Chapter 1844:

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My free hand drifted to the nape of my neck, where Damian’s tracker had once been. Where Evelyn’s cloaking spell now sat in its place. I hadn’t been able to make myself go out into the world because I was terrified of being caught by the monsters lurking in it. But if I was hidden from the monsters…

“It’s a huge world, and I’m completely alone.” I barely recognized my own voice. It sounded small and fragile. Like me.

Sera covered my hand with hers.

“It’s a huge world,” she agreed. “But you’re not alone. I promise you that.”

When she pulled back, there was something in my hand. I looked down at the necklace resting in my palm.

It was an ordinary steel chain, but the pendant was a milk-white stone with a faint pink glow shimmering from within. It was warm against my palm, almost as if it pulsed with life.

“It’s magic,” Sera told me. “One last gift from Evelyn.”

“What does it do?”

“It makes sure that wherever you are, whatever you get yourself into, however much you need me, I’ll be able to reach you.”

I lifted my gaze from the necklace to Sera, and her face blurred in front of me until I realized my eyes had filled with tears.

𝗥е𝗮𝖽 f𝘳𝗲е 𝘯𝘰ve𝗅𝗌 on 𝗀𝗮𝗅nо𝘷el𝘴.𝗰о𝘮

She reached out and caught the first one with her thumb.

“More than anything in the world, I want to keep you safe, Mireya, but not if that means keeping you trapped. So go, if you need to. But don’t you dare think for a second that you’re alone.”

I let out a breath so heavy it genuinely felt like setting down a weight I’d been carrying. I hadn’t realized how badly I needed Sera’s blessing until she gave it to me.

She had done so much for me, and the last thing I wanted was to seem ungrateful, but she was right. I didn’t know if I still had a home, and Nightfang had been a good substitute, but it wasn’t my home.

I had thought that once the tracker disappeared, that nagging sense that I needed to keep moving, that there was somewhere else I was supposed to be, would disappear too.

But if anything, now that the bond had been severed, the pull to keep going tugged at me even harder.

Toward what?

I had no idea.

There were so many possibilities it was frightening.

I didn’t know what fate had in store for me, and leaving felt like setting sail into stormy seas to chase after a legend.

Maybe I’d find adventure and treasure.

Maybe I’d drown.

My fingers drifted back to the nape of my neck. And maybe, after all, the sea monsters would still find a way to reach me.

But if I didn’t leave, if I didn’t move forward, I was afraid I’d end up turned to stone.

I turned to Sera with a trembling smile and held out the necklace, letting it glimmer in my palm.

“Will you help me put it on?” I whispered.

She took the necklace from my hand and leaned in, reaching around my neck.

The cool metal settled against my skin, but instead of pulling away, Sera wrapped her arms around my shoulders in a soft embrace.

“Don’t be afraid to come back if you need to,” she murmured. “You’ll always have a home here.”

I closed my eyes and hugged her back, holding on maybe a little too tightly.

And for a moment, the restless emptiness inside me eased into something almost like peace.

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Message from Noa: Have a beautiful morning dear readers. God loves you and Noa wishes you all the best. ( • ᴗ – ) ✧

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