CHAPTER : 13 When Ashes Spoke

When Veronica woke up, Elizabeth was gone. The space beside her felt cold, and an unsettling silence pressed against the walls of her room. Her mother called her downstairs. “Sweetheart, get ready. We’re going to the hospital.” Veronica’s fever had not settled through the night, and her father insisted on a proper check-up. The doctor in the hospital scrutinized her temperature and pulse. "She is weak, but will be okay with rest," the doctor reassured. Meanwhile, into the room stepped another woman, a woman Veronica had never seen before. She placed her hand on Veronica's chest and pressed lightly, as though searching for something other than her pulse. Veronica shivered under her touch. But before she could ask her what she was doing, the woman slipped out into the hallway. A few moments later, Veronica wildly searched around. "Mama… the doll! My doll isn't here!" Her mother scoured the room, the bed, behind the chairs — nothing. The doll had disappeared. Far away, Elizabeth had opened a portal, her powers smoldering like embers. Through it, Keido extended himself, pulling the doll into his arms. Pandemonium erupted — the portal exploded, demons flooding into the hospital, their hellish yowls echoing down the corridors. Nurses and patients ran screaming in terror, but some… some twisted, bodies writhing, revealing they had been demons all along. Veronica's blood was pounding. She ran through the corridors, wildly searching everywhere. "Where is it?! Where's my doll?!" And then—she saw her father, holding it in his hand. "Papa! You rescued her?" Veronica asked in delight. Her father grinned. "You left it in the room. I knew you couldn't possibly leave without it, so I took it along when we were going out." A wave of relief washed over her, and she clutched the doll to her bosom. That night, news came like lightning. The hospital had been burned to the ground. There was a single survivor — a shivering, muttering female doctor. Back home, Veronica at last collapsed on her bed, clutching the doll. Elizabeth once more stood over her, lying close by. Veronica had slept uneasily, but Elizabeth was alert, eyes radiating faint light in the blackness. She reached out, brushing Veronica’s lips with her finger, tracing them gently as if memorizing the shape. “My love…” she whispered. “I love you.” Her hand lingered on Veronica’s cheek, and for a moment she leaned in, pressing the faintest kiss to her temple. Then Elizabeth wrapped her arms around her, pulling her close, breathing in the warmth of her body. “I’ll protect you,” she murmured, holding her tighter. Closing her eyes with that, she slept alongside the girl she could never let go of.