7

She opened it, scanning over the familiar words, hoping that she might find the answer that she was looking for. As she continued to read the page, she noticed that the words were getting smaller and smaller until eventually they disappeared completely from the page. The next sentence was a bit more legible. Her eyes widened in shock.

'The price of gold is always higher than the price of diamonds.

This should be easy, she thought triumphantly to herself. The price of gold is always higher than the price of diamonds. It's just like that story you read earlier, it means nothing. But why does it feel so different? She didn't want to think that it might mean that Sibylla was the true owner of the painting, it seemed a little far fetched to consider that someone else could own it. But if it was true, that meant that someone else also knew about it and wanted it badly enough to kill over someone else's possession. She shivered and quickly put the book back in the chest and closed the lid.

It felt strange somehow having the book out in the open. Was this what happened when she got caught stealing? She wondered. Could she really trust K'agosk with the secrets she possessed? But that was exactly what the book told her, that she couldn't keep her secrets anymore, that she needed help, even though they hadn't done anything wrong. She knew that she needed help. She didn't want to be alone anymore.

She quickly shoved the book back in the chest, closing the lid and hiding it under the covers. She quickly ran through the rest of her night routine and climbed into bed. Closing her eyes, she tried to calm herself down, trying to clear her thoughts. She hoped that maybe the darkness would block out her worries and that she would fall asleep without having any more nightmares.

As soon as she fell asleep she dreamed. She dreamt that she was back in the cave, back where everything began, standing in front of the man who she had fallen in love with. The man who had promised to keep her safe, no matter what. Who had told her that he loved her and was willing to do anything to protect her. And yet she still felt fear creeping in. Fear that something bad was going to happen, and that she would never see him again. But she pushed past that feeling and spoke to him, asking him to help her. If only he could hear her.

And then she woke up screaming, her body shuddering uncontrollably. Tears streaming down her cheeks.