Whispers of Worlds Beyond: A Series-Chapter 156: Orchestral Symphony [21]

The world fell away.

Wind roared past Aiden's ears as he plummeted downwards , the cliff's edge shrinking into a sliver of jagged stone above him. The night air bit into his skin, sharp and bitter, but it didn't compare to the cold sinking into his chest.

This is it, he thought. He was going to die.

There was no miracle waiting at the bottom, no sudden burst of fire to break his fall, no hand to catch him. Just stone. Stone and gravity.

His thoughts spun faster than his fall.

He didn't scream. He didn't panic.

Instead, he thought of faces.

He thought of Adrian's first- smirking like always, probably getting into trouble even when he wasn't trying. He was loud and reckless and always a step ahead of everyone, but he had never once left Aiden behind. He wouldn't take this well.

Adrian would blame himself.

Aiden wished he wouldn't.

Then Sevan. The calm voice of reason between the chaos. He'd try to fix everything, hold the group together like glue. He'd probably even try to convince himself Aiden was still alive, that they could find him.

They were idiots, both of them. But they were his idiots.

His friends.

It even hurt him harder when he realized the two were his first close friends that he ever had that never cared for any of his status or for his last name.

He thought of Mrs. Caleena, always humming in the kitchen and would always bring him snacks to eat, saying how he should indulge himself once in a while and to never be shy to ask for more. Aiden also thought of Mr. Caleena, gruff but kind in his own way, who helped him control his aura and who trained him. It was him who gave Aiden the push to become part of the Top 10.

They gave him a bed, a place, a family, without ever asking what he was or where he came from. After all he'd lost, after all the fear and running, they gave him something he didn't think he could have again.

He even thought of Shiloh, Lochan and Ambrose- arrogant, dramatic, and a complete pain in the ass. Aiden could still hear Shiloh scoffing, tossing some insult about how Aiden had no subtlety, no understanding of survival.

You hated me, Aiden admitted silently, but maybe… maybe I kind of understood you too. You were just scared, like the rest of us. Just louder about it.

You're still a pain in the ass, though.

He thought of Jarek, Rupert, Amihan, Ivara, Morrigan- he thought of them too. All the faces in the dorms, the Great hall, the classrooms. Genvah had become something more than just a place. It had become a strange, jagged home. And now, he would never see it again.

He'd miss them. He didn't even know how to say goodbye, not really. There hadn't been time.

He wished he didn't follow Amihan. If he knew this would be the end, he would probably make them all letters thanking them for the short months he had in Soleil.

But he didn't regret his decision one bit. He hoped Amihan is somewhere safe or was found by a scout or patrol. At least the most she could experience is a scolding or a detention.

"Thank you," he breathed, but the wind stole it away.

Then came impact.

There came a sickening crack, like thunder splitting the world.

Aiden's body slammed into the ground with a sickening crack. The air rushed out of his lungs in a single agonizing gasp as pain flooded his entire body. He could hear the brittle sound of bones breaking inside him- his ribs, maybe his leg, his shoulder- he couldn't tell anymore. The pain was so overwhelming that everything blurred for a moment. He blinked rapidly, trying to stay awake, but even the stars above him seemed to dim, as if the world itself was retreating. A strange warmth leaked from his side. Blood, most likely.

Aiden barely registered it.

He couldn't move; he couldn't breathe.

Everything hurt.

He lay twisted among the rocks, bones shattered, muscles torn, vision blurred from pain. The cliffs towered above him like a tombstone, and the stars wheeled silently across the sky.

Aiden blinked, tears sliding down his temples.

This is it, he thought. A slow death. No one's going to find me in time.

He gritted his teeth. It wasn't fair.

He'd made it this far. He'd survived Earth. The Hunters. The trauma. The nightmares. He'd started to live again. He had friends. People he cared about. People who cared about him.

And now, he was going to bleed out under the moon.

Aiden let out a shaky breath, his fingers twitching against stone slick with blood. The cold was already starting to creep in- not from the night air, but from the shock. His body was shutting down. His heartbeat slowed, each thump heavier than the last.

Then came the rustling.

At first, he thought it was the wind or an animal brushing through the undergrowth, but something about the sound was alert. His eyes fluttered open, and through the moonlight, he saw the silhouette of someone approaching. His vision, still blurry from the fall, struggled to make out the features. But then, he recognized her.

The loose waves of long black hair, the eyes that looked horrifyingly dead, the glint of something silver near her hand- it was Emmeranne.

Panic surged through him, dull and throbbing like the rest of his battered body. His limbs protested as he shifted to look at her, but he forced himself to move, dragging himself slightly backwards with his good arm.

"I knew it," Aiden croaked, his voice hoarse and broken. "If you came to finish me off, just do it. Don't pretend you care."

Emmeranne paused, her eyes unreadable in the silver wash of moonlight. She looked disheveled. Her cloak was

torn, her cheeks were scratched, and her expression as hollow as ever. But there was something different in the way she looked at him now.

Not pity, not cruelty, but just a quiet, focused calm.

"Unfortunate Lopt used you for his plan," she said flatly. "This was all just to lure me out. To bring justice for Savion."

Aiden didn't answer at first. His mind was still catching up, tangled between confusion and fear.

"Where is he? Where's Lopt?"

Aiden spat out bitterly, "He pushed me."

She didn't flinch. Instead, she let out a soft sigh and raised her hand. Her fingers brushed against her amethyst ring, and with a flick of her wrist, it glowed before morphing into the sleek, sharp form of her sword. The air around her seemed to tighten. Her back straightened, her breathing slowed, and her eyes- always dull and distant- suddenly sharpened and glowed a soft shade of purple,

as if a switch had flipped inside her.

"I told you not to trust him. I... I know he cared for all of you, but he is willing to sacrifice you for what he wants."

Aiden looked at her and tried his best to muster all his strength to stand up.

What was he thinking? Giving up easily?

He felt a pang of pain in all parts of his body, but he managed to conjure a small amount of flame in his hand, his other hand clutching his used elbow to steady himself.

"Alright then," she murmured, not to Aiden but to the night itself. "If that's the game he's playing, I'll just make sure to lure him out. Since he did the same for me."

She began walking forward, her footsteps slow and deliberate. Her sword hummed slightly in the air, attuned to something only she could sense.

"No!" Aiden cried out, his panic spiking as he backed up with what little strength he had left.

He hurled the flame in his palm.

The ball of flame hissed through the air, but Emmeranne tilted her head ever so slightly and it missed, hitting the tree beside her with a burst of heat. She didn't even flinch.

"Stay away from me!" he shouted, flinging another fireball, this time lower, aimed for her feet. It exploded against the ground, sending up dirt and smoke, but she walked through it like fog.

"You don't understand, Aiden... While he btrayed you, he cares for you," she said, more to the shadows than to Aiden. "He has to. He'll come out."

"I don't care what you're trying to do, I'm done with this betraying bullshit," Aiden growled, fury overtaking his fear. "You're not using me as your fucking bait!"

One last fireball bloomed in his hand, but this time he didn't throw it at her.

He launched it into the sky.

It soared like a flare, arcing through the dark like a comet, blazing a trail of orange-red light that split the trees and lit up the forest canopy. A desperate beacon.

Emmeranne's eyes finally shifted- not at him, but at the fire above.

She moved.

Her blade twitched like it had picked up a sound he couldn't hear, and her whole body pivoted with it. Her head tilted again, listening, as if something had finally responded.

And from beneath Aiden, hidden by the shadow of leaves and roots, the faint glowing X he landed on pulsed once.

And somewhere in the woods, far beyond the light of the moon, something shifted.

And the trap had been set.