𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐎𝐟 𝐃𝐚𝐰𝐧

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Hanadi woke up with the mother of all headaches. A harsh, permeating smell filled her nostrils and settled comfortably in. She struggled to open her eyes. She laid on a fur covered bed, in a low ceilinged room that wad dimly lit by splinters of burning wood. Something bubbled in a small cauldron over a fire pit. A massive mirror made of polished metal stood near a carved wooden column. A very familiar looking young man stood in front of the mirror, Azim.

"Relax, you should rest," he said in a comforting voice.

Hanadi blinked several times, but the weird feeling in her stomach refused to go. The room looked like Azim's home but she had no idea why she was there, the last thing she remembered was the earthquake and her mother's teary eyes. Hanadi swallowed and raised a hand to her eyes. The hand was covered with black veins as if she was poisoned.

"Am I dying-g," she mumbled to herself.

Azim noticed her worried face and rushed to her side. He sat next to her and squeezed her hand with a reassuring look.

"You've been unconscious for 3 days now, you are at my home after your father's orders until they make sure that the palace is safe for you to return. As for your hand, you are not dying Hanadi, we don't know what that is. It appeared after the earthquake," he said without taking a breath, trying to answer every possible question that Hanadi could have inside her mind.

Her eyes were slowly closing and as soon as they closed that's when she saw him. A young man walking towards her, wearing a black leather coat that covered almost all his body. His short hair was white, he had amber eyes and noticeable eyelashes. Seeing him proved to be an eerie experience since his eyes were like a burning fire. As soon as he looked at her, she left a burning feeling inside her chest.

"Orroz is always in your service my queen, always watching," he whispered and disappeared as Hanadi opened her eyes. Her heart was beating fast and it seemed as if she had a fever, she was shivering. Azim rushed to throw an extra blanket over her. It was woven in hand and she could tell by the strands and the perfect hues.

"Was it a dream," she asked herself as her mind went back to that strange man who appeared in her mind. Hanadi pinched her cheek with a trembling hand just to make sure that she wasn't sleeping. Nothing happened.

"You will be moved to your husband's home soon," he said and turned his back on her but Hanadi's mind couldn't focus on his words, everything was a blur. Suddenly, her eyes closed once more. This time, Hanadi was transferred in a wide shore, then as if by divine command a boat appeared on the horizon, glistening in the fog. She watched it make a steady approach, the outline of the boat becoming more clear every moment.

A man was sitting inside the boat with his back on her, Hanadi knew in an instant that she had to get inside even if her legs were trembling and her heart was pounding like crazy. She slowly walked in and sat down without saying a word as the boat cracked under her legs. As if an invisible hand pushed the boat, it started moving on the water. The man slowly turned to face Hanadi, he was an emaciated, humanoid figure with entirely black eyes, leech-like teeth, and long fingers topped by sharp, yellowed fingernails. Despite appearing elderly, at the same time it appeared to be incapable of death.

Hanadi froze in her place without being able to say a word as she faced the creature. She couldn't turn back now, she frantically looked around her to access the situation but there was nowhere to run to. Her life flashed before her eyes. Every muscle in her body screamed at her to flee, but she remained frozen. Her breath quickened and she used every muscle in her body to stifle a whimper.

A gleam shone in its black beady eyes as it stared Hanadi down, ready to attack. The creature smiled at her as he said his name. Sharp teeth looked as if they could tear flesh from her bones.

"Khozotl," he whispered

Hanadi's heart pounded in her chest as she watched Khozotl, approach her with a menacing glint in his eyes. The air around them seemed to grow heavy and charged with an unsettling energy. She tried to pull away, but Khozotl caught her hand in a sudden, vice-like grip. His touch was cold and clammy, sending shivers down her spine.

As she struggled to break free, Hanadi felt a sharp pain shoot through her hand. Khozotl had dragged his sharp, blackened nail across her skin, tearing it open and exposing the raw flesh underneath. The wound burned like a thousand suns, a searing agony that spread from her hand to the rest of her body, making her feel as though she was being consumed by flames.

She tried to scream, but her voice caught in her throat. She could feel her heart racing faster and faster, as if it would burst from her chest. The pain was unbearable, and Hanadi couldn't help but wonder if this was how it would feel to be dragged down to the depths of hell itself.

As Khozotl leaned in even closer, Hanadi could feel his putrid breath on her face. His eyes glinted with a dark hunger, and she knew that she was in grave danger. With a desperate surge of energy, she pulled away from him, finally breaking free from his grasp. She stumbled backwards, gasping for air as the pain slowly began to subside.

The blood left the artery it belonged in surges, beat out by a slowing heart. The blood didn't gush in a constant flow, but in time with the beating of Hanadi's heart. At first it came thick and strong, flowing through her fingers as they clasped the ripped flesh. She felt the blood move over her hand, the thick fluid no warmer or cooler than her own skin. After a few moments, the blood was still leaving her rapidly paling flesh, but the pulses were slower, weaker.

"Khozotl, god of spirits, is here to show you the past and help you with the future my queen," he whispered and pushed her inside the water.

Hanadi thrashed about in the dark, her limbs flailing in every direction but finding no purchase on anything solid. Panic swelled within her chest as she realized she was sinking, sinking deeper and deeper into an unknown abyss. She gasped for breath, but the air seemed thin and suffocating. Just when she thought all was lost, a figure materialized before her, glimmering in the murky depths. It was her mother, reaching out to her with a gentle hand. Hanadi's heart leaped with relief at the sight of her beloved mother, but before she could even utter a word, her mother opened her mouth to speak.

"The spirits have spoken, you carry the future of the kingdom in your hands. The prophecy will be revealed to you. You need to come near death in order to cross the spirit world," she screamed at her.

Hanadi grasped for her last breath but air icy-cold water flooded in her throat and burned it, as if a thousand needles had been plunged into it. Salty seawater gushed down into her lungs, causing a surge of intense pain to ricochet off her ribs and around her torso.

She shot her eyes open and screamed in agony as she found herself being dragged back to Azim's house. Hanadi's mind was in a haze as she struggled to understand what had just happened. The visions she had seen were unlike anything she had ever experienced before, and the intensity of the experience had left her feeling raw and exposed. As she was dragged back to Azim's house, she felt as though every nerve in her body was on fire.

Her breath came in short gasps, her chest rising and falling rapidly as she tried to catch her breath. It was as if the very air around her had become toxic, suffocating her and stealing her ability to think clearly. The only thing that seemed real to Hanadi in that moment was the pain, the all-consuming agony that threatened to tear her apart from the inside out. She closed her eyes, willing herself to hold on, to fight through the pain and fear.

She sunk deeper into the mattress, feeling the softness of the pillow beneath her head. The coolness of the sheets against her hot skin created a soothing sensation, easing any tension or stress from her body. The weight of the blankets atop her provided a sense of security and warmth that wrapped around her like a cocoon. Her eyes became heavy and the world around her begun to fade into a blur of darkness.