Chapter 176: A Bitter Memory
Liam’s P.O.V.
The dream started the way it always did—bright and warm. The air smelled of fresh-cut grass and the faintest hint of wildflowers. I remember the warmth of the sun on my face, the soft giggles of children playing, and the way my tiny fingers curled around the delicate yellow flower I had just plucked from the ground. I was four years old.
I didn’t know much about the world back then, but I knew that flowers made people happy. My father always gave them to my mother, and she would smile in that way that made everything feel warm and safe. So, when I spotted the closest girl, I did what I thought would make her happy. I gave her the flower.
Mai Blackwood.
She had light brown, beautiful curly hair and icy silver eyes that looked right through me. I remember how she stared at the flower in my hand, then at me, her lips curling into something I now recognize as cruel amusement.
"I don’t like his hair," she said, turning to the boy beside her.
Eldur. I didn’t know his name back then, but I would never forget his white hair or the excitement in his face when she spoke.
"Burn it," Mai ordered, her voice as casual as if she were asking him to pass a toy.
Ollie, her twin, hesitated, his hands twitching at his sides. "Mai, don’t—"
But Eldur didn’t hesitate.
One second, I was standing there, confused, my small heart beating in childish uncertainty. The next, fire roared to life in front of me, crackling orange and red. My hair caught first. The heat was unbearable, scorching its way down my forehead before something—someone—intervened.