dreams whisper through silence by mae 241

Chapter 241 

Ellie’s POV 

Days passed, and nothing changed. Not in any ways that mattered, at least. 

I didn’t see Dominic much during those days. He spent most of his time out of the house, and I spent most of my time at the healer academy, going through the motions of studying and attending classes without really noticing any of it. Everything felt like a blur 

Sarah was the only constant in that time. I gave her the knife, still securely wrapped in its bag, the day after the festival. 

“Please test this, if you can,” I said. Her brows shot up as I held out the bag, but she took it, holding it up to the light. 

“Why? And for what?” My friend shot me a look. 

“Would you be mad at me if I only answer one of those questions?” I asked, rubbing my hands together. 

Sarah’s hand dropped to her side, still holding the bag. “Ellie, is this another one of your secrets?” 

“The pile hasn’t technically gotten any bigger, if that’s any consolation,” I said with a sheepish smile. 

Sarah stared at me. I wanted to tell her everything. I really did. But every time I tried, the words got stuck in my throat, and I just… I couldn’t bring myself do it. 

I felt like a bad friend for not telling her, of all people, the truth. Sarah had always been there for me, and I loved her like a sister, far more than I had ever loved Vivian as one. 

But I supposed there was a small, illogical part of me that thought she might not believe me if I told her the truth. Just like everyone else. And that if I told her, she would just think I was messing with her or completely insane or both, and it might ruin the one friendship that I cared about the most in the world. 

As if keeping such a big secret from her wasn’t already enough to ruin everything once she realized it. 

“Fine,” she sighed, tucking the knife into her bag. “What am I testing for?” 

“Wolfsbane toxin.” 

Sarah’s brows shot up. “I want to ask more questions now.” 

“Test it first, then we’ll talk.” 

She huffed. “Alright, alright. I’m assuming it should be kept between us?” 

“Yes. Please.” 

୮ 

Sarah nodded and promised to test the blade when she had a chance. We parted ways after that. 

Now, it had been two days since then. I hadn’t heard from Sarah since in regards to the knife, but I kept thinking back to the assassin’s confusion when I had asked about the toxin. He had seemed genuinely confused, and insisted that his goal was to stab, not to poison. 

I still didn’t know for certain if he was telling the truth. I also didn’t know who he was working for. But I 

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hoped to uncover it all as soon as possible, because after what happened the other night, I was most definitely not going to die for Dominic again. 

On the rare occasion that I had seen him in the three days following the festival, he said nothing to me. Not 

a word. He didn’t even look at me, 

It hurt more than I wanted to admit, even to myself. He just seemed… done. But he also hadn’t spoken of 

divorce. 

It was a little too close to the way things used to be between us in my past life for comfort. Every time he brushed past me in the hallway or stared over my shoulder at the breakfast table like I wasn’t even there, it was a cold reminder of exactly how our lives were before. 

Cold. Empty. Full of bitterness and resentment and a distance that couldn’t be closed, even on my deathbed. 

Man. History really did love to repeat itself. 

On the third day after the festival, I was walking through the hall, my bag slung over my shoulder, heading for the academy. I had made it halfway down the corridor when I heard the sound of raised voices coming from within the meeting room. 

“This is completely unjustified! Their demands are ridiculous, and we won’t meet them!” 

Dominic’s voice. I paused, listening. 

“But if we don’t, people could die, Alpha,” another voice replied. “It might be better to capitulate, given the size of their pack compared to ours-” 

“Like hell I’m capitulating to some rickety old Alpha. We may be smaller in numbers, but that gives us no reason to roll over and show our bellies like this. Tell the Alpha that his request has been denied. Prepare the warriors.” 

Before I could move away, the door swung open. Ryan stepped out in his warrior’s uniform, looking a little pale as he shut the door behind him. 

“Ryan.” I fell into step beside him. “What’s happening?” 

He glanced at me. “You haven’t heard?” 

“Haven’t heard what?” 

୮ 

My friend paused, looking around, then leaned in closer and said, “War is on the horizon. One of the larger northern packs just made some very grave threats, and if we refuse to cooperate with certain demands, he’ll go through with said threats.” 

My footsteps faltered. A northern Alpha. Demands. Threats. 

“The Emberlights pack?” I asked. 

Ryan nodded. 

“But… how? It’s not time yet.” 

“Huh?” Ryan asked. 

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Jcursed under my breath, running my fingers over my braid. I recalled the pack in question all too well from my past life, they’d instigated a war then, too, but it hadn’t happened for a few months from now. He was moving quicker this time around. 

But it wasn’t the war itself that concerned me. In my past life, we had ultimately come out on top, albeit with some casualties. 

It was the aftermath that nearly ruined us. 

I remembered it like it was yesterday. Just days after the war was declared over, a group of refugees showed up at our border. Said they were running from the tyrannical rule of the Emberlights Alpha. 

They were sick and we didn’t know it yet. 

The plague set in quickly. People developed what initially seemed like a common cold, but it would rapidly evolve into something far more sinister. I still recalled the smell of the healers having to drain the buboes that formed on people’s skin. 

The children died first. Their immune systems couldn’t keep up with the rapid spread of the plague, and they often died in convulsive fits of agony. Their screams echoed through the pack. It still gave me nightmares on occasion. 

Eventually, we did manage to cure the plague. A vaccine was created. But many members of the pack died before that happened. 

It was biological warfare, we realized. The opposing Alpha, furious that he had lost through traditional methods, committed the most egregious act by sending that “refugee” family right to our doorstep. 

But I knew it was coming now. I could stop it before that happened. I just needed to warn Dominic. 

“I need to speak to Dominic,” I said abruptly. 

As if on cue, Dominic’s gruff voice echoed down the hall, coming from behind me. “Speak to me about what?” he demanded. 

I turned to see Dominic emerging from the room. His eyes, dark with anger and resentment, flicked from me, to Ryan, then back to me again. 

This was not going to be easy. 

୮ 

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