A/N: It's been a while! If you don't know, I have been updating 87 Below to enter it in the Wattys 2020! I'm a little over halfway through and super excited. Thank you for (3 more!) 900 reads! It means so so soooo much to me <3

For that, here is the next and MOST EXCITING chapter!

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The thunderous footsteps crept closer to our location. The pounding of shoe to floor synced with the rapid beat of my heart. I held my breath as I waited for the inevitable. I felt Jeans, cold hands on my wrist once again as she pulled me across the room. She shoved me into the side coset, fitting herself inside as well.

Crammed like sardines in the confined space, I squeezed my eyes shut. The dark closet did little to calm my anxiety. I couldn't even see Jean's face; her breath was hot on my neck. The anticipation and fear were enough to make anyone crazy.

He's coming for us. Jean was right! How did he know?!

I felt my world caving in for the first time since entering this mysterious world. I was invisible; More than I had ever been at school. More invisible than I had been with my drunken mother.

I dreamed of escape and shrunk back behind my hair to hide. I thought of my dad: his salt and pepper hair, his handsome, brilliant smile. I reached for that happy place and latched on. Leaving my fears behind, I pretended that I was a little girl again. My dad was squeezing me tight. He twirled me in the air as I giggled. The wind did little to cool my skin as heat coursed through my veins at his touch. My dad was safe. My dad was warm.

Jean gasped quietly, drawing my attention from my daydream paradise. I blinked and realized I could now see in the once dark and cramped space. The once menacing footsteps had dissipated to a soft tap in the distance. The only other sound present was the dull buzz surrounding my ears. My body still felt warm, perhaps from the blood rush.

Jean stood wide-eyed beside me. A single tear rolled down her cheek as she stared at me. In her eyes, I could see a spark. It was a hope that had not been there in our earlier conversation.

"It's you," she whispered, "I-I can't believe it!" her jovial tone through me off as her tears flowed.

"What? It's Ember," I was utterly confused.

Has the woman gone mad?

"Look at yourself, dear! You're the Light Bearer of prophecy!" Jean exclaimed, no longer containing her voice.

Obeying her wishes, I looked down at my hand. Only then did I realize what the hullabaloo was about.

I was glowing.

I reached down to touch my forearm. The glow was everywhere. It consumed my body like a fire, but I felt no pain. I felt safe.

"W-what?" I shook my hand to rid my skin of the radioactive yellow hue. I could see my veins intermingling beneath its surface. My blood pumped through those blue tendrils as my brain processed the situation.

Jean grabbed my hand gently and held it up carefully, "Don't be afraid, sweetheart! You're who the Lumas have been waiting on for years. You can save us." The conviction in her voice was almost enough to make me believe the notion of salvation.

I pulled my hand away quickly, still confused and hungry for answers, "What are you talking about, old bat? I can't save anyone. I couldn't save my own father. I'm not some stupid Light Bearer in some stupid prophecy." I glared at the woman and burst out the closet door. The fuzzy air that had surrounded me dissipated and left me shivering from the sudden drop in temperature. Jean followed me out.

"Ember, please," the woman begged, "You don't have to believe me. But you now know what I have told you about Cameron. You have to stop him. I know you can do it."

I stopped fuming to examine her face. Her eyes were pleading as she watched my expression. I felt terrible for the woman. She clearly had faith in me. Confidence that even I lacked in myself. I felt the urge to fulfill her fantasies if only to appease my own selfish need to be wanted.

"Ember, you have to go to the camp," Jean continued her pleas, "Leo will know what to do. Tell him you're the Light Bearer. You have to hurry. I'll get you some supplies for the journey.

The sudden change in tone shocked me out of my illusions of salvation and peace. "What? What about Adriana? I can't leave her with him. I don't even know the way to the camp." My brain was scattered as I spouted my excuses. Jean watched me with steady eyes. She took a step towards me and lay a hand on my shoulder.

"Adriana will be fine. Cameron has a sweet spot for her. She wouldn't leave him willingly anyways."

I nodded, agreeing. The thought still twisted my stomach in knots, nonetheless. "But I still don't know how to get there," I said dejectedly, hanging my head.

"Go to the library. I'm sure you're well-acquainted with it now. There is an atlas in there somewhere. There should be a collection of hand-drawn maps inside. Now, go quickly, before it's too late. It will be best to travel at night before he notices."

I sucked fresh air between my teeth. The air didn't feel sustainable for my shrinking lungs. I would've given anything to shrink away from the challenge, but I didn't want to disappoint this woman. I barely knew her, and yet I felt like I had always known her in some way. It was like she was a part of me.

Looking into her eyes, I realized what this need to appease arose from: she has my father's eyes. That same hopeful look shone in her deep pupils. She believed in me just like my father always had. If nothing else, I would play along. It would get me away from this place, after all.

I nodded, feigning confidence. "Okay. I'll do it."

Jean's smile beamed at me as she ushered me out the door. She scurried to gather up my supplies as I rushed to the library. I was careful to hurry past the secret passageway to God knows what. I rounded the stone staircase that would guide me to the plethora of books.

The dusty tomes welcomed me with itchy eyes and a scratchy throat. I glanced around for any sign of an atlas. Within moments I found the said book and jerked it from its resting spot. Jean had been correct; it contained several hand-drawn pages. All were surprisingly detailed and very worn. Many of the maps had seen better days with their multitude of tears and folds. A flame had signed the corner of one; It's dark edge crumbled in my hand. Finding a map with my current location and the camp, I folded it and shoved it into my pocket.

When I reached the main entrance, Jean was standing in the shadows waiting. I met her there and took the sizeable brown cloth she handed me. It was moderately heavy but smelled delicious.

"You must go now. Remember, find Leo, Light Bearer." I cringed at the title. I turned to face the dark and dangerous forest. The foreboding trees whistled with the cold wind and creaking branches danced in a taunting manner.

"It's dark. How will I see? What if something attacks me?" I felt bile rising in my throat as fear and anxiety threatened to claim me. My knees shook with the threat.

"Just follow your heart," Jean said soothingly before stepping away from the entrance and back into the castle. Her words did little to calm me as I faced the night. I sighed and shut my eyes once more. I could see my father's face again. He smiled at me, urging me to take that first step forward. When I was little, he always encouraged me to try new things. When I was scared, he would reassure me with his wise words: "The first step is always the hardest, the rest is just walking."

And so I did. I felt the grass under my shoe as I put my heel to the ground and moved. My toes gracefully followed, then my other foot. One foot in front of the other, I marched on.