Chapter 41
Chapter Forty-One
Augustine scrutinized her reflection in the bathroom mirror. There was something different about her appearance, though she couldn’t quite identify what. As Sara stepped out of the stall, she approached the sink and cast her gaze through the glass.
“Do you think I’ve changed, Sara?”
“Yes,” the girl responded unflinchingly.
“In what way?”
“You’ve grown nearly three inches, the shade of your eyes has changed—they look more gray than green now—and, above all, your temperament is different. But I prefer it this way.”
Sara, as always, seemed to have no problem speaking her mind with little filter, at least when she felt at ease.
Yes, lately her clothes had been becoming strained, especially her trousers.
Every day she looked more like Aldana, her ancestral form.
What did that mean? She didn’t want to worry Alderian with such anxieties—not with a mere day remaining before his duel.
After all, if he failed, none of that would matter.
She would also die with Alderian.
After class, she went back to the chapel garden. A haunting thought persisted: if Alderian were wounded, could she send her Shadows to A’aru?
As disturbing as it sounded, if he was in danger, she had no intention of remaining idle.
She might be incapable of crossing to another dimension, but her Shadows could.
They would consume and erase everything in their path.
Alderian might despise or dread her for it, yet if she could preserve his life, she was prepared to endure his hatred.
“Emerge,” she said, her voice reverberating against the stone pillars that surrounded the garden.
Thousands of Shadows rose, far more than she had seen in days past. She extended her right hand and closed her eyes, striving to visualize them with distinct features.
Yet, upon opening them, they remained amorphous, though now vividly contoured in human silhouettes: still dark, with faces that were barely hinted.
“You, come,” she ordered, pointing to one of the Shadows coalescing near her.
The Shadow approached, hovering above the ground.
“Tell me your name.”
“We have no name. We lost them many years ago.”
Augustine observed him closely before decreeing. Like a falling domino setting off a chain reaction, she knew instinctively that her words had the power to reshape reality: “Your name shall be Agor, and you shall be a Hero of Darkness.”
As soon as she uttered those words, the Shadow flickered visibly.
Its form folded into impossible angles until the mist that formed its incorporeal body vanished, yielding to a fearsome warrior standing nearly seven feet tall.
His young and beautiful face, weathered by ancient battles, showed a shocked expression—the look of one resurrected.
He collapsed to one knee before Augustine, prostrating himself with haste.
“My Lady, my Queen. You have remembered me and returned me to the world.”
Augustine held her breath as she approached him. She extended her hand, and Agor took it with profound reverence, scarcely grazing the back of it with his lips. Augustine shuddered at the gelid contact.
The rest of the Shadows clamored in exhilaration, all screaming in unison. Augustine covered her ears; the sound was unbearable. They implored her to give them names, too.
“Enough,” she said, and absolute silence fell over the garden. “You may withdraw now. I will think about what just happened, and I will call you back when I am ready.”
The Shadows obeyed submissively. Even Agor vanished with them discreetly.
At that very moment, far away in A’aru, a seat in the High Council chamber that had remained empty for centuries glowed faintly, but no one witnessed it.
* * *
Alderian had trained relentlessly during the past seven days. His dexterity had exploded, a fact that even Elarión had admitted in their recent matches. Yet, his odds against his opponent the following day remained low.
Although he had awakened Karivan, its stability was still fragile: the blade barely remained lit for a few seconds—enough to impress, but not to defeat a true enemy.
This was the last night of relative calm, and it was agonizing for him not to visit Augustine in her dreams. Each night, he wrestled with the temptation to seek her out.
His own body ignited every time he remembered her naked form; it was as if a part of himself had awakened and was now ravenous for that woman’s skin only.
Over the last week, Augustine was visibly transforming. Every day she resembled Aldana more closely. Had she perceived the change?
When he arrived at her room, Augustine was waiting for him.
She didn’t notice his presence immediately, her gaze fixed upon the sunset beyond the window.
He took those seconds to contemplate her.
Her wavy hair, her firm body. Oh, how he yearned to be human, or simply to possess a single, uninterrupted day by her side with a tangible body she could touch.
Would he ever see her again?
He dismissed the pessimistic thoughts just in time to force a smile as she turned around and noticed his presence.
“You’re here,” she said, her radiant smile utterly disarming him.
“Hello, my sweet Augustine,” he replied.
They gazed together at the brilliant colors of the sky while the sun hid behind the mountains, taking with it the last day of normalcy they had left.
“Is it really necessary?” Augustine asked softly, without taking her eyes off the horizon. “Must you fight in that duel? I don’t understand the point of doing it.”
“I can’t back down, and I don’t want to.”
Augustine looked at him with curiosity.
“You know?” Alderian said. “Since you started seeing me, and since your anomaly manifested, I changed too. I have discovered things about myself I didn’t even imagine—tomorrow’s duel has forced me to test my own limits.
