Chapter 9
CHAPTER 9
LYRA
I went to meet my daughter at Kai Parker’s mansion. Jake had told me about his power and influence. It was quite impressive. A muscular and tattooed guy greeted us and led us to a basement to meet Valeria.
Luke asked tons of questions, but he didn’t bother to answer them. The moment we entered the basement our eyes landed on Valeria. She was lying in bed. We rushed over to her and asked what happened. Then I noticed a guy standing next to Valeria who was ogling me. I got chills in my body but was unable to understand why.
Despite my best efforts, I was unable to turn away. There was something in his face that jolted me like a loud bang in my head. The moment that tremendous bang blasted it opened a door in my mind and a torrent of memories streamed out, I let out a gasp, and everything appeared to be either dark or blank.
It was an ordinary day in Eldaria; but not for us. We, the Fate Keepers, had been aware of this day for a considerable amount of time. There was no dark purple sky, and the sun's rays danced over our breathtaking Eldaria. The desert was golden and glittering, and the rivers were blue. There were towering mountains, bright landscapes tumbling waterfalls, lush forests, ancient ruins, skyscraper kingdoms, and mysterious kingdoms that created a sense of tranquility. On the other hand, beneath the calm outside an eruption of fate was brewing, and the only people who could see it were the Fate Keepers, the unseen guardians of fate.
We had been aware of Zamorra's nefarious targets, as well as her cunning scheme to grab control of the Canine Forest and bring it under her complete control. Despite this, there was no means to communicate with the residents who lived in that old, densely forested kingdom. The castle of silence was known as the Canine Forest, and it was a kingdom that was deep, pitch black, and strange. They were introverted and secretive and never stepped out of their territory. Their royal family never stretched their kingdom beyond its borders.
People in Eldaria referred to us as Highlanders because we lived in the towering mountains. We were known as the Fate Keepers. Because we had to stick to high locations, we were bound by sacred regulations. These laws prohibited us from communicating with people from outside our community or even with one another. It was our responsibility to keep an eye on things and maintain the balance of Eldaria, while also assisting its inhabitants and kingdoms.
The situation was different today because the strands of destiny had entangled themselves into a dangerous knot. We were well aware that today was the day when Zamorra would attack, and execute her wicked plot to take over the Canine Kingdom. An unspoken dread electrified the air and was present in the mountains as dawn broke. There was a palpable tension that gripped the peaks. Even though we lacked the tools to warn the Canine Forest, we made up our minds to save it with every fiber of our being. Our sacred mission demanded that we take action, and the fate of Eldaria was hanging in the balance.
I felt the weight of this great responsibility as if it would be up to me. I started to descend from the mountains. The path was extremely risky, but I felt it was the right thing to do. As I moved forward, I moved further away from the secluded area of the highlands and closer to the ground. The winds howled around me, bearing with them echoes of the coming war as well as prophecies of what was to come.
As soon as I reached the ground, I hid myself among the shadows, waiting for someone of royal blood to come by and seek help. The sense of urgency caused my heart to thump. At long last, I was able to catch a glimpse of them: the royal siblings, coming towards the mountains just the way fate had shown us. I quickly opened a portal and tossed it toward them, along with a glittery key. This was something no one had ever done in the history of Eldaria, but I had no other option but to protect the royal blood and their kingdom. There was a brief moment of hesitation before they dashed in the direction of the shimmering portal.
Fate, as it has been, has always been unpredictable. The moment they were going to plunge into the portal, one of the siblings collapsed and fell, holding the key in her hand. I was overcome with fear, if they did not have the key, the two who went through would be unable to get back to Eldaria. I sprinted forward, grabbed the child who had fallen and was getting ready to send her with her brothers through the portal...
Devastation followed. As I was holding the child, a possessed canine with eyes glowing with wicked intent came out of the shadows and grabbed the child from me. I charged forward, desperately attempting to rescue her, but the creature's strength caused me to fall backward and fall to the ground. Even as I lost my balance, the key managed to find its way into my hand amidst the turmoil. It was as if, the entire world began to revolve around the decision I would make, I threw myself through the open gateway.
The shimmering light that emanated from the gateway engulfed me as I fell, and the sight of the child's fearful eyes disappeared from my vision. I felt as though I was being pulled into a tunnel of flashing lights, and it completely overshadowed my experience. Although I had the key, the future of the royal siblings and the equilibrium of Eldaria were now hanging by a thread. I had no choice but to brace myself for whatever lay on the other side of the portal. I hoped against hope that I would be able to find a way to put things back in order.
I closed my eyes and fell onto the Earth, clutching the sparkling key in my hand. When I opened my eyes, my mind was a blank canvas. Not only had I lost my memories, but I had also lost my purpose and couldn’t even remember my name. I had the sensation that I had been reborn at that precise instant. It was a foreign world to me, and I was a stranger within it.
