Chapter 24: A Shocking Revelation. Lucas POV

"Why does she always have to make things so difficult?" As I glanced at the closed door, I said, my voice disturbing the room's silence. Anna's words lingered in the air like an unshakeable accusation, and I could still hear the echo of her footsteps disappearing into the distance.

Breathing became difficult due to the constriction in my chest. Her anger was justified, her pain apparent. I was the one who did it. I was to blame for Leo's death. My fault she was bearing the weight of a crime she had no part in. However, the situation was more complex in reality. I had a clear mission. Yet, for the first time, I wasn’t sure I could see it through.

I exhaled deeply, turned, and sank into the tableside chair. The relic, a tiny, worn artifact that had served as my constant guide ever since I embarked on this damned journey, was sitting in front of me. It was a source of annoyance now.  

I lifted it and rubbed the engravings with my fingertips. Why are you refusing to work? My voice trembled with desperation as I whispered. "Why won't you identify the threat for me?"  

The relic's chilly, dead surface remained silent.  

I pushed myself up and paced the room, slamming it back onto the table. My mind was racing with a frenzied mix of frustration, guilt, and an unidentified other emotion. I kept seeing Anna's face in my head—the sadness she attempted to conceal beneath her rage, the fire in her eyes when she faced me.  

I grabbed the little cabinet in the corner and dug through its scant supplies. A block of cheese, bread, and dried meat gazed back at me. I snatched up the bread, smashed a piece off, and stuffed it in my mouth, but my tongue turned to ash. The nagging pain of remorse had taken the place of my appetite.  

I stared at the ceiling while leaning against the wall and tossing the bread back onto the counter. Sleep felt like a far-off dream, but I was exhausted and my body was weakened.  

Sometime later, I was awakened by the sound of rustling. As my eyes adapted to the room's low light, my head snapped up, confused. I finally spotted the artifact at that point.  

It was glowing.  

My heart leaped into my throat as the room was filled with an unsettling glow from the faint, throbbing light.  

"What the..." As I took it from the table, my voice was no more than a whisper.  

The relic pointed toward the window with a weak but constant glow. In the direction of the forest.  

The realization caused my stomach to turn. I shook my head, saying, "No. Not right now."  

The relic's glow, however, remained constant. There was no mistaking it.  

I picked up my knife, put on my jacket, and walked over to the door. All of my instincts told me to remain motionless and to disregard the artifact and the route it was taking. However, I was unable to.  

The rustle of leaves and the distant cries of nocturnal animals were the only sounds to break the stillness of the night in the cool air outside. The moon's weak light created shadows that spread across the ground. My footsteps sounded muffled against the soft ground as I hurried along.  

As I made my way more into the forest, the relic's glow intensified, its pulsing light illuminating the dense foliage. My heart was racing with every step, and I was breathing in short gasps.  

“Please, don’t let it be her,” I mumbled a prayer that I wasn't sure who to address.  

The relic's glow became nearly blinding as it blazed hotter in my hand. With my senses sharpened, I slowed.  

Then I caught sight of her.  

Anna.  

She was kneeling behind a tree, sobbing softly, her shoulders trembling. Her hair glistened in the moonlight as it cascaded in loose curls around her face. She looked so small, so fragile.  

Now, the relic's light was indisputable; it was constant and unflinching. With the weight of my goal bearing down on me, I tightened my grasp on the knife.  

The crunch of leaves beneath my feet seemed deafening in the silence as I moved closer.  

Anna's tear-streaked face caught the moonlight as she raised her head a little. I couldn't hear what she was saying, but her lips moved. As though attempting to find stability in a universe that appeared intent on shattering her, she gripped the ground under her.  

My chest constricted as I came to a halt. I had been sent here for this exact moment. The time I was meant to take action.  

But I couldn’t.  

What made her the threat? She wasn't some destructive force or a monster. She was simply Anna.  

For the first time, I started to doubt everything since the knife seemed like a lead weight in my palm.