Chapter 14
CHAPTER 14
KAI
I was holding Valeria’s scarf and everyone was shocked about where she could have gone within just a few minutes. Someone had taken her, why else would her scarf just be left on the ground? Something had been used to mask their scent. I felt a strange energy, but I didn’t understand it as I had never met anyone on Earth who possessed magical powers.
Luke shook his head, “She was right here! Maybe she rushed inside to inform Mom about the key?”
We all knew the truth, but Luke refused to believe it, so he led us all into the house wanting to prove that Valeria was with Lyra. When she found that she wasn’t there he lost it and started speaking gibberish. Jake told everyone inside about Valeria’s disappearance.
Elliot kept his hands on Luke’s shoulders, “Lu, you have to face reality whoever took Valeria used magic.”
Emmet looked at me, “Could it beZamorra?”
I had no idea, but Lyra responded, “If it was Zamorra she would have targeted Eli or Kai.”
Emmet asked, “Who would use magic to kidnap Valeria and then cover it up?”
“Before meeting the Parkers we never stumbled on anyone with magic,” Luke added.
Eli looked at Luke, “You think we are the reason Valeria was taken?”
Luke shrugged, “I am just stating the facts.”
Eli responded, “We didn’t even know that witchcraft existed on Earth.”
Jake looked between Eli and me, “Witch covens exist on Earth, but they never interfere in our lives.”
“Back in Eldaria, we used to believe that until the day we were attacked by Zamorra, and then we realized how wrong we were,” I responded.
“Should we inform the council,” Lyra asked Jake.
Jake shook his head. “No, I don’t want to include the council in all of this.”
Elliot stood up abruptly, “I don’t know who took my sister, but they took the key as well, so there has to be someone who knows about something.”
Every question, every opinion cut like a knife, Valeria had been taken from me and I knew I had to be the reason. I tried to check the tracker I put in her phone, but was not working. It may have been found and crushed. I felt the world swirling and I couldn’t stand still.
Eli walked over to me and hugged me. He asked me to look for her by using our soulmate bond.
“I don’t know if I can focus on reaching her.”
Anna was standing at my left and she took a deep breath, “Kai you need to keep yourself together because you are the only one who can reach Valeria.”
Eli and Anna both made me sit and focus. I closed my eyes and tried to reach out to her, but it was like there was no one on the other side. I opened my eyes and told Eli. Lyra panicked and whispered, “What if Valeria is… no…”
I nodded and didn’t let her complete her thought. “No, Valeria is alive because if she had died I would have gone on a killing spree.”
Eli intervened, “Maybe Valeria is unconscious?”
“Or she is under some spell,” Elliot reminded us
I was not in my right state of mind the whole night. I was trying to reach her, but she wasn’t anywhere to be found. We stayed at Davis's house until morning and I still hadn’t reached her. And then I heard her, but she didn’t know how to respond.
Everyone was sitting in front of me and I coached Valeria on how to respond. She had tears in her eyes when she saw me. I wanted to touch her, embrace her in my arms for all of eternity, but there wasn’t time. She told me things in bits and pieces and suddenly disappeared as though someone had disrupted our link.
“Where is she,” Jake asked.
“She told me she was somewhere in the middle of the forest; Lucien and Morgana were involved in all this,” I murmured.
Eli added, “We can try to track them?”
We all agreed but spent all night going in circles because we were unable to find anything substantial. Lucien and Morgana had done well to cover their tracks and scent. We ran the whole night in the city and the nearby forest searching for their scent. Luckily when the sun crested, Jake picked up on their scent.
They had hidden Valeria deep inside the forest away from the city. Anna, Eli, and I didn’t change into our wolf forms because it would have revealed given our extraordinary size. Lucien was talking to Valeria. Morgana and a strange girl standing beside her...
I barged into the mind of the girl I’d never met.
I don’t think I should have gotten involved in this. Now, my coven will find out about my shenanigans and they will cast me out. I should have thought of that before saying yes to either of these jerks. Maybe if I present that mysterious key to my coven they’ll forgive me for using witchcraft for money.