Throughout my aimless wandering across the globe, the days turned into nights, and the nights turned into days. No one spoke to me, and I, in turn, was unable to speak to them. When I finally met Jake Davis, my journey of silence ended that evening.
We met in a forest far away from the bright lights of the city, I was sitting in a spot where I found peace. The arrival of Jake was both unanticipated and a turning point in my life. The moment he came into view, he started to take off his clothes and then appeared to transform right before my eyes into something that I was unable to grasp. My body remained still, mesmerized and perplexed, as I saw him plunge into a nearby stream.
The moonlight swirled across the rushing river, creating a glow that seemed to come from another world. When Jake came out of the water he was drenched and shocked that I was standing in front of him. He transformed again and stood naked when our eyes met. It was as if time had stopped moving. A reflection of the bewilderment that I felt in my heart was reflected in his eyes.
After a long moment, he eventually asked, "Who are you?" equally surprised and curious.
Afraid, I asked, “Who are you? And how could you just do that?”
“Do what?”
I told him that I saw how he had transformed into something and then changed back and was now standing naked in front of me. Jake immediately jumped back into his clothes. Jake came closer to me and touched my cheeks. “What are you doing in the dark, dangerous forest alone?”
I had no idea how to respond, but before I could he continued, “Who are you? Why is your scent so strange?
This was the first time in days anyone had noticed my presence and talked to me. Tears welled up in my eyes. I don’t know.”
“What do you mean?”
I sighed, “I just remember a few days ago I fell on the road and since then I have been wandering.”
“Fell from where?”
I shook my head, “I don’t. Please if you intend to kill me just finish the job right now so I can find peace.”
Jake cupped my face. “ I have no intention of killing you.”
I pushed his hand away. “Is lying so common? You intended to kill me when you came out of the water.”
Jake pressed his lips together tightly. “I am sorry, but that intention was my intention just for a moment. I dropped it after I started speaking with you.”
Jake came close and said, “I promise I won’t ever harm you and I won’t let anyone else harm you either.”
“But you don’t know me,” I whined.
“I know that you are not human and that is enough for me.”
I opened my eyes wide. “What?”
Jake asked. “You are not human. You know that much, right?”
Ever since that day Jake never left me alone even for a second until I learned all earthly traditions and mingled with everyone in my surroundings. Jake helped me fall in love with my life and during that process, I fell hard for him.
“Mom?Mom?” I heard Luke’s voice from afar.
“What happened to Mom, Anna can you check her, please?” Valerie was telling someone.
I opened my eyes and saw once again the royal brothers standing in front of me. I sat up, and Luke and Valeria were sitting beside me. I smiled and pointed at them, “I know you both.”
Both royal brothers nodded. I looked at my kids. “I know who I am and where I came from.”
Tears rolled down my cheeks and Kai, the royal prince, asked, “How could you possibly be here on Earth?”
I told him about their sister and the whole incident. The royal prince held out his hand, “I am Kai.”
When we shook hands, he pointed at his brother, “And his name is Eli.”
“What is happening here?” Luke anxiously asked.
I looked at my handsome son, “I am not from this world, and while protecting the royal brothers I fell into the portal.”
“Royal brothers? Portal? Not from this world. Mom, please say something I can follow.”
I chuckled, “Call your dad and brothers, please?”
Luke took the phone out of his pocket, “Of course.”
Valeria embraced me in her arms. “I can’t believe this.”
When Jake heard that I had gotten back all my memories, he came to the mansion directly. Jake, Elliot, and Emmett came and embraced me with smiles on their faces. I could tell they were overjoyed by the way they were pressing me in their arms. After everyone arrived, including Kai and his family as well as mine, I started telling them everything there was to know about myself and how I had been involved in the accident.
Kai grunted, “That means we lost Aria along with our mom and dad.”
I looked at Kai. “Lost? What do you mean lost?”
Kai sighed, “Here on Earth lost also means dead.”
I raised my brow. “I am well aware of Earth language, but you never lost your parents or Aria.”
Eli jumped r into the conversation, “Doesn’t eternal slumber mean dead?”
I shook my head, “No, it's just like other curses that can be broken. You can reunite with your family.”
“If you knew about Zamorra and her shenanigans then why the hell did the fate keepers not inform us?” Kai demanded.
Jake clenched his jaw, “Listen, man, I don’t give a damn if you are my daughter’s fated mate or royal blood, but if you talk to Lyra with disrespect I will not spare your life.”
I smiled and kept my hand over Jake’s chest. “No one can disrespect me when you are with me.”
