13. Northern Lights
Chapter thirteen
Northern Lights
N yari sets up everything the exact same way she’s done before and hands me the crystal.
“Before we start, let’s guard the room from the human .” The word buzzes with a little bit of mischief.
I have no idea what guarding the room entails, so I just follow along as she makes her way to the hallway leading towards the bedroom.
“What are we doing?” I almost bump into her when she stops abruptly.
“Not me. You. Time to put some of that royal magic to use. Hold the door frame. Like this.” Nyari grabs the sides of the door and stands in the middle. Then she moves, and pushes me forward in her place .
Once I’m standing in the right spot, I mimic the stance she’s shown me. “Okay. Now what?”
“Take a deep breath, think of something peaceful and when you exhale, breathe the air into the hallway. Softly and consistently. If the breath is too forceful, it won’t work.”
I inhale deeply and picture a day with Ambra.
We’d snuck out of the palace and ditched etiquette lessons to spend the entire night aimlessly drifting through the Northern Lights.
Once I latch on to the memory, I exhale through my mouth, gently blowing my breath down the hallway.
The interior pulses with a soft, pink, glowy cast, stardust shimmering iridescently over everything.
“What is this?” I extend my hand, running my fingers through the air which is now thick and cool to the touch.
“It’s a glamour. They don’t teach you anything up there, do they?” Nyari is already walking back to the main area.
“I guess not.” My response is a whisper as I stand there, captivated by what I’ve created. “What does it do exactly?”
Nyari is already back on the couch, eating more of her favourite treat.
“It’s a magical privacy screen. For humans specifically.
When they come into contact with the glamour, whatever feelings you attach to it, they’ll feel as well.
It lulls them into that emotional state and they remain there until you break them out. ”
I saunter back to Nyari. “How do you know about this when I don’t? ”
“No clue.” She shrugs and keeps talking. “But your glamour will prevent prince charming in there from accidentally walking in on your cosmic conversation, which would be impossible to explain. Not to mention land us in a lot of shit.”
Nyari giggles to herself but I can’t manage to do the same when I think about Eliam getting reported.
I feign a smile and change the topic. “How do I connect this again?” She takes the crystal and initiates the call for me.
“‘Sup nerd?” Her astral form bounces across the room and sits next to Nyari.
“Hello, Princess Ambra. Nice seeing you.” Nyari is a lot more formal in my sister’s presence.
“Hey, nebula! Cute shirt.” Ambra winks at Nyari who is getting up from the couch.
“Thank you. If you need me for anything, yell.” She fades away immediately after.
I sit next to Ambra in the spot that Nyari left.
“She’s adorable.” My sister pulls her legs up onto the couch.
“Aren’t you still with Xenix?” I tilt my head to the right inquisitively.
“I’m not, not with him.” Ambra laughs and I shake my head, tsking in fake judgment. The two of us spend a few minutes laughing some more before my sister falls quiet.
“Well? Tell me already!” I squint at her with my demand.
“Tell you what?” Ambra is absentmindedly running her hand through her curly hair.
“Tell me whatever has you all fidgety.” I lean back into my spot next to her, pulling my feet up so I’m sitting the same way she is, as I prepare for whatever she’s about to throw at me. “Spit it out, A!”
“ Ambra! ” The longer she takes, the worse my anxiety becomes. “You know I hate it when you do this!”
“Sorry! Okay. I…” She drags out the word, tossing her astral curls back and forth. “Your fiancé—”
“Please don’t call him that.”
“That’s what he is, Lea Pea.” She’s trying to soften the blow by using my childhood nickname and it’s working. “Well….he wants to come for you.”
“ Wait, what?! What do you mean he wants to come for me?” I wriggle in the seat.
“Exactly what I said. He’s planning a trip to get you himself if you don’t return soon. His parents are pissed that he wants to follow you. And that’s already on top of everything else.”
My mind is slowly wrapping around the information she’s delivering. “Why does Uziel want to come for me? ”
“Because he overheard me talking to Gaea and Syn about the delectable Pillar of Creation who can’t stop making googly eyes at my little sister.”
“Ambra!”
“I am so sorry. I didn’t know he was there and I was catching them up. I was just so excited you were finally having fun!” Even in her astral form, she is furrowing her eyebrows and jutting out her bottom lip.
