Chapter 103. The Valley of Skulls

Alison’s POV

The room smelled of old paper and burning sage. Simone sat cross-legged on the rug, her sharp gaze focused on the map stretched out between us. I leaned over, the weight of her words hanging heavily in the air as I tried to make sense of what she was saying.

“This,” Simone said, her finger tapping the center of the map, “is the Valley of Skulls.”

I swallowed hard, my eyes following the lines of the map that led to a jagged cluster of markings. The name alone was ominous, but the energy emanating from the map made my stomach churn.

Simone continued, her voice steady but laced with urgency. “It’s the ancient home of witches. Deep in its caves lives a powerful ancestral witch, bound to eternity and said to hold the answers we need.”

My breath caught. “How do you know this witch even exists? And how do you know she has the answers?”

Simone looked up, her expression unreadable for a moment before she said, “I had a vision. It was cl