Cara’s pov
Debby hesitated for a moment. The shift in her heartbeat didn’t escape my already heightened senses.
I…i read about them in an old journal, a long time ago, that’s where I learnt about the cupbearers ” she said but something was not adding up, she talked like she knows them on a closer level than someone who just read them in a book. ‘Debby lied’.
I stared at her a little wary of her now, I couldn’t trust her completely, not after she lied to my face. I was lost in thought, my mind racing, but I tried keeping up the facade. “And you think I’m one of them? That I’ve inherited their powers?”
Debby nodded slowly. “I don’t just think it, Cara. I know it from the book. The signs are the same that have been written in the book. The dreams, the strange surges of power, the way you broke those chains… you’re a Cupbearer, Cara. The last of them, perhaps.”
“But… if I’m the last cupbearer” I whispered, fear creeping into my voice, “does that mean I’m in danger? Could those who destroyed the Cupbearers come for me, too?”
Debby’s expression hardened, her jaw clenching. “That’s why we have to be careful. If the wrong people find out who you really are…
****************
After Debby left, the cabin felt even quieter, more suffocating than before. Her words weighed heavily on my mind, filling the silence with an endless loop of questions and doubts.
Cupbearer…
My thoughts spiralled along many unclear events that are even becoming more confusing. Debby said that Garreth told her that my kidnap was because of my secret bloodline, but how did they know,… only if the perpetrator Ryder knows something about me.
I turned the word over in my mind, trying to grasp the reality of it. The last of an ancient bloodline. How could I, the weak, rejected Omega, be something so… important?
I rose from the bed, pacing the small room as my thoughts spun out of control. Could I trust Debby? Could I trust ‘anyone’? If the Cupbearers were so powerful, why had they been wiped out? Who would want to harm them, and why? And now, with me being the last, wouldn’t that put a target on my back too? The realisation made my skin crawl.
For the first time since Brian rejected me, a different kind of fear gripped my chest. Not just fear of being abandoned, but fear of being used. Of being manipulated for the powers I barely understood.
Basically Brian kept me hostage because of my special bloodline, not because he wants to keep me safe… it was all making sense. What if all she has been saying has been a ploy to lure me to false safety.
I sat down, my heart racing, my mind a mess of paranoia. ‘Could I even trust Debby?’ She had been kind to me and one of the friends I didn’t know I would have. but what if she knew more than she was letting on? What if she was hiding something, like everyone else?, I hardly know her, I have only met her for just a few weeks.
I rubbed my arms, suddenly feeling cold despite the warmth of the fire burning nearby. I needed answers, but more than that, I needed to figure out who I could rely on… if anyone.
My eyelids grew heavy, the exhaustion of the past days pulling me toward sleep. I fought against it for a while, but the weight of everything, Brian’s cold treatment, Debby’s revelations, my own confusion, was too much to bear.
I drifted into a restless sleep.
********
The dream returned.
I found myself standing in a dark forest, the trees towering over me, casting long shadows that seemed to stretch endlessly. The air was thick with mist, swirling around me, making it hard to see or breathe. The moon hung high in the sky, its pale light barely penetrating the gloom.
And then, she appeared again. The woman.
She emerged from the mist, her figure ghostly and translucent, but her presence was undeniable.
“Cara,” she whispered, her voice echoing through the stillness. “You must be careful.”
I stood frozen, staring at her. “Who are you?” I asked, my voice trembling.
” I am your friend Cara…
“No like who are you really, are you one of the cupbearers too,?, answer me?”
“I am a part of you,” she said, stepping closer. “And yes I am a cupbearer. I am the last Cupbearer before you.”
My throat tightened. “Then how are you still alive, are you not dead, just like all the cupbearers,? What do you want from me?”
She looked at me with sorrow in her eyes, her expression softening. “I am a wisp of consciousness from the last pure blood. like I said I am your friend and I want you to survive, Cara. you must understand, your powers, your heritage… they will draw people to you. Some will seek to protect you, but many will seek to use you for their own gain.”
My heart skipped a beat, the warnings echoing in my mind, rhythming with my fears.
” what…what do you mean”
“Even those who seem kind,” she continued, her voice taking on a darker tone, “may have their own motives. You cannot trust anyone fully.”
I stepped back, fear gripping me. ” Are you perchance talking about Debby?… she’s been helping me, ”
“I am sorry I can’t say, I am just a consciousness of a dead person, but I believe you will trust your instincts, we the cupbearers don’t trust anybody but our own”
The woman’s form began to flicker, her features becoming less defined.
“Beware of the wolves in sheep’s clothing. You have the power to bring Ellorin to its knees, Cara. But you must be strong. Stronger than you’ve ever been.” she said, her voice fadin
“Please wait, don’t leave,… what do you mean, please tell me…” I panicky beckoned for the woman.
“Believe in yourself Cara, let your wolf guard you through….
Her final words echoed in the silence before everything went black.
********(end of dream)*******
I woke up with a start, my heart pounding in my chest. Sweat beaded on my forehead, and I sat up, gasping for air. The dream felt more vivid than ever, the woman’s warning still ringing in my ears.
‘Don’t trust anyone.’
The thought chilled me, but I couldn’t ignore it. There was something inside me, some instinct telling me that I had to leave. Now. Before it was too late.
I stood up, my body trembling but my mind made up. I wasn’t going to stay here, waiting for something terrible to happen. I had to take control of my own fate. I had to escape. The dream was everything I needed.
I looked around the room, my gaze landing on the heavy wooden door. The guards were stationed outside, their footsteps occasionally echoing through the nights. But I could feel the power inside me, the same force that had broken the chains. It was still there, just waiting to be called upon.
I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath, trying to calm my heart that was already in overdrive.
I could feel my muscles tensing, my senses sharpening. The door stood in front of me, a barrier that suddenly seemed insignificant. I stepped forward, raising my hand, and with a surge of energy, I focused everything on it.
The door groaned, the wood splintering as the force hit it. I watched in awe as it began to crack, then finally shattered, bursting outward in a rain of broken wood.
I stepped through the wreckage, my heart racing, this was the second time I was bursting through. The first guard, startled by the noise, rushed toward me, but I was ready. I could feel the power thrumming through my veins, guiding me, making me faster and stronger.
The first guard lunged at me, but I dodged him easily, manoeuvring past him in a style I would never have done, not with my frail body. My hesitation gave the other guards time to snap from their shock,
” catch the Omega, she is escaping!!!”
Their shouts filled the forest, but I didn’t stop to listen. I kept moving, my senses heightened, my focus singular on the feeling of my wolf, she seemed to know what she was doing and only had one thought in mind. to escape.
Suddenly, a loud siren blared through the air, The pack’s alarm. They knew. They knew I was free.
With one final glance at the fallen guards, I sprinted down the forest. the adrenaline and raw power coursing through me as I ran toward freedom.