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Chapter 194
~Valerie’s POV~
Tiny flickers danced at the edge of the fissure like they had a mind of their own. They were barely there, but enough to make everyone stop.
The whole field went still.
Emerald froze mid-strike, her eyes locked on the glowing crack behind me. The enemy team pulled back slightly, everyone distancing themselves from the chaos on the ground, even the stoic instructors stood from their chairs on the sidelines.
My breathing was uneven now. Shaky. Not from exhaustion, but from the unfamiliar force surging through my limbs.
The warmth spread further, curling along my spine, making my fingertips tingle like static. I clenched my fists, trying to suppress it, but it was no use.
I stumbled back. My boots skidded against dry dirt, but my focus wasn’t in control anymore. My body burned, though not from fever but with something... waking up.
"What the—" Emerald stepped toward me, her face pale. "Valerie!"
I didn’t answer. I just couldn’t. The sound was louder now, pounding like a second heartbeat in my ears.
Another crack opened beneath my feet, wider this time. Glowing orange veins laced through the dirt, and smoke curled up in thin, ghostlike tendrils.
It wasn’t just heat. It was raw, dangerous, unfocused power.
I tried to step away, but my foot caught the edge of a raised stone outcrop near our flag. I lost balance and fell hard.
Pain exploded in the back of my skull the second my head collided with a stone. The sky spun, my eyes blurred as the heat surging within me began to fade.
The last thing I saw was the shimmer of heat rising from the earth, warping the field in waves. The firelight flickered like it was watching me.
Then suddenly, all I saw was black. The kind of darkness that didn’t just swallow sight, but thought.
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Voices floated all around me, overlapping like the hum of a thousand winds whispering secrets at once.
They were muffled at first—strange, familiar, too many to decipher. My head felt light, as if I was drifting through the space between memories and dreams.
Then, slowly, everything else faded... until one voice rose above the rest. Clear. Warm. The one voice I had always longed to hear again for so many years.
"Oh stop it, Snow. I like it. Violet and Sapphire."
The rest of the world hushed. My chest tightened.
"We agreed on one name. How come you are giving her two more names?" my father replied, his tone a mix of amused exasperation and quiet affection.
"Isn’t it obvious?" she smiled, eyes locked on something or someone.
Me.
My heart clenched. I blinked slowly and realised where I was... or at least where my mind had taken me.
I was a baby.
Or at least, I was inside the body of one—but my consciousness, my thoughts, were still my own.
It was like standing at the edge of a movie screen, watching from the side but feeling every heartbeat, every breath, as though it were mine.
"Ohhh... shhh, baby girl," my mother cooed softly, cradling my tiny body against her chest. "Don’t you just love your name, honey? Sapphire, Violet, and Valerie."
Dad groaned, dragging a hand down his face in the classic Snow style. "Just why?"
"Because her eyes bear two colours just like yours and mine," Mum said proudly. "Blue from me and violet from you."
"Zara, when you say it like that, you make it sound like Davion birthed her, too," Dad grumbled, trying to keep a straight face but failing as his lips twitched into a smirk.
"But he did, didn’t he?" Mum beamed. "She has your hair colour too—and his. Silver, with streaks of blue and violet fading into each other at the tips. It’s rare and beautiful just like our daughter. She has powers, too, just like you and him. I was blessed, Snow. Violet is..."
"Valerie," Dad corrected gently as he leaned down to touch my tiny cheek. His eyes, usually cold and calculating, were warm with something fragile and rare love. "But you also have powers, Zara," he added softly.
"Well, Sapphire," Mum finished with a smile, sticking to her original name like the stubborn, radiant woman she always was.
Dad gave up with a small huff. "Fine. You win, Zara."
"Of course I win. I’m your wife and your mate, remember," she said, brushing her knuckle against his jaw. "Persuasion is one of my strong suits, Snow. And my powers or not... she’s a special child."
"I love you," Dad whispered, brushing his forehead against hers.
"I love you, too."
He kissed her, and she kissed him back with so much gentleness it made my tiny baby heart ache. If I wasn’t trapped in a baby body, I would have said the biggest "awwwn" ever.
When they parted, Mum looked down and smiled at me. I cooed and reached up with chubby little hands, my fingers wiggling in her direction.
She leaned forward so I could press my fingertips to her cheeks. Her skin was warm, and her aura... it felt like home.
"It’s settled, Violet," she said softly. "Your name shall be Valerie, Sapphire, Violet, Snow."
"Snow?" Dad raised a brow, amused but curious. He looked so young then. Handsome. No wonder Mum was always looking at him like he hung the stars.
"Yes. I want her to bear your name instead. No offense, but I prefer Snow to Zephyr."
He tilted his head, considering. "What about your surname, Gold?"
"Just like how Davion has an influence in your life and hers, I want yours to be loud in hers. So yes—V.S. square... or V.S.V.S."
Dad blinked. "VVSS?"
"Oh, stop it, you two. V.S. is okay," came a teasing voice from the side.
Both my parents turned, eyes softening as a familiar presence entered the room.
"And wouldn’t you just be the best aunt to her, Tempest?" Dad asked.
"Of course." Aunt Tempest’s heels clicked lightly against the tiled floor as she approached. "She’s just too beautiful. I shall be the best godmother."
Mum chuckled, a sound that always made rooms brighter. "Huh... You’re her aunt, and Ella is her godmother."
"Nonsense," Aunt Tempest replied dramatically, flipping her hair. "Who says I can’t be both?"