Lorelei

The infirmary was quiet when I entered.

Calista was lying in the bed, her face pale, her eyes closed. Her breathing was slow and even, but there was a peace in her features that I hadn't seen in months. The enchantment was fading. I could feel it in the air, a subtle shift, a lifting of the darkness that had been pressing down on her for so long. The weight that had clung to her like a second skin was finally beginning to dissolve.

I sat beside her, my hand finding hers. Her skin was ...