Lucien got out a knife to press to Valeria’s neck and looked at the witch, “Block them.”
It was a spell boundary the witch was using. Fortunately, the Eldarian mark was still working. The moment Eli, Anna, and I crossed the spell boundary Lucien, Morgana, and the witch were taken aback. We didn’t give them time to regain their senses before we attacked. We were more powerful than Earth’s shapeshifters. Morgana and Lucien tried their best to beat us but failed miserably.
Eli made the witch break the spell boundary so that Valeria could reconnect with her wolf. Anna had chopped off Morgana’s hair and she was crying. Eli began to choke the witch and she had no option but to give back the key. When I attacked Lucien, he nicked Valeria’s neck with the knife out of fear. Valeria fell and I proceeded to beat the shit out of Lucien.
He was lying on the ground covered in blood and meek as a rag doll. Jake and the rest of those who had gathered changed back into their human form while we finished beating our targets. When we were about to leave Lucien asked broken, “Who the fuck are you all?”
I spat at him, “None of your damn business.”
Lucien laughed. Valeria rolled her eyes and asked us to leave. We came back to our mansion where Jake healed Valeria with his Halo powers. Afterward, she slept. I was expecting an objection from Valeria’s family when I took her to my place, but I made up my mind that if I had to fight with Jake I would. There was no way I was leaving my girl.
I had the key now and there was no force on Earth that could stop me from going back to my world. One thing was bugging me though, how could I leave Valeria? I couldn’t live without her, but my family needed me and I couldn’t abandon them either. I couldn’t ask Valeria to leave her family even if it was to rescue mine.
I don’t know when I dozed off while pondering going back to Eldaria, but I heard Valeria’s voice say softly, “Wake up sleepyhead.”
I thought I might be connecting with her in my mind again, but when she kissed me I recalled that she had been rescued and we slept in the same bed last night and was flooded with relief.
She giggled as I opened my eyes and grabbed her.
I held her in my arms and gently kissed her forehead, “How are you?”
“Perfectly fine.”
I pulled her face up to check the cut on her neck which had healed. “Yeah, there is nothing.”
Valeria looked at me, “I told you.”
I enveloped her tight, “I love you so much, Val.”
“I love you too, but right now we need to get up because Mom, Dad, and my brother are coming,” Valeria sighed
“Why?”
Valeria raised her brow, “Excuse me?”
I pressed my lips together and climbed out the bed. Valeria kept asking, “You need to answer me. Don’t run away.”
I turned around, winked at her, and rushed into the bathroom. When we finished our breakfast the whole Davis family came. Valeria dropped a bomb on everyone, “I am going with Kai to Eldaria.”
Jake stood up and objected, “No way am I going to let you go.”
Valeria sighed, “Dad, my captivity made me realize Kai’s situation. How he has been feeling away from his family all these years. Now that he has a chance to go back and rescue his mom, dad, sister, and his entire kingdom I can’t ask him to stay with me here on Earth.”
Jake opened his mouth, but Valeria continued, “It also wouldn't be fair if I abandoned him and sent him to fight alone.”
Luke squared his shoulders, “Then I’ll come with you.”
“No, it’s my fate and I am going to cross the portal with my fated mate.”
Elliot looked at me and seemed like he wanted to bite me. “You manipulated Valeria into going with you. How could you be so selfish?”
“Kai didn’t know anything about my decision.”
Kai held her in his arms, “Listen, Valeria, I know the pain of leaving your family behind and I can’t let you go through that. It’s my battle and you are not coming with me.”
Valeria snarled, “I have made my decision and you should respect it,” she looked at everyone “You all should respect my decision and stop blaming Kai.”
Emmet shook his head, “How can you expect us to sit back when we know our only sister would be in danger?”
It was high time for me to intervene, “I would never let anything happen to Valeria. I would give my life to protect her.”
Valeria looked at me, “I know you would. but I don’t want you to put yourself in danger. I can take care of myself.”
Lyra embraced Valeria. “I would be lying if I said I wouldn’t miss you, but I am so proud of you my little doll.”
Valeria looked at her brothers who were not happy with her decision, “Come on guys, be the supportive brothers I know you can be.”
