Free Web NovelChapter 164: Chapter 164
Caden’s POV
The moment Summer said "my mother," my body tensed.
Gunnar didn’t move at first, but I saw it clearly. His jaw tightened hard, like he was trying to hold something back. His eyes stayed on her, sharp and unreadable, but there was something else under it. Something deeper that he wasn’t letting out.
"What are you saying Summer?" Gunnar asked.
His voice wasn’t loud, but it carried across the room in a way that made everyone go quiet.
Summer didn’t answer immediately. She took a small breath and stepped further into the room, closing the door behind her like she didn’t want anyone else hearing this.
Leslie looked confused, her hands still hovering over Cane, but even she stopped what she was doing for a moment.
Summer walked closer until she was standing near the table where Cane was lying. She looked at him first, her face tightening slightly, then she looked back at Gunnar.
"I see her," she said.
Gunnar’s brows pulled together.
"You see who?" he asked, even though it was obvious.
"Mom," Summer replied.
The word landed heavy.
"No," Gunnar said immediately, shaking his head once. "No, we’re not doing this."
"I’m not lying," Summer said quickly. "I see her in my dreams everyday, I’m telling the truth."
"That doesn’t mean anything," Gunnar replied, his voice getting harder. "Dreams are just dreams."
Summer didn’t back down.
"These are not normal dreams," she said. "She talks to me."
That made Gunnar go still for a second.
I stepped closer without even realizing it, my attention fully on her now.
"What do you mean she talks to you?" I asked.
Summer looked at me briefly, then back at Gunnar again.
"She’s not gone," she said. "I know everyone thinks she is, but she’s not. She’s just... somewhere else."
Gunnar let out a breath, but it wasn’t calm.
"You’re a child," he said. "You don’t understand what you’re saying."
"I do understand," she replied, her voice stronger now. "She’s not dead. She’s just not here."
"That’s not how this works," Gunnar snapped.
"Then how does it work?" she shot back immediately. "Because I see her. I hear her and I know she’s not gone."
The room went quiet again.
Gunnar didn’t respond right away this time.
He just stared at her, like he was trying to figure out if she believed what she was saying or if this was something else.
Summer turned her attention back to Cane.
Her expression changed again, softer this time but still serious.
"I’m not going to let anything happen to Uncle Cane," she said.
Her voice dropped slightly, and I could hear the guilt in it.
"This is my fault," she added.
I frowned."What do you mean?" I asked.
She looked down at her hands.
"If he didn’t go to get the Silvarin for me, he wouldn’t be like this," she said quietly. "He only did it because Sapphire poisoned me. If I wasn’t poisoned, he wouldn’t have gone, and he wouldn’t have gotten bitten."
"No," I said immediately.
I stepped forward and let go of Cane, moving closer to her. I lowered myself so I was at her level, making sure she looked at me.
"That’s not your fault," I said clearly.
She didn’t look convinced.
"It is," she said. "He was trying to save me."
"And he would do it again," I replied. "Every single time. You know that. Uncle Cane loves you"
She stayed quiet for a second, then nodded slowly. freewёbnoνel.com
I could see she still felt guilty, but at least she heard me.
I stood back up and glanced at Gunnar.
He hadn’t moved.
He was still watching her, but now his expression had changed slightly. The anger was still there, but there was something else mixed in now. Something uncertain.
Summer followed my gaze and looked at him too.
"This could be your chance," she said.
Gunnar’s eyes narrowed slightly."For what?" he asked.
"To see her again," Summer replied.
That hit harder than anything she said before.
Gunnar’s body tensed, and for a second, it looked like he might shut the whole thing down again.
"You need to stop," he said. "You don’t know what you’re talking about."
"I do," she insisted. "If she’s alive, then we can find her. And if we find her, she can save Uncle Cane."
Leslie finally spoke up again, her voice careful.
"You’re saying your mother can cure a Gravemaw infection?" she asked. freeωebnovēl.c૦m
Summer nodded."Yes."
Leslie looked like she didn’t believe it, but she didn’t dismiss it immediately either.
"That kind of healing..." Leslie started, then stopped.
Gunnar ran a hand over his face, clearly frustrated.
"This is getting out of hand," he said. "We are not chasing ghosts because of dreams."
"She’s not a ghost," Summer said quickly.
"She’s gone," Gunnar snapped.
"No, she’s not!" Summer shouted back, her voice breaking slightly now. For someone still at her age, I could already see the replica of Gunnar’s anger quite in her.
Everything went still again.
Gunnar looked at her, and for a second, neither of them spoke.
Then Summer took a step closer to him.
"If she’s really gone, then why do I see her?" she asked.
Gunnar didn’t answer.
"Why does she talk to me?" she continued. "Why does she tell me things?"
Gunnar’s jaw tightened again.
"What things does she tell you?" I asked quietly.
Summer looked at me, then back at him.
"She said there’s still time," she said. "She said she’s waiting."
"For what?" Gunnar asked before he could stop himself.
"For you," Summer replied.
That hit.
I saw it clearly this time. Gunnar’s control slipped just for a second before he forced it back.
"No," he said, shaking his head again. "No, you have to stop, you’re getting on my nerves"
"It is true," Summer insisted.
Gunnar turned away slightly, like he needed a second.
"This is not going to help your uncle Summer," he said, pointing at Cane. "This is just a distraction."
"It’s not," Summer said. "It’s the only way to save him."
Gunnar didn’t respond.
Summer looked at him for a moment, then her expression changed again. It became more serious, more focused.
"There’s something else," she said.
Gunnar looked back at her, already annoyed.
"What now?" he asked.
She hesitated for a second, then spoke.
"I’ll tell you how to find her and If you go looking for her... you have to understand something first."
Gunnar frowned.
"What are you talking about?"
Summer took a breath."You can’t love her again," she said.
That came out of nowhere.
Gunnar’s expression went cold immediately.
"Excuse me?" he said.
"You already have a mate," she continued, her voice steady even though this was clearly hard for her to say. "Aunt Riley."
Gunnar didn’t say anything, but the tension in the room spiked again.
"If you find mom and you try to bring her back..." Summer continued, "then Aunt Riley is going to die."
"What?" I said, confused.
Leslie looked just as shocked.
Gunnar stepped closer to her, his voice low and dangerous now.
"Watch what you’re saying," he warned.
"I’m telling the truth," she said.
"How would you even know that?" he demanded.
"Because she told me," Summer replied.
The silence that followed was heavy.
"If Riley dies..." Summer continued, her voice quieter now but still clear, "then all of you will go down with her."
My chest tightened.
"What do you mean, all of us?" I asked.
She looked at me.
"You, Uncle Cane, and him," she said, nodding toward Gunnar. "Your lives are tied to your true mates. If your mate dies, you don’t survive long after."
I felt like the air left my lungs.
"That’s..." I began, but I didn’t finish.
"Remember the prophecy," Summer said and paused, her eyes moving between everyone.
No one spoke. No one moved.
Then she said the last thing.
"Mommy is not the right person to live, Riley is."
