Cold air rushed into her lungs.
Elowen gasped as if she had been drowning.
Her chest burned.
Her hands flew to where the blade had pierced her.
Nothing.
No blood.
No wound.
Just her thin dress and the cold morning air.
The wooden door creaked open in front of her.
Her mother stood in the doorway.
The same gray sky.
The same villagers gathering behind her.
The same moment.
"Take your things," Maris Vale said.
The words struck Elowen like a hammer.
She stumbled back.
"No…" she whispered.
Her heart raced wildly.
She looked down at her hands, turning them over as if expecting to see blood there.
But there was nothing.
Just dirt beneath her nails.
Her mother frowned slightly.
"Elowen."
The villagers were watching again.
Whispering.
Just like before.
"You heard me," Maris said. "Take your things and leave."
Elowen's breathing grew shallow.
This was impossible.
She remembered the forest.
The lake.
The fire.
The bandit's blade.
The pain.
And then—
Darkness.
But now she was here again.
At the door.
The same day.
The same moment.
Her stomach twisted violently.
"Mother…" she said, her voice shaking. "Something terrible is going to happen."
Maris's expression hardened.
"Don't start this again."
"No, listen to me!" Elowen stepped forward desperately. "The city will burn. Soldiers are coming. There will be fire—"
Gasps spread through the villagers.
Someone muttered the word again.
"Curse."
Maris's face darkened with anger.
"You see?" one of the villagers whispered. "The girl speaks madness."
"Elowen," her mother said sharply, "you've said enough."
"But it's true!" Elowen cried. "War is coming!"
The villagers stepped back from her.
Fear spread through the crowd like a sickness.
"She's cursed."
"She speaks of blood and fire."
"She is cursing our village!"
"Just like the stories."
Elowen felt the ground slipping beneath her.
They weren't listening.
They weren't hearing her.
They were only hearing what they already believed.
Maris grabbed Elowen's arm and shoved her toward the road.
"Leave," she said coldly.
"Before your madness brings more misfortune to this house."
The door slammed shut.
The lock turned.
Silence fell across the village.
Elowen stood there, shaking.
This had happened before.
Every second of it.
The whispers.
The fear.
The door closing.
But this time she remembered.
She remembered everything.
Her eyes lifted toward the distant hills.
Far away, the first war horn echoed across the valley.
The sound sent a chill down her spine.
It was happening again.
Just like before.
Elowen ran.
She ran past the crossroads without even thinking.
Past the forest path.
Past the southern road.
If the war was coming…
Maybe she could stop it.
Maybe she could warn someone who mattered.
The city walls rose in the distance hours later.
Smoke was already beginning to stain the sky.
People crowded the gates, shouting and pushing.
Soldiers tried to force them back.
"Move aside!"
"Let the army through!"
Elowen pushed through the crowd desperately.
"I need to speak to someone!" she shouted. "The attack is coming!"
A soldier grabbed her shoulder.
"Back with the others," he barked.
"No!" she cried. "They're coming from the west field! They'll attack the road first!"
The soldier froze.
But before he could answer—
A thunderous boom split the air.
Crossbows erupted across the fields.
Shouts filled the air.
"Enemy soldiers!"
The crowd exploded into panic.
People ran in every direction.
Elowen stumbled as someone slammed into her.
Another explosion shook the ground.
The soldiers rushed past her toward the battlefield.
Smoke filled the air.
Screams echoed around her.
She tried to move.
Tried to escape the chaos.
But the crowd surged again.
A horse reared nearby, terrified by the noise.
Its rider lost control.
The animal crashed into the fleeing people.
Elowen felt something slam into her side.
The world spun violently.
She hit the ground hard.
Boots pounded around her.
Someone tripped over her body.
Pain shot through her ribs.
She tried to breathe—
But her lungs refused.
Above her, the sky darkened with smoke.
The war had begun again.
Her vision blurred.
Her last thought flickered weakly through her mind.
It doesn't matter what I do…
Everything still leads to death.
Darkness swallowed her once more.
Cold air rushed into her lungs.
The wooden door creaked open.
"Take your things," Maris Vale said.
Elowen's eyes widened.
And this time…
She didn't cry.