The Silvia Saga: Boxset

Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

Dara

The guys light the fire in no time. I literally blink my eyes and it’s aflame.

“Wow, you got that going quickly. You don’t muck around, do you?” I point out as I sit in front of the fire. Blair gets up from his spot and comes to sit next to me, quite close. Our knees touch. A little spark goes through my body, making me move my knee away in reaction.

He puts his hand gently on my knee and looks me in the eye as he says, “Let’s just say we have a bit of practice starting fires. It’s like second nature to us.”

That sounded weird as hell. What does he mean? I have lots of practice starting fires from my many camping trips, but even I can’t get it going that quickly.

I push his hand off, hating the loss of contact but not wanting to make a scene. The connection I feel with him and the guys is strong, but I have to fight the urge. I need to focus on everything that’s happening. “So, can you guys tell me more about this place Silvia? I would like to know about it before we go there tomorrow. I am a bit nervous if I am honest,” I admit, not making eye contact with any of them. I feel a little embarrassed that I know nothing. Silvia is supposed to be my home, after all.

Declan clears his throat. “Silvia is completely different from Earth. It is the most beautiful place you will ever see. It has a vibe that I can’t quite explain but you will know the feeling soon enough. We live in the forest, in a little village with our family and closest friends. We don’t have houses like you do here. Our houses are within the trees. You might be thinking that is impossible, but it’s true and they are quite roomie. You are going to love it, Dara.”

The gleam in Declan’s eyes shines brightly as he describes Silvia. That alone has me all giddy inside. I am instantly excited to see this mystical Silvia. “Hurry up tomorrow then. Another thing I’ve been worried about is finding these crystals. I mean, we don’t really have any leads. How will I know where to look?” I question.

“Once you get to Silvia and start to reconnect with the land, you will feel the energy of the stones. Trust me. You will be able to find them. They will lead you to where they are. That’s why you are so important. Only you have the connection to the stones. That is one thing your father made sure of,” Harlan explains, which helps calm my nerves just a little bit. I won’t truly believe him until I feel it myself.

“By the looks of you, we will need to do some training once we get to Silvia,” Declan says, acting all serious again.

“You could just say I look fat instead of dancing around it. Thanks, mate, I get your point,” I say defensively, pouting my lips.

They all start laughing.

“Fine, I guess I will let you train me.”

Oliver tries so hard to stop chuckling. “Sweetie, you’re not fat at all. Your body is smoking hot. He means you lack physical strength. Declan won’t be the only one training you. In case you didn’t realise, we all work together as a team. Each one of us has a speciality. Harlan has combat; Declan works best with knives; Blair uses a bow and arrow; and me, well, I play with martial arts. Together we have the whole package, making it hard to be defeated. There are also some other skills that we have, that each of us will explain to you in time. We don’t want to overwhelm you. As for you, Princess, you will need to learn it all to become the perfect package to defeat James.” Oliver pauses, taking a sip of water from his bottle.

Harlan jumps in, “It’s one thing knowing where the crystals are, but you will need the skills to be able to defend yourself against the threats. There will be a lot standing in your way to the stones. It’s not going to be an easy journey. We are going to be there to help you, but you need to be able to defend yourself too. In case something happens to us.”

Oh boy, what have I gotten myself into? This is going to be a living hell. Maybe I should just stay here and forget about this Silvia? But something tells me I won’t be allowed to do that.

“All right, well, that’s enough bedtime stories for one night. I am off to bed because, by the sounds of it, we are in for a big day tomorrow,” I say as I get up and walk over to the closest tree and pull out my sleeping bag from my backpack. As I lie down, the guys whisper amongst themselves.

I catch Blair saying, “She really is her father’s daughter. I see him in her bright blue eyes. Let’s hope she has what it takes, and her father was right to do what he did.”

I sigh at the thought of the responsibilities I have on my shoulders. I mean, I was just a normal girl living a normal life twelve hours ago. Now, I am a princess, destined to be queen of a whole new world, Silvia. Fuck they are going to wish very soon that it wasn’t me.

I lie here, staring up at the stars and wondering how they came up with the name Silvia. It sounds like an old granny name to me.

Life literally just went from zero to one hundred in a matter of hours. I need some sleep, and who knows, maybe I will wake up and this will all just be a dream—I have got to stop thinking that this is a dream. I won’t wake up, and it won’t all go away.

It’s time to embrace this and give it everything I have got. Make my mum and dad proud. My chest tightens at the thought of them. I am still pissed at my father for sending me away. But I do believe he did what was best for me and Silvia. I take in a deep breath of the fresh forest air and shut my eyes.

I wake with a jolt. Wow, what a fucked-up dream. Oh, wait … I look around and take in the same scenes from my dream. Ah shit. It was real … fuck! By the looks of it. It all actually happened, and today I head to my new world, Silvia.

I’m a little excited to be finally seeing this Silvia place. Just from the way the guys have described it, it does sound amazing. I go back and forth in my head with pros and cons.

I finally open my eyes again and take in the scene surrounding me. All of the guys are up and moving around as if they never went to sleep. The fire is still burning, and Harlan puts some new sticks on it. Oliver is cooking something over the coals, which smells beautiful. Mental note; stick by him. I love a man who can cook as I suck at that chore. By the looks of Oliver, he knows just what to do using what we have here in the forest. He has found some herbs to add flavour to the stew he is brewing. It smells bloody amazing and has me practically jumping out of my sleeping bag. I am in a haze as I follow the smells right to Oliver and fall down beside him.

“Oh, good morning, beautiful. Did you sleep well? Looks like my cooking has woken you?” he questions with a cocky smile on his face.

Of course, I won’t admit that he’s correct and add to his ego. I roll my eyes at him. “Mr Over-confident here, are we? Nah, you were all making so much noise I just woke up. Had nothing at all to do with the smell of your cooking.”

He lets out a little chuckle. “Yeah, yeah. Keep telling yourself that, Princess. We both know my cooking has you over here begging for it. Besides, you suck at lying. I can see it written all over your face.” He smirks.

Oh, mate, that’s not all I will be begging for if you continue like this I bite down on my lower lip. I catch him staring at my lip. I quickly let it go and try to look anywhere else but at him.

“Keep biting that lip of yours and you will be in trouble, you little vixen. Trust me. I don’t play nice.”

My face burns red and I turn away, trying to cool off.

Thank goodness Harlan chooses that moment to come over and join us. “Morning, Princess. I hope Oliver is behaving himself here,” he says, giving him a little nudge.

“Yep. He sure is—just cooking us breakfast,” I mutter under my breath, trying to hide my embarrassment.

I catch Oliver out of the corner of my eye, smirking at me. He is going to be trouble.

Oliver serves up our breakfast on large leaves and gives me my portion. I shove a good amount into my mouth and moan. The guys clear their throats in unison. Whoops, my bad.

Harlan finishes his first. He gets up. “All right, guys, eat up. We head out in five. It’s home time.”

I let out a little sigh, again worrying myself about getting to Silvia.

I hope it’s a safe ride, or however it is that we travel. It dawns on me that I have no idea how this portal thing works.

Shit. I am in for trouble.