Chapter Seven
Nuriela
Ididn’t speak as we flew high in the clouds, away from the daemon city. My thoughts were a mess of anger and fear. The implication of what Lailah had said to Belial was clear. She wasn’t going to survive this. Whatever this mess was, she and I would not be coming out of it together.
The thought nearly had me smashing face first into the dirt when we landed outside the palace.
“Are you alright?” Lailah asked softly, catching my elbow.
Her touch sent a zip of feeling straight to my toes. But even that couldn’t sway my feelings right now. “Why did you tell him you wouldn’t be around to see his death?”
Lailah’s face fell, her shoulders slumping as if the weight of all the worlds rested on them. “Because I won’t be. I’ve seen it.”
“No,” I snapped, the refusal cold and flat. “No, Lailah. We said we were going to leave all this behind. What about us?”
Tears filled her eyes, and pain pierced my heart for making it happen. “I will never forget about us. Even in this, I’m putting you first. Knowing you will survive this gives me the strength to do what I need to do. And I need you with me when the time comes.”
Her words sounded foreign. Her voice changed. This was not the same girl I held in the ocean only days ago. Lailah was becoming a woman, a queen. How could I refuse her?
The answer was simple, I couldn’t.
I took her soft hand in mine and dropped down to one knee, staring up into the eyes of the only woman I would ever love. “Lailah, my queen, my best friend, my mate. You’ve had my heart since birth, and when you go, so too will a piece of my soul. I am yours to command, Princess of Caelum.”
Lailah’s shining eyes filled with fresh tears, and her bright-blonde hair twisted in the breeze. She was the most beautiful creature in the world.
She brought her free hand down and brushed her fingers against my cheek.
I leaned into her touch. “I love you, too, Nuri. I wish we had time for the adventures. But this is the only way for us to win the war to come. I surrender to this fate, just as you surrender to me. Just know, my heart is yours. It’s always been yours. ”
Her words broke me, filled me with love and devastation all at once. But I would not fail her. Not now, not ever. “What do we do now?”
Lailah pulled me to my feet and gripped both my hands. “We go to Earth. You aren’t supposed to come with us, but every vision I see shows you practically ripping the fabric of time apart because you refuse to be left behind.”
I snorted a laugh. “Sounds about right.”
She grinned, and for a moment, we were two young lumens with nothing but adventures before us.
“Once we get to Earth, there won’t be much time before the cult leaders come for us.
You must stay out of sight, no matter what.
They cannot find you, Nuri. What comes next will be important, and only you can save her. ”
“Save who?” I searched her eyes feverishly, absorbing every word she spoke.
“I don’t know her. But when you find her, you will know she is the one who needs saving.” Lailah’s voice held an eerie echo, as if other voices were connected with hers in that moment.
The seriousness of her tone told me all I needed to know. “I will find her. I promise.”