Chapter 25 Adaela #2
Vada stood and held her hand out to help me up. “Alright, if you’re joking around, that means we’re not working you hard enough. Come on, sweet girl, we’re burning daylight.”
It was close to midday when we made it to the top of the trail.
We could see for miles over Alfhame, and it took my breath away.
The water below us was so clear that the animals and other beings swimming with one another were visible.
We weren’t quite up to the snowy caps, but we were a few thousand feet up the peak.
It might’ve been the exercise, since that always put me in a better mood, but I was invigorated the higher up we climbed.
We rested a couple more times, throwing around theories on who could have organized such a well-executed attack—everyone from my father’s allies (he didn’t have many), to some of the doomsday monsters in the Cryptid Realm.
We even theorized on some of the individuals within the Pax.
Nothing was fitting the narrative, but if we couldn’t figure it out soon, the Pax would fail from all the finger-pointing.
It’d turn into its own civil war, and I didn’t think Earth would survive it.
We were searching for someone with the power to convince many well-meaning beings to side with them.
This being had to be charismatic, with the ability to tell lies with the best of them.
They had to prey on the parts of every being’s needs that weren’t being met.
They also likely were able to lie, which ruled out Fae and Elves.
So, at least we could likely cut out two factions of suspects.
“My best guess is to assume it’s one of the deities; however, that seems too easy, don’t you think?” Vada asked.
I nodded. “With all the fuckery every deity has done over the years, I would suspect that they’re not the culprits. I’d guess a God or Goddess like Zeus, Apollo, Váli, Adzis Khanym, or various other deities known throughout history to sow chaos. I don’t want to completely speculate without proof.”
“I know Adzis Khanym. I wouldn’t guess she is at fault here,” Vada replied.
“Fair enough. We should consider the Gods and Goddesses, but I would be remiss to say that they’re not involved,” I said reluctantly.
“What about the Vampires?” Vada asked.
“Vampires have been known to be secretive. But their quest for power has only ever remained between one another. I don’t remember a time in history where they weren’t squabbling against one another for resources—be that sex or blood,” I said.
“Maybe the Cryptids? We know between all of them, there have been instances of destruction almost leading to the total decimation of their world.”
“That’s true, but in almost every single instance, they were defending themselves against other factions trying to kidnap them for their own nefarious reasons.
I’m sure there are some among them, or maybe now in other realms, who have that mentality.
As much as I hate to say it, Adaela, your father was one of the worst culprits among any faction.
He would have been who I would have pinned to be the head of this,” Vada replied.
I sighed, “I know. He was my first suspect, too. But he’s dead, and Poe says the murders haven’t stopped.” My body was starting to feel weary. “It’s probably time we head back down. I don’t want to overdo it.”
Vada wrapped her arm around my waist, and we slowly made our way back down the mountain.
The walk back down was much easier in some regards, since I wasn’t breathing as heavily, but we still had to scale some spots on the steep trail leading up.
My short legs made that even more difficult as I tried not to bump my belly against rocks or random tree limbs.
We came across animals on our way down which held a likeness to mountain goats and many species of birds.
The walk back down went by much quicker, and we reached the bottom just before nightfall.
We had dinner with Valen and Poe, who had stopped by to check in. Several portals had opened up since our arrival here. There had been no deaths since their last visit, but there were more abductions. Some were caught, while others, we could only assume.
Our only thought was to head to the Cryptid Realm next to see if any of them had any clues.
However, that would require that I be at full strength.
My father used to send me to their realm as a hostile enemy, and I didn’t expect that my arrival would be met without malice.
Poe brought Vada’s dagger and many other weapons to choose from.
I was reluctant to head to their realm and be the reason for more chaos.
Valen and Poe both offered to accompany us, but I wasn’t going to put Poe in a dangerous position with Michael needing his mother.
I was anxious to get back into shape. The murders wouldn’t stop until we figured out who was at the helm, and this setback was helping no one.
In the meantime, Aibell had stepped in to take my place while I couldn’t be there.
The Unseelie were in good hands with her since she didn’t play around. She would make sure that shit got done.
Vada and I trained harder as my strength began returning.
It was another couple of weeks before I was back to full strength.
I was lifting every morning for a couple of hours with Vada and a few of the Elves, then off to weapons practice where they helped both of us learn new, cool tricks with the bow.
In the afternoons, we would hike various trails in the area.
Since time worked differently between the realms, it was already late fall in St. Louis.
I was told that since little progress had been made, many factions were beginning to turn on one another, and I was afraid of what I’d come home to.
Tensions were up, and almost one hundred beings had died or disappeared.
None of them had any connection to one another, from what we could gather.
It didn’t seem as if whomever was taking them had any rhyme or reason.
While we were gone, Pax leadership had ruled out potential traitors one by one.
The Pax had attempted to figure out how portals were getting past wards, but no one had yet.
Our wards were strong and hadn’t broken.
The Witches tested out layering different types of wards, yet the portals kept opening at random intervals—sometimes it would be a month before they had an attack, and other times, it happened a couple times per week.
They weren’t just opening at the Pax headquarters.
They were opening in various parts of the city.
I realized I’d remained quiet for some time as Vada gently nudged me. “I’m sorry, what?” I said, a little embarrassed to not be present when the Elves showed us nothing but kindness.
“I asked if you feel ready to leave here,” said one of the Elves, Phirem. They were a bit rough around the edges, but they made some of the best weapons in Alfhame. Their bows and arrows were designed for accuracy, and I was convinced Phirem imbued them with a bit of their magic.
“Ah, yes. As much as I love Alfhame, we’ve stayed long enough. I would hate to impede on your good graces,” I replied.
“Nonsense. You and Vada are always welcome here,” they replied.
“Thank you for your hospitality, and for saving my mate’s life,” Vada said. She grabbed my hand, and as always, my heart fluttered.
While it only seemed like a few weeks to us, our friends were convinced that we would formalize the mating any time now.
My feelings for Vada ran deep, but I didn’t want to say anything until after I was able to figure out what was going on with the Pax and the Cryptid Realm.
I was starting to really think I might love her, but I wasn’t ready to say anything yet.
I still couldn’t get past the belief that I’d already had, and lost, my mate.
It didn’t mean I couldn’t love again, just that the special bond between mates wasn’t there for me.
While the circumstances weren’t great, I believed Vada and I needed this time to get to know one another on a deeper level than just mind-blowing sex.
Vada walked into my dreams every night since that first one, and some sort of kinky fuckery occurred.
We hadn’t physically been with each other since I was injured, and I was itching to get my hands on her beautiful body.
That wouldn’t happen until we were safe again, so we had only our dreams for now.
We drank well into the night, played Elven games and laughed at the banter between this tight-knit community. I was thankful for this time, because I genuinely believed that after we left Alfhame, our bubble of peace would be broken.