Aletha opened her eyes suddenly.
Everything was blurry. Her breathing was short. The campfire glowed faintly in the distance, but she was lying farther away, arms folded tightly over her chest.
Her fingers were trembling.
That voice again.
Him. Again.
She slowly sat up, cold sweat on her back. Her eyes scanned the dark trees and the shifting shadows.
And then the voice came back.
> "He's there, Aletha. Watching you. Getting closer."
It was Nick's voice. Always the same. Soft. Cruel.
She pressed her fists against her temples.
"Shut up… Shut up… Caden isn't—"
> "He wants to steal what we had. Don't you feel how he slips in? He's taking my place… in your heart. In your mind. Are you going to let him?"
"No!" she whispered loudly. "I loved you, Nick. I still do… But it's not Caden… He's not the problem..."
A mocking laugh echoed in her mind.
> "You're lying. You think about him. You care for him. You want to protect him. Why?"
Aletha placed a hand over her chest, where her heart was pounding. She closed her eyes.
For a moment, she saw Caden again. His worried gaze. His hurt expression. His hesitation to talk to her.
And the voice returned, sharper.
> "Kill him. Do it for me. Take his life… and I'll come back."
"I… no. I can't..."
Her eyes opened, wet with tears. But something was different.
Her reflection in the water at her feet had changed.
Her eyes were no longer hers. They were black. Deep. Like bottomless wells.
She backed away in panic, then fell to her knees.
"What's happening to me…?" she whispered.
She still heard Nick. His voice, his laughs, his threats. But deep inside her, another voice fought back. Her own. Weak, but still alive.
She punched the ground, furious at herself.
"Not him. I won't touch him..."
But the voice hissed back:
> "You won't have a choice."
And Aletha, head in her hands, realized she was fighting the hardest battle of her life.
Against herself.