The Prophecy

Ryatt

The main house in the isles echoes with screams. Ella runs ahead of me, her face flushed and colorless as she darts up the stairs and out of sight, leaving me standing in the foyer. All around me, archways lead out onto a wide circular terrace that surrounds the house in its entirety, the view nothing short of peaceful and serene.

But the screams… gods, Maddy’s shouts of pain pierce my ears and send shivers down my spine, settling in my gut.

Two women dressed in white rush past me, murmuring to each other as they carry handfuls of towels up the stairs. They pass another woman–another healer–carrying a basket of soiled linen in her arms. Blood stains the once white fabric as she runs down another corridor.

My stomach twists at the sight, and I turn toward the terrace, unsure of what to do, where to go, or what to even think.

I step out into the sunlight and close my eyes for a moment, trying to catch my breath.

But a scraping sound catches my attention. I open my eyes and tu