Chapter 349: The Nightmare
[Music recommendation: Joep Beving - Orvonton]
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"Please... just do it!"
That same painful voice of the woman begging echoed through the darkness once again.
"I beg you! Please!"
’Who are you? Why? Why are you begging? What are you begging for?’
"Please, Bel..." The woman’s broken cry of despair distorted at the end.
’Bel? Who is Bel?’
Then came the familiar, animalistic roar of something massive.
The scene shifted instantly.
Darkness enveloped her as Aliana found herself walking through familiar surroundings. She was inside the Valentine residence, heading toward the living room.
Suddenly, her foot struck something solid.
Her eyes lowered to the floor, only to widen in sheer horror.
She gasped and instinctively stumbled backwards, but her feet slipped on something slick and wet.
As she fell, her gaze swept across the floor, taking in the cold, motionless bodies scattered across the marble, surrounded by a vast pool of blood that had stained the once-pristine white floor crimson.
"Oh God!" she choked out, her breathing turning rapid and ragged as one of the faces came into view.
"J-Jade!"
Aliana scrambled forward on her hands and knees, reaching for Jade’s lifeless body lying face down on the floor. With trembling hands, she turned her over, and a horrified gasp tore from her throat.
"No!"
A massive, gaping hole had been torn straight through Jade’s chest.
"No... no, no!"
Aliana’s panicked gaze swept across the room, her vision blurring with tears as she recognised the rest of the fallen figures.
Alester. Portia. Nigel.
Everyone she loved lay dead around her.
A sudden choking sound echoed from the living room.
Aliana’s head snapped towards it.
Pushing herself off the floor, she staggered towards the sound, moving through the darkness with only the pale moonlight spilling through the enormous windows to guide her.
Then she saw him.
A dark, commanding figure sat motionless on the sofa, his presence filling the room with an oppressive silence. One hand was wrapped tightly around someone’s throat, the struggling figure desperately clawing at his grip.
Tears spilled free from Aliana’s eyes as recognition struck her.
"Winston..."
The old butler turned towards her, his face contorted with pain as he struggled to speak.
"Run... Mada-"
Before he could finish, an arm plunged straight through Winston’s chest, ripping his heart from his ribcage. Aliana covered her mouth to stifle a scream as the figure casually cast Winston’s lifeless body onto the floor like trash.
Aliana’s tear-filled eyes finally lifted to the killer’s face, only to meet bright, glowing crimson eyes staring back at her.
They were eyes she would recognise anywhere, yet they were completely hollow, devoid of any warmth or emotion.
Her gaze dropped as the man extended a blood-soaked hand toward her. "Come here, baby," he called softly.
It was then that her eyes drifted lower, and she felt her heart stop when she finally saw the same gaping hole in her husband’s chest, with blood pouring down his torso, and Aliana screamed. "Gavriel!"
"Aliana! Wake up! Ana!"
Aliana snapped her eyes open to a brightly lit room and a worry-filled voice calling out to her.
Her chest heaved as she gasped for air, her skin bathed in cold sweat.
Slowly, her light grey eyes adjusted and focused on Gavriel’s tense, worried face bathed in the soft glow of the bedside lamps. One of his hands gently wiped away the hot tears streaming down her face while the other smoothed her damp hair back from her forehead.
"G-Gav..." her barely audible voice cracked.
"Shh... it was just a bad dream. Calm down, baby," Gavriel coaxed her softly.
Aliana sat up abruptly, her panicked gaze dropping to his chest, only to see that there was no gaping hole in his chest.
As if needing to confirm reality, she pressed a trembling palm against his skin, feeling the steady, rapid beat of his heart beneath her fingertips. When she lifted her eyes to meet his, she found his familiar, icy blue gaze filled with deep concern.
Her lips trembled, and she threw her arms around his neck, burying her face in his shoulder and uttered weakly, "Gav..."
Gavriel wrapped his arms securely around her quivering form, pulling her onto his lap. He stroked her back, continuing to soothe her in low, steady murmurs. "I’m here. You’re safe, baby. It was just a dream."
He pressed a gentle kiss to her hair, continuing his efforts to calm her, yet intense worry gripped his chest. Aliana’s body was burning hot, and he could taste the fear radiating off her.
He had no idea what horrifying vision had triggered such a violent response.
After their intimate dinner and a stroll through the city of Kora in Arvia, they had returned close to midnight to rest. Barely three hours had passed when he was jolted awake by the sudden shift in her breathing and her distressed murmurs in her sleep.
He had tried to wake her then, but when she failed to respond after several attempts, a rare sense of dread seized him.
It reminded him of recent nights when she would wake from her dreams shaken after witnessing something unpleasant, but it had never been like this. Never had she failed to wake up, especially when he was actively trying to rouse her.
What troubled him further was her inability to recall the details.
Whenever he pressed her about what she saw, she could only remember the distant sound of a woman begging, unable to picture a face or place any face to the voice.
Gavriel knew recurring dreams were never simple.
They were a rare occurrence for supernatural beings, and when they occurred, they were either a suppressed past demanding to be remembered or served as a warning from the universe about an impending event.
Aliana no longer fell into the category of an ordinary human, which made her recurring dreams all the more concerning.
Her mental and physical well-being had been weighing heavily on his mind for a while now, which was why he wanted to take her away from everything. He hoped relaxing in a new environment might bring her peace.
But for now, he needed her calm before he could ask her anything.
So he continued holding her close, allowing her to cling to him until her silent sobs gradually subsided and the trembling in her body began to ease.
Releasing a quiet sigh of relief, Gavriel shifted back against the headboard and gently brought her with him. Aliana lifted her head from his shoulder and leaned back, finally revealing her tear-streaked, reddened face to him.
Gavriel gently cupped her face in his palms, his thumbs smoothing away the damp tracks on her cheeks before leaning down to press a soft kiss to the tip of her nose.
"Feeling better?" he asked softly.
Aliana gave him a small nod before lowering her gaze. "I’m sorry for waking you up like this again," she said in a quiet voice.
"You never need to apologise to me, Ana." Gavriel gently caught her chin with his fingers, tilting her head up until her gaze locked with his. "Breathe for me."
Aliana obeyed, inhaling slowly until the feverish heat radiating from her skin began to subside.
Watching her closely, Gavriel broached the topic cautiously. "Do you... recall what you saw?"