rest of us.

At that moment, she raised her right arm—her shadowy hand trembling—and pressed her fingers to her forehead. The flowers stopped growing for a brief moment, held at bay by her sheer will. But it was only temporary. The moon’s light was getting stronger, and I could see the flowers beginning to pulse again, as if they were ready to burst forth at any second.

But then, something unexpected happened.

She smiled.

Despite the pain and the torment she was enduring, she looked at me and Stephen, her face softening with an expression of deep affection, something I had never seen from her before. And then, in a voice so gentle it made my heart ache, she called out to us:

"Seraphina, Stephen, come here. Let me look at you."

Her voice was warm, filled with a tenderness that made me feel like a child again. She continued, her words carrying the weight of years gone by:

"It’s been two years since I last saw you both… I’m sorry. I’ve been so busy all these years."

She smiled again, but this time there was a sadness behind it. "I still remember the day you were born, how small you were. It feels like just yesterday. And now, look at you—so grown up."

Stephen and I shared a glance. We hadn’t had a deep connection with our mother; she had always been distant, more a figure of authority than a loving parent. But hearing her speak like this, seeing her in so much pain, with so much regret in her voice… how could we just stand by and do nothing?

We began moving toward her, slowly at first, then faster, our hearts heavy with the weight of her words.

As we approached, she chuckled softly, a sound that almost broke me. "Helena has told me so much about you," she said, her voice light but full of love. "Stephen, when I heard you liked sweets, I was so surprised. Helena said you have a fondness for blueberry pie. I even tried to make one for you once… though I’m afraid it wasn’t very good." She laughed, and I could hear the self-deprecation in her voice. "I never was much of a cook."

Her gaze shifted to me. "Seraphina… I always wanted to see you in a dress, like a princess, but I know you preferred the knight’s tunic. You were always so beautiful, no matter what you wore."

Her voice grew softer, as if she was speaking to herself now. "I suppose I haven’t been a very good mother… I’ve missed so much of your lives. I never even told you both… how much I love you…"

Her words were like a dagger to my chest. Tears welled up in my eyes, and before I knew it, I was running toward her, Stephen right beside me.

But just as we were about to reach her, her head snapped forward, her body trembling violently.

"Don’t come any closer!" 

She shouted, her voice filled with agony.

Stephen and I froze, our steps faltering as an overwhelming sense of dread settled over me. The same suffocating fear I had felt when I first saw the shadow return, gnawing at me with its cold, merciless grip.

She lifted her head again, her voice once more soft and gentle. 

"I know you must be wondering… why I’ve covered myself in shadows, why I look like this. Don’t worry, it’s not going to take my life… I won’t leave you…"

But before she could finish, her form collapsed to the ground, the six-pointed star beneath her pulsing with renewed life. The dark tendrils of the shadow wrapped around her, pulling her down, deeper into the sigil.

Her voice, barely a whisper now, reached my ears one last time. 

"Don’t… come… closer.” 

“I’ve been tainted…"