CHAPTER NINE

ORLA

I sunk into my bed and tried to welcome sleep, but it didn't come. Restless and tired, I found myself turning and turning until I finally found a little peace.

And then, I fell asleep.

My dreams were a mess of images that I couldn’t understand. I saw faces that I didn’t know, and I saw things that my mind kept failing to comprehend. At one point, I even felt like someone was hovering above me and urging me to wake up, but I didn't open my eyes until sunlight had started flowing in through the windows of my room, signifying that morning had once again come upon me.

I got out of my messy bed and found myself staring at the mirror. It was wide and square with a dark wooden frame. There was a notch at the corner where I'd accidentally broken it on the day of my failed Awakening ceremony. I could remember the day like it was just a few hours before. All of my peers had somehow managed to transform on the full moon after their 14th birthday, but I couldn't. I'd stood there untder the m