I don’t want to stop, not now. Forgive me, because I’ve been selfish.
I defended you in my own absurd way, following my whims, risking your life too. ”
Augustine shook her head slightly.
“Forgive me,” Augustine said. “It seems you know everything about me, and I hadn’t realized how all of this has affected you too. Do what you must, Alderian. I trust you, and I will be with you tomorrow, even if I can’t be by your side.”
Alderian sighed—a mix of relief and frustration. “I really need to touch you right now,” he said, holding his breath.
“Can’t you come into my dreams? Just for a moment?” Augustine asked hesitantly. Her gaze was timid, and it drove him crazy. He yearned to strip her, to hear her moan, and to behold her burning gaze fixed upon him. He restrained himself. His desires could not cloud his reason.
“Last time… I mean, I don’t know which part of everything we did last time triggered the Guardian of Threads’ alarms. We must remain cautious for now,” Alderian replied with a conviction he didn’t feel.
“Though, if you think about it, it really doesn’t make sense. I don’t think having an orgasm could alert that Guardian. It’s not like I haven’t had orgasms before—” Augustine abruptly severed her own sentence, visibly abashed.
“I am aware you’ve had orgasms before.”
Augustine stared at him, horrified, as Alderian realized the implications of his words.
“What I intended to say was—” He tried to excuse himself, but Augustine raised her hand, asking him to be quiet.
“Have you watched me? Have you been spying on me?”
Alderian looked away. “I give you your privacy… almost always,” he admitted.
She shot him a satisfied smile, sensually biting her full lower lip. His heart was pounding against his ribs.
“What were you doing while you watched me?” she asked softly, blushing.
“Don’t tempt me, Augustine,” he cautioned.
“I’m just asking.”
“You can imagine what I was doing. Even if I’m just a specter here, in reality I am flesh and blood. And you already know I’m a man, after all.”
“Previously, you seemed so assured when you told me that A’aruin don’t have those kinds of thoughts.”
“I lied to you,” Alderian conceded, a smile lingering despite himself. “What else could I say to you at that moment? I apologize, but please understand that, in my eyes, you belong to me—you always have. I do not perceive my actions as a transgression.”
Augustine’s lips were half-parted, like a sweet, ripe fruit ready to be tasted. Alderian looked away in a vain effort to suppress his craving.
“I like the idea… of belonging to you.”
“I should go,” Alderian said, though he made no move to disappear. Instead, he ran both hands through his hair, helpless. “Don’t look at me like that; don’t think I’m planning to enter your dreams again.”
Augustine sat in a comfortable old armchair in a corner of the room. Seconds later, they were in her dreams, and Augustine smiled smugly.
“It seems I only make promises to break them later,” Alderian whispered before kissing her deeply. Augustine entwined her arms around his neck, pulling him closer as he leaned on the armrests of the chair.
“Then don’t promise me you’ll come back… just don’t tell me anything… because if you promise me you’ll return and then break that promise, I won’t be responsible for myself,” she said soothingly between Alderian’s lips, as he relished the contact, filling himself with her intoxicating breath.
“Be a good girl while I’m gone,” he asked, smiling.
“Mm… I don’t know… without a certain A’aruin around, I might decide to misbehave now and then… and if I feel lonely, I’ll ask Elarión to keep me company,” Augustine replied playfully, while Alderian kissed her neck. “Ow! Don’t bite me!”
“I have to punish you if you’re going to rebel.”
“We shall see how you address your mistress,” she said, starting another kiss.
When they disengaged, Augustine stared at him.
“The color of your eyes has changed, Alderian. Have you noticed that?” she asked while cupping his face to scrutinize it.
“What do you mean?”
“When we were together the other day, I noticed it, but I thought it was because we were in my dreams…”
“My appearance isn’t affected by being in your dreams,” Alderian clarified.
“Yes, I realize that… but I noticed a while ago and now that I look at you, it’s clear… your eyes have a golden hue they didn’t have before.”
Alderian weighed what he had just heard.
“That is impossible. My appearance is projected from A’aru, and in A’aru there are no colors—” He cut himself off suddenly, confused.
“You have said nothing to me, but I’m sure you’ve noticed that I am changing too.
” Augustine was softly biting Alderian’s lower lip.
“In the human world, no one seems to notice—well, no one except Sara. But surely you see it. I look more and more like my other self… maybe something like that is happening to you too?”
Alderian kissed her fingers thoughtfully, but he didn’t answer.
“We should go back to the cruel reality, my mistress,” he said instead, sensually licking her fingertips. “If we stay here, I will break another promise.”
“As far as I’m concerned, you can tear up whatever you want. You could start with my dress.”
Alderian kissed her tenderly before saying goodbye for the last time.