Chapter 29
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Dara
My heart is beating so hard my chest begins to ache. No! Please be okay, Blair. You have to be okay. Please. How the hell did he get to Blair? He was supposed to be with Harlan and Declan. They won’t have let him go. Something bad must have happened for Blair to be a prisoner. Harlan and Declan come up behind me, along with Oliver and Jolie. I don’t dare turn around.
Those deep dark eyes belong to my uncle, James. He appears to light up at the sight of me which has me shitting myself on the inside. Anyone in this man’s presence would instantly walk, no run, in the opposite direction given the chance. I take a step backwards. He has that unhinged sorcerer vibe about him. I call to my inner strength and put on a tough act to stand my ground. I am trying to act like he doesn’t scare me, and I hope my tough exterior is believable. Hidden inside, I am a complete mess. I’m about to crumble.
“Well, well, well. Finally, we meet again, my niece. I expected you to be more powerful. Maybe your parents put all their eggs into the wrong basket.” He snickers with a sinister grin.
I grit my teeth and glance at Blair again, hoping to get a sign of life out of him. He doesn’t move an inch. “Please be okay, Blair” I repeat silently. “I can’t live without you.” I hope he hears my thoughts. I turn to my uncle like I don’t have a care in the world. “What do you want, James? You had better make sure that Blair is safe, or you will not be standing once I am finished with you,” I growl.
The sneer that comes from his lips causes shivers to run all over my body. I try to keep up my tough fa?ade, hoping that I will fool him. It is time to put on my tough girl panties and prove that I can beat him. Well, at least try for the sake of Blair and the whole of Silvia.
“Cheeky as ever, Dara. If your parents were around to see you now, they would be disappointed in you. Without your warriors surrounding you, you’re nothing. I could squash you in seconds. I am here, of course, to claim what is mine. The emerald will be mine and no one will stand in my way. Am I clear?” he snaps.
As he talks, my warriors form a battle line behind me with an army of two hundred soldiers. James’s words try to bring me down, but there is that little voice inside my head telling me I am better than him. The emerald stone is mine. It is meant for me. My father fought and made sure that I would find it. The stone was made especially for me and me alone. A deep swell of pride rips through me.
My parents would be proud of me right now, standing up for what is rightfully mine. If James puts one finger on what is mine, I will kill him. I look toward Blair and my heart breaks.
James notices my worry. “He is gone, Dara. You will never see him again. Let that be a warning if you try to mess with me. You will pay with those you love. Take him away,” he tells his slayers, who disappear into thin air with Blair in their hands.
“Noooooooo!” I scream, running toward James. A hard force hits me, and I fly before landing one hundred metres away. Pain rushes through me, but I get right back up and bring my inner Zen to life, forcing my blue magic out. No one fucks with me or those I love. I am out for vengeance and there is one person who is going to pay for that. I have my eyes set on James as I run full strength toward him. He turns and begins to run toward the green light. The light of the emerald. My emerald.
Blue fog comes alight in my hands. I imagine it going toward James as it leaves my fingers in a big rush. I put everything I have into it, hoping it will bring him down. Once it releases, a massive, full-body shiver runs through me. In seconds, the energy lands on James’s back and stops him in his tracks. I take this opportunity to pass him as I run in the direction of the green light.
Three slayers step in my way. I don’t even think as I release my power from my right hand, bringing one slayer down, and at the same time drive a knife into the second with my left hand, landing it in his heart. Two down, one more to go.
Before I get the chance to bring him down, he collapses to the ground clutching his head. I don’t have time to look around to see who did it, but I intuitively know Jolie is at the centre of his pain.
Pushing through some shrubs I step into a large open field; I stop in my tracks as the green light shoots into the sky. It radiates from the most beautiful emerald I have ever seen. I am speechless. I have a thing for crystals and stones, and this one is breathtaking. Its energy pulls me toward it. The stone is wedged between two massive rocks—jade green sticks out in the centre of the chasm, glowing brightly. My body is calling to the stone. I snap out of my trance and focus on my mission—retrieving that beautiful stone that was made especially for me.