“He reported him.” The revelation spills from my lips; her words have provided insight to the mystery of how Eliam ended up in his predicament.
“What? Who reported what?” Confusion marrs her face.
“Uziel. He reported Eliam for inappropriate interactions with me.” The guilt arrives on a wave of nausea.
“ He did not !” She’s leaning as far forward as she can get without actually changing her seated position.
“Of course he did! Probably right after he overheard you too. I don’t know if it’s petty jealousy or just him being an asshole.
We haven’t been a real couple in years, engaged or otherwise.
” I groan at the ridiculousness of it all.
“I didn’t kick up a stink at any of his side-quest girlfriends.
He doesn’t get to screw me over because he’s decided to be committed now our wedding date is approaching. ”
“He’s just being a little bitch!” Ambra’s outburst makes me cackle, alleviating some of the stress I was holding in my neck .
“Or that.” I’m still laughing. “ I hope this isn’t his plan to win me back.”
“If it is, he’s doing an awful fucking job.” Ambra is propping herself up on her right hand with her cheek leaning against her closed fist. “But enough about him—tell me what else I’ve missed!”
“Only if you promise to not tell anyone. Not Gaea or Syn. No one , Ambra!”
“Not a word.” She dramatically pinches her lips together.
“There’s a human sleeping in my bed right now.” I smirk as my sister’s mouth falls open.
“Leeahla Andromeda! Way to bury the lead, nerd!” Ambra’s face lights up like the night sky, and she squeals as she flies up to reposition herself, sitting on her now-tucked knees. “Tell me everything! Right now! All of it! ”
The Ambra sitting next to me reminds me of my sister as a teenager, and it brings me immeasurable amounts of joy.
“I don’t even know where to start—”
“With the thing!” Ambra blurts out enthusiastically.
“Alright, alright!” It’s hard to talk through the laughter. “ That was with Eliam. A little bit after our first call actually. And it happened right through there .” I point to the hallway that leads to the bathroom.
“Is that a glamour?” I’d forgotten about that until I drew Ambra’s attention to it .
“Does everyone know about glamours but me ?” She shrugs in response. “The human. Remember?”
“Oh, yes. The one you have to tell me about after we discuss your time with the nebula.” The realization that we are sharing this in astral form instead of physically being next to each other makes me homesick.
“I’m not going to tell you all the details, but it was amazing. Both times.” I wink at her and she throws herself onto her back, raising her feet and kicking them in the air.
“You’ve gotta tell me more than that!”
“I—”
“Sorry to interrupt.” Eliam’s voice makes us both freeze. “Princess Ambra, I need to speak with your sister."
Ambra is full of protests and pouts about having to leave without the “juicy” details, but Eliam’s tone is overly serious when he shows up, and he remains silent until Ambra is gone.
“You need to stay away from him.” His tone is surprisingly blunt.
“I need to stay away from who ?” I know who, but I want him to confirm it.
“ Him. The reason you’ve glamoured the hallway. Did you have—? You know what, it’s none of my business. You just need to get him out of here.”
I quirk an eyebrow. “One. You’re right. It’s not any of your business. And two, he has a name. ”
“I don’t care about his name. I care about you. And if you don’t stay away from him—”
“Are you threatening me?” I put some space between the two of us.
“ Of course I’m not! What kind of celestial do you think I am?
” I shrug, refusing to answer his question.
“For fuck’s sake, Leeahla. Just listen. Please .
” Disappointment and frustration swallow his soft plea.
We’re standing face to face—an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object.
“ Stars don’t get sick .” Eliam waits for the realization of his words to hit me.
“ He’s making you sick. That’s why I left earlier—to see what I could find out. It’s—”
“It’s what?” I know I should listen, but panic forces the words out my mouth.
“Too soon for Earth sickness to begin. Especially with a royal. And I think it’s because of him.”
“But you don’t know for sure, do you? This is an assumption, not evidence.” I steal a look towards the hallway.
Eliam finally steps forward and takes my hands in his. His touch is gentle and comforting in the midst of the unsettling conversation.
“I’m worried about you.” He pulls me in, lowering his head until our lips are a hair’s breadth apart and presses our foreheads together.
“You don’t need to be.” The electricity between Eliam and I prevents me from stepping out of his embrace, my heart splintering apart because of my feelings for him and the man in the other room.