Kai changed his tone. “I didn’t mean to…”
I cut him off by raising my hand in the air. “I know, but to answer your question, canines never came out of the dark kingdom and we fate keepers are not allowed to enter any kingdom.”
“So what is the purpose of fate keeper if they can’t help us?”
I shook my head. “We have our own ways of helping Eldarians.”
“But why did you lose your memory and Kai and Eli didn’t?” Elliot asked.
“Or did you guys lose and regain your memories too?” Emmett added looking between Kai and Eli.
Kai shook his head and Eli responded, “We never lost our memories even for a second.”
I cleared my throat. “Maybe I lost it because I was the fate keeper and I knew about my powers and the future of Eldaria,” I raised my hands in defeat. “That’s what I think, I don’t know the real reason because I never met anyone who crossed the portal and came back. Maybe if I cross the portal again I will lose my all earthly memories.”
“So you would forget all three of us and Dad?” Valeria asked.
I looked at Jake before answering and felt the agony he was going through. “Eldaria is my past and I have no wish to leave my house, husband, and kids.”
Jake shook his head, “But this is your world we are talking about I don’t want you to stay here for the sake of…of… this world’s relationships.”
“Could we come with you toEldaria?” Emmet asked.
I sighed, “No, son, Eldarians have the skill to transform themselves according to the atmosphere. I don’t think you guys would be able to survive there.”
Anna gasped, “What?? That means Eli is going to leave me and our babies?”
Eli panicked and stood up abruptly, “I am not going to leave anyone behind.”
Anna shouted, “Didn’t you listen to what Lyra just said?”
Eli shook his head and tried to hold Anna, but she stepped back and pushed him away. “Don’t touch me! You’re planning on betraying me and our babies.”
Eli opened his mouth but Kai shouted, “Keep quiet both of you! There has to be some way. Anna is your eternal soulmate so how could she not go to Eldaria with us?”
Valeria intervened, “This is all speculation. We don’t know anything yet. Kai, what if Anna and I can’t survive in Eldaria? What would you do then? Would you give up your kingdom?”
Eli stood up, " I think at this point we should not ask questions of each other we don’t have answers to. We should think about how to overcome any problems.”
Valeria responded, “How can we resolve the issue when we don’t know anything about the survival in Eldaria?”
I raised my hand to silence everyone, “Kai is right. Valeria and Anna would survive in Eldaria due to their soulmate bonds.”
Elliot asked, “What about Dad?”
I looked at Elliot. “I was the ancient guardian of fates in Eldaria. Fate keepers have no mates in their fates. Jake does not have the fated mark.”
Anna cut me off, “That means except Jake and Alex we all can survive in Eldaria.”
The atmosphere started to get more intense because now it was established who would survive and who would not after crossing the portal. We all grew silent. This is a significant problem, but it couldn’t be resolved now. At some point, we would still need to face it, but not now.
It was Kai who broke the silence first, trembling with confusion and rage, "Why did Zamorra attack our kingdom?"
I lifted my brows, "Because your kingdom was the only one that does not participate in any order meetings, and you don't have good relations with any other kingdom."
“So what?"
Knowing that this explanation would be a difficult pill to swallow, I proceeded. "So no one would be aware of Zamorra's attack on your kingdom. That is how she can continue to live and rule the entire kingdom as she wishes."
Kai's jaw clenched, "But we all gave witches their own place to live and practice their magic."
I nodded, "And that place was good enough for good witches, but not for an evil witch like Zamorra. She had greater ambitions. She thinks of the place as a prison, a constraint on her authority, rather than as a haven."
Kai's nostrils flared, "So she decided to break free by attacking our kingdom?”
"Yes," I responded gravely. "By attacking the Canine Forest, she hopes to establish a precedent and demonstrate her strength and dominance. With your kingdom isolated and uninterested, she feels she will seize power without reprisal."
"Why the Canine Forest, specifically?"
I took a deep breath. "Your land was always veiled in mystery. Your people are secretive, and your lands are full of old magic. To Zamorra, the Canine Forest signified untapped potential, a power she might use for her own benefit."
Kai's face sank as he considered the possibilities. "And we were never informed about it because we've always kept to ourselves."
The room was silent when Jake stood up, “I think that’s enough for a day. We should give Lyra some time to rest.”
Elliot and Emmet stood up and Elliot snapped his fingers to get Luke out of his trance. Luke jolted and asked. “Mom, if we go to Eldaria then where would we stay?”
Emmett swatted his head, “Only Earth can tolerate you and your nonsense.”
I smiled, “I am not going back to Eldaria and you are staying with me here on Earth.”
Jake kept a hand on Luke’s and my shoulder, “We can continue this conversation at our place.”
We bid our goodbyes to Valeria and everyone else before heading back to our house.