All three hugged her and Jake joined in, sighing.
Alex cleared his throat to get our attention. We all looked at him. He was looking at Anna, “Will you tell me about your decision?”
Eli leaned forward, “What do you mean?”
Anna took a deep breath, “I decided to,” Eli gripped the edge of the couch, “go with you.”
Eli shook his head, “No, you will stay with the twins here on Earth.”
“Eli, I am going with you and that is final. Alex will be with twins but I am not leaving you alone when you need me the most.”
“What if we don’t make it?” Eli asked.
Anna looked at me, “Do you think that we won’t?”
I shook my head, “No, I will reclaim my kingdom.”
Eli stood up, “Anna, try to understand our situation is completely different from Kai and Valeria’s.”
“Alex can take care of twins like he always took care of me.”
“How long will Alex have to look after them?”
Anna sighed, “I don’t know.”
Alex looked at Eli, “Don’t you trust me?”
“I trust you with my life, but the twins are our responsibility. We can’t just pass it on to you.”
Alex raised his brow, “The twins are my nephews so these are my responsibility as well.”
“How will you manage the whole empire and twins?”
There was silence for a while and then Anna asked, “What does that mean?”
Looked at Alex. “You discussed everything with your sister but forgot to inform her that Kai transferred everything to your name?”
“Is that true?”
I nodded and then Lyra intervened, “Eli, if you want I will help Alex take care of the twins.”
Eli looked at Lyra, “But we don’t know anything about the future or how long it will be.”
Lyra smiled, “I raised four kids.”
Anna raised her hands in the air, “This is final Eli, Kai, Valeria, and I are going to Eldaria.”
I looked at Lyra, “It’s been decided, we shouldn’t waste any more time.”
Lyra sighed and smiled, “Before arriving in Eldaria you guys will need to know a few things.”
Lyra explained in detail how we could ask for help from the fate keepers once we arrived in Eldaria. She highlighted their customs and communication styles to gain their trust and support. Lyra told us of the portal's location, stating that it would carry us directly to Eldaria's mountainous highlands. Despite the overall prohibition against shapeshifters entering the area, the portals were uniquely situated, which would deposit us in the mountains.
Lyra also taught us the secret sign language used by the fate keepers. This specific method of communication was critical since it allowed us to express our peaceful intentions and identify ourselves as non-threatening visitors.
Eli got the box, we opened it and pulled out the key, it began to sparkle, and then the glow grew and revealed the location of the portal. Jake pointed to it and said, "I know this place."
"Where is it?" I asked.
Jake looked at Lyra. "That’s the place I met Lyra and it's just outside the city."
I nodded, “So tomorrow we’ll go there and cross the portal.”
Eli raised his brows and looked at me, “We are going home, Kai.”
I sensed his excitement smiled and nodded.
“Can Valeria spend her last night on Earth with us,” Lyra asked.
“You all are more than welcome to stay here in the mansion,” I looked at Alex, “I mean, in Alex’s mansion.”
Alex sighed and left with Anna and Eli to go to their side of the mansion. I went to my room and Valeria stayed with her family. All night I heard them talking. I couldn’t sleep and witnessed how the light overcame the darkness with the rise of the sun. I was happy it would be my last sunrise on Earth.
I made my way downstairs and found everyone already gathered and waiting for me to head out. We caravaned and all followed Jake. After a three-hour drive, we finally arrived at our destination.
Lyra handed me the key. The process of opening the portal had to be done by one person keeping in mind all the members who were going to enter. The moment I held the key a light emerged in the air and took the shape of a circle which started to get bigger.
Eli and I were on cloud nine and then we heard Lucien, “What the fuck are you all doing?’
We were shocked to see him. I clenched my jaw, “I should have killed you.”
Lucien snarled, “But you didn’t and now I’ve witnessed all your shenanigans.”
“Stop wasting time, just go in a portal,” Lyra told us.
Eli jumped first then Anna and then Valeria just when I was about to jump Lucien managed to dodge Davis’ wolves and held onto my leg. He entered the portal, but I kicked him off of me and he fell back to Earth.