He pulls back so he can look at me, and I reach up to run my thumb over his ticking jaw.
I tiptoe and place my mouth on his. Tasting him reminds me of home.
One hand is still cupping my face while he drops the other to snake it around my waist. I can feel his desperation as he draws me in, obliterating whatever space was left between us.
His tongue brushes forcefully against mine; the passion of the kiss so overwhelming I moan into him.
My mind is hazy when we finally separate; eyes locked as we pant at the fervor.
“Is he still here?” Eliam is looking past me to the illuminated hallway.
“Yes…” My answer makes me feel guilty because I want Eliam and Gabe. And I know I shouldn’t want either because there’s no way I can actually keep them.
“I want you.” Desire deepens his voice as he releases my face. “Make him leave.”
“Eliam…” His name is lost in a whimper as he kisses me in the tender spot behind my ear.
“Make him go so I can savour you like you want me to.” He is talking between kisses. The rasp in his voice and his breath against my neck stoke the fire I am struggling to contain.
The pink glow from the hallway brightens, pulling our attention away from each other. The knowledge of what that means makes my heart skip a beat; Gabe is awake and trapped in the glamour. I untangle myself from Eliam and step forward so I can let him out, then hesitate.
“Come with me?” The idea has been bouncing around my mind for days, but to hear it as an offer surprises even me.
“What?” Bewilderment sends his eyebrows towards the ceiling.
“I want you to stay. But I won’t ask him to leave.” I avoid thinking about the complexities of the situation.
We stare at each other; the glow pulses amidst our silence as I wait for his answer.
I can see the internal battle he is having with my request. I know it isn’t fair.
I close my eyes and extend my hand towards him.
I don’t want to see him leave if he does.
It feels like an eternity has passed when his large, soft hand slides into mine.
“For the record, I think this is an awful idea, but…” He pauses. “I’d do anything you ask of me.”
My heart is pounding in my ears at the anticipation of freeing Gabe. We are standing directly in front of the pink glow. I can see him inside; his eyes are closed and he is smiling.
“How do I get him out?” With furrowed brows, I look from Gabe to Eliam.
The nebula chuckles. “Grab his hand or touch his face, make some form of skin-to-skin contact. Then call to him like you’re nudging him from a dream. You have to coax him out of it. ”
I take a breath and enter the glamour, watching as my movement alters sections that shimmer with blues and purples as I pass. When I get to Gabe, I reach for him.
“Gabriel,” I whisper as I gently rub the back of his hand. I glance at Eliam who quickly nods his encouragement, before I call to him again.
The glamour starts fading and Gabe’s head twitches slightly. The last of it disappears right before his eyes, glassy with confusion, open.
“Leeahla?” His voice is groggy. He looks at me, then looks over my shoulder at Eliam. “When did he get here?”
“Not too long ago. I think I woke the two of you up,” Eliam casually answers.
“He came to see me. I…” Trepidation guzzles the words. I’ve gotten Eliam to agree but Gabe can say no. “Eliam, give us a minute?” I push Gabe towards the bedroom and close the door behind us.
“I might be waking up but I’m not stupid. Boyfriend number one came to visit all hot and bothered?” He looks at me with a raised brow.
“Not initially. No.” I’m surprised at Gabe’s chuckle.
“I can’t even say I’m mad because you told me what the situation was. But I didn’t expect it to happen while I was present.”
“It didn’t! We didn’t! Not really. I—”
He laughs again. “Don’t sweat it. I’m gonna go and let you get back to it.” He steps around me, hand already on the door handle when I spin around to catch him by the elbow.
“Wait! I don’t want you to go.” My heart is drumming in my ears again.
“What do you want? For me to watch ?” He is laughing, oblivious to how close to home his joke is.
“Not unless that’s all you want to do.” He releases the handle and turns to face me. Déjà vu lashes at me as we stare at each other wordlessly.
“And what does boyfriend number one say about your little proposition?” Gabe is leaning against the door.
“He says he’d do anything I ask him to.” My gaze flickers to where my hand is clutching his elbow.
“I think he may be on to something.” Gabe smiles at me and my breath catches in my throat.
He pushes himself off the door, his scent slamming into me when his lips close against mine. The kiss ends too quickly, and I watch wantonly as Gabe opens the door and yells towards Eliam, “Well then, let’s give our girlfriend what she wants.”