As I finally left my bedroom, I found Dante and Leonardo had already gone. Though it was midday, a heavy weariness crept over me. Maybe it was because of my sudden reappearance and the two days I’d lost in what felt like half an hour, or perhaps it was the nightmarish creature that had chased me far from the Fae realm. Whatever the cause, my eyelids felt weighted, and I welcomed the idea of a rest.
After informing Chiara and Enrico about Carlo’s imminent visit, I grabbed a quick snack and headed back upstairs. I knew Carlo’s arrival would only add to the tension, yet I hoped Sofia would come with him. Vito had been occupied learning the Beta responsibilities from his father, but I still wished he’d join them too. I couldn’t help but chuckle at the thought of Carlo trying to refuse her; Sofia would absolutely lose it if she found out Carlo left for Leonardo’s pack without her. Enrico, meanwhile, seemed thrilled to have another male ally, particularly one who wasn’t on Leonardo’s side.
I wasn’t looking forward to the brewing tension, but I was sure us girls could handle them if things got out of hand.
I sank onto the bed as my stomach let out a forlorn growl, but exhaustion won the battle, and I curled up without even pulling the comforter over myself. As sleep pulled me under, colors swirled behind my eyelids, unfocused at first but gradually sharpening, drawing me into a deeper slumber.
Vibrant hues of orange, green, and red shifted into shapes, becoming clearer with each passing moment. The colors continued swirling until I found myself just outside a massive forest, its trees coated in a thick blanket of snow, unlike anything I’d seen in Leonardo’s territory. The icy wind howled, biting at my skin as it whipped through the trees and into the open sky.
“Mommy! I don’t want to go,” a high-pitched whine broke through the silence, accompanied by the crunch of small footsteps over ice and snow. “He makes my head hurt!”
“I know, sweetie,” came a soothing voice. “One last time, I promise.”
The familiarity of the voice jolted me, and I spun around, slipping on the icy ground. I dropped to my knees, barely registering the cold as two figures emerged from the trees. All the grief I’d been holding surged to the surface. My mom came into view, her half-high rubber boots squishing through the thick snow. She looked younger than I remembered-gone were the fine lines from her face, replaced by a smooth complexion and hair that glistened a rich shade of white, contrasting with my own. A strangled sob tore from my lips as I stumbled to my feet, numb fingers clawing at the snow.
“Mom!” I cried out, my voice raw, carrying my anguish into the wind.
Frozen tears burned down my cheeks, amplifying the sting on my skin. But the real pain wasn’t physical; it was the ache in my heart, reopened like a festering wound. I’d managed to push past the infection, but the scar had never healed. Looking into her familiar, kind eyes, I felt it tear open anew. She wore her usual lumpy winter coat, her familiar silhouette unmistakable. Just as I reached her, the child beside her spoke up.
“You said that last time, Mommy!” The little girl wailed, and that’s when I noticed her-brown hair, brilliant red eyes, chubby cheeks rosy from the cold, and a gap where a front tooth was missing. Everything about her was familiar, yet I struggled to place her.
“I need you to be brave, Isabella,” Mom murmured, cupping the child’s face-my face. Her thumbs moved in soothing circles over my reddened cheeks. “Can you do that for me? As soon as we’re done, we’ll get some hot cocoa and warm up.”
“Promise?” the little girl-me-asked, clenching her tiny fists.
“I promise, baby.” Mom’s smile was dazzling, one I thought I’d never see again.
I stood frozen, watching this younger version of myself, realizing with a twist in my stomach that this wasn’t just a dream. Everything felt too vivid, the snow too cold, and the wind too sharp. As they continued, trudging forward on a trail cut through the snow, I followed. With every gust of freezing wind, I felt my fingers and lips go numb. The biting cold chipped away at me, yet I kept moving, unwilling to let her out of my sight.
A cabin loomed in the distance, if you could call such a massive house that. It stood three stories tall, built from dark maroon wood, with yellow light glowing from its windows and smoke curling from a chimney. As my mom climbed the porch steps, pulling little me along, I realized I had no memory of ever being here, though something in me desperately wanted to remember. A sharp, painful sensation pierced my head, like a swarm of wasps, and I clutched my temples, trying to hold onto the image of the cabin.
Mom knocked on the door, and after a moment, it opened. Warmth poured out, chasing away the cold. A man appeared in the doorway, with hair like crackling fire-strands of orange, red, and yellow cascading around his shoulders. His tanned skin seemed untouched by the frigid weather, and his eyes, a startling green interlaced with flecks of silver, gold, and gray, were both unfamiliar and captivating. He scanned over my mom, and then, to my shock, he looked directly at me.
I stiffened. This was a memory-how could he see me?
“Come inside, Isabella. It’s getting colder by the second,” he said in a warm voice.
“Thank you, Silvio,” Mom replied, guiding me inside. “I don’t know how you stand it here.”
As Silvio closed the door, his gaze flickered back to me, and then the door shut with a resounding thud.
“Wait!” I cried, slamming my fists against the door. “Mom! I need to see my Mom!”
The words dissolved in the wind, leaving only the echo of my desperation. “I didn’t get to say goodbye,” I whispered, my voice hoarse.
With a gasp, I jerked awake, clutching the blanket in numb fingers as tears streamed down my face. I told myself it was just a dream, something impossible and fleeting. But even as I tried to deny it, I could feel the last traces of ice melting from my skin, leaving me with the unshakable reminder of how much I’d lost-how much of her I’d never get back.