I jump toward the emerald, but my foot is captured, causing me to fall face-first to the ground. I try to loosen the hand attached to my leg, but it’s too strong. James’s lifeless black eyes bore straight through me.
“Give up, Dara! Even if you retrieve the emerald, you won’t be able to defeat me. I am invincible! Nothing will ever be able to take me down. Silvia is mine and everyone will bow to me. You are nothing and have nothing,” he grits out, still latched to my foot.
I look him straight in the eye. “You’re wrong. I have everything that I could ever want. I have people who love me and who I love in return. The sad thing is you will never know how that feels, to be loved. You will die a lonely old man with no one there who cares,” I tell him with a sneer on my face.
It’s clear that I have hit a nerve with him because he loosens his hold on my foot and his eyes show the tiniest bit of emotion. I don’t waste any time as I quickly pull away and jump at the emerald.
“It’s not over, Dara! It will never be,” James yells behind me.
Everything around me blurs as I finally make contact with my emerald. I grab it with both hands, and it disappears right into my palm. My whole body shivers and I leave the ground. I am hovering in the air.
A voice booms from above, “Dara, my darling daughter. The emerald will bring you more than you will first realise. It gives you the power to heal, and the power of insight. It will help you to become the best you can be. Embrace it and believe the insight that comes from within. Trust your warriors. They will be with you throughout your journey. They are a part of your destiny. I love you, my girl. Make us proud.”
My father’s voice.
I fall to the earth. I take a deep breath and my back burns as if someone is tattooing it. What the hell is happening? Everything around me is still blurred. Someone grabs my arm, pulling me off the ground. I go with them as I have no energy to stop them or see who it is.
I recognise Oliver’s voice as he says, “Don’t worry, Princess. Everything will be okay. We will get out of here. Trust me.”
Those are the last words I hear before everything goes black.
It has been five days, seven hours, and twenty-one minutes since James took my sweet Blair away. I beg my warriors every second of every day to go and rescue him. Their response is always the same. It’s not time, Dara. We can’t go until we have a solid plan. Will it ever be the right time? I am beginning to lose faith. I have been depressed since we returned. I mope around the house and train like a zombie, not knowing what is going on around me.
Surprisingly, Harlan is in the exact same state. I have never seen him like this before. He is clearly depressed, too. Never in my life would I have expected to witness Harlan so broken and lost. Gone is the tough leader, and my heart breaks for him and for every one of my warriors.
Oliver has morphed into a moody, grumpy warrior. He is itching to try anything to get his twin back. Gone is my fun, cheeky Oliver. In his place is a frustrated, annoyed, and melancholy Oliver. I can’t cast blame as I am exactly the same.
Declan is doing everything he can to make a solid plan to get Blair back. However, each time he brings it up, the group shuts him down. It isn’t time yet. James’s slayers have everything ramped up. It would be a suicide mission until he lets his guard down.
Our connection to Blair is gone; we can’t feel him at all. That’s what scares us all the most. The connection is the most important thing we have. It could help rescue him. I won’t ever forget the feeling when I woke up after the cave fight. I felt lost, the connection to him gone. Part of me was torn away. My warriors felt it too. Is he alive? Is he dead? Or did James just remove the connection? We don’t know and that is what kills us the most.
After I retrieved the emerald and blacked out, I woke up back at the house. I had been unconscious for three days. Touching the emerald had taken everything out of me. My warriors stayed by my side the whole time. I could feel them there, but I couldn’t see them. Their presence made my recovery ten times faster. Once I had my energy back, I replayed the night over and over in my head. The same images on repeat. Blair getting taken, retrieving the stone, and meeting James.
When I touched the emerald, it disappeared right before my eyes. It is now very much a part of me. In fact, it is engraved deep into my skin—on my back to be precise. Yep, that’s right. The first vine ring now has the emerald carved within it. The first tattoo of the three is complete.
I don’t know what the future holds. But I sure as hell will be doing everything in my power to get my sweet Blair back in one piece.
Mark my words, James will pay for what he has done.