chapter twenty

Katherine POV

Pain. It was all I could feel, like my heart was shattering into a million pieces and scattering across the earth. I opened my eyes to a blindingly bright sky, covering them with my hand to shield myself from the sunlight.

As I moved, the pain ceased, and I realized I was lying on sand. I turned around, disoriented, taking in my unfamiliar surroundings. Why was I in the desert? I walked around in circles, searching for answers or a solution, but my family was nowhere to be found.

The last thing I remembered was Steve performing a ritual on me... how did I end up here? Exhausted and dehydrated, I collapsed onto a nearby log, watching as the ground began to rumble and the birds took flight. I tried to run, but the dust obscured my vision, and I tripped, landing with a heavy thud.

As I struggled to get up, a massive sandstorm engulfed me, reducing visibility to almost zero. The howling wind and stinging sand made it hard to breathe. I covered my face with my hands and stu