A Warrior's Second Chance (Faye and Alexander) novel Chapter 476

FAYE

The moment I lay down fully on the cold stone surface, reality settled into my chest in a way it hadn’t before.

This was it.

No more standing around discussing possibilities like this was some distant thing that might or might not happen.

Inside Stonevale territory.

Inside the witch’s ritual ground.

Wearing the strange robe Janet had given me after I took off my clothes.

And willingly waiting to die.

The air around us felt heavy.

The moon hung above the clearing, pale and cold behind the trees, while shadows stretched across the ground around the altar–like stone platform Janet had laid me on.

I swallowed slowly and stared upward.

The robe felt thin against my skin.

The night breeze brushed lightly across my arms and face.

Somewhere deep in the woods, an owl cried softly.

Everything felt too calm for what was happening.

Janet continued moving around me quietly, arranging things I deliberately refused to focus on too much.

Containers.

Bowls.

Strange symbols.

Herbs.

The sound of metal lightly scraping against stone.

I didn’t want to look directly at any of it.

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Because the more real I allowed this to become in my head, the harder it would be to stay

still

Janet’s voice began again.

Low

Rhythmic.

Ancient.

The same language from the dreams.

The same words Roman had translated days ago.

Only now, hearing them in real life made my chest tighten differently.

Because this wasn’t some mysterious vision anymore.

This was happening.

I shut my eyes briefly.

The herbs Janet had made me drink earlier had already started affecting me properly now.

At first, I thought maybe it was just anxiety making me feel strange.

But no.

This was different.

My body felt warm and heavy at the same time.

Like my limbs no longer fully belonged to me.

Even lifting my hand slightly from the stone suddenly felt difficult.

My thoughts themselves were beginning to drift more slowly.

The trees above me blurred faintly every time I blinked.

Janet’s chanting grew louder.

Faster now.

More intense.

The sound surrounded me from every direction.

I could no longer tell if she was circling around me or standing still.

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The symbols painted around the

Or maybe that was just the drink affecting me further.

My breathing became uneven.

Like I was slowly slipping somewhere beyond full awareness.

Janet suddenly stopped chanting.

The silence hit harder than the sound had.

Then I heard her voice directly beside me.

“Relax, child.”

The way she said it made chills crawl across my skin.

I forced myself not to react.

Not to pull away.

Not to show fear.

Because Janet was watching me carefully.

Even now.

Especially now.

I opened my eyes slowly and turned my head slightly toward her.

Her expression looked calm.

Almost gentle.

But I knew better.

There was excitement beneath it.

Hunger.

Anticipation.

Like she had been waiting for this moment for a very long time.

My stomach twisted faintly.

Then Janet reached for my wrist.

My heartbeat slowed strangely.

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Whatever I had drunk was dragging me deeper and deeper into numbness.

I watched her place my arm carefully over the edge of the stone platform.

Then she placed another container beneath it.

My eyes lingered there for a second.

A metal bowl.

Waiting.

Something about seeing it made everything feel horrifyingly real again,

I swallowed hard.

My mouth felt dry.

Janet resumed chanting softly under her breath.

Then-

Pain.

Sharp and sudden.

A gasp caught in my throat instantly as something sliced across

Not deep enough to completely lose control.

But enough.

my

wrist.

Enough to make blood begin dripping steadily into the container below.

I flinched weakly.

My body wanted to pull away automatically, but I barely had the strength anymore.

Warm blood slid down my skin slowly.

Drip.

Drip.

Drip.

The sound itself became terrifying.

Janet continued chanting.

Her voice sounded distant now.

Chapter 476

Almost echoing.

The clearing around me seemed to tilt faintly.

I blinked slowly, trying to focus.

Then Janet reached for my other wrist.

Another sharp sting.

Another container waiting beneath it.

My breathing changed immediately.

Weakness.

The terrifying awareness that something inside me was slowly fading.

The smell of blood filled the air now.

Metallic.

Heavy.

Janet’s voice became louder.

Faster.

The words blended together until they no longer sounded human.

The symbols around the altar almost looked like they were moving now.

Or glowing.

I honestly couldn’t tell anymore.

Everything felt blurred.

My head spun faintly.

The trees above me doubled each time I tried focusing on them.

The moon itself looked farther away now somehow.

My chest rose and fell more slowly now.

The coldness creeping into my body felt strange.

Numb.

Heavy.

Claun

Far away, I vaguely realized Janet had stopped chanting again.

Or maybe she hadn’t

Maybe I just couldn’t hear properly anymore.

The world around me sounded muffled now.

Underwater.

I blinked slowly toward the sky again.

The stars looked blurry.

Beautiful.

Distant.

For some reason, I suddenly thought about Silver Hollow.

About my mother.

About home.

About how ridiculous life was.

A few weeks ago, I was worrying about normal things.

And now I was bleeding out on some altar in Stonevale, waiting for a resurrection plan to hopefully work.

A weak laugh almost escaped me internally.

But even that took too much energy.

My body felt colder now.

Heavier.

My fingers twitched faintly against the stone surface.

The moonlight above me dimmed slightly at the edges.

Darkness slowly creeping inward.

Janet’s voice reached me again.

But now it sounded incredibly far away.

Like she was standing at the end of a tunnel.

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I couldn’t even make out the words anymore.

Everything inside me felt sleepy.

Soft.

Quiet.

The fear itself was disappearing now.

I was too exhausted to hold on to it any longer.

My breathing slowed again.

The trees blurred further.

My eyelids felt unbearably heavy.

Then slowly…

Quietly.

I drifted into nothingness.

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