Chapter Thirty five
The rapid beat of Darce’s heart was all I could hear as I clung to him. Our disjointed breathing filled the space around us. I had been moments from being tied to Xavier forever, but none of that mattered now that I was in his warm embrace.
“Y...you came for me,” I managed to force out with sharp intakes of breath.
“Of course I did. Alora, you mean fucking everything to me.” More sobs erupted from deep within me. Darce held me and gently rocked me until they subsided.
When I finally got my bearings, I took in our surroundings. It was a lightly lit cave that was lived in. The large stone table had all manner of items on it. There were two beds in the far corner and a warm, welcoming fire in the centre.
“Where are we?” I asked, looking up at Darce in confusion. “How did you manage to block my father?”
“You are in our sacred home,” Nisha chimed from behind me. “Lisha and I channelled extra power to him when he sensed you were in danger.”
“Thank you.” I meant it. The fire twins had saved our lives.
“Darce?” Lisha looked concerned. “You’re hurt.” My father...the lightning bolt Darce had blocked.
“I’m fine. It will heal,” he winced, moving so I could observe the damage that had been done. A deep burning wound trickled with blood on the top of his shoulder.
“Darce!” I shrieked. “You are fucking bleeding! Why didn’t you say anything?” Lisha came over, taking my hand in hers.
“Pull your light power. We will heal him together.” What good could my power be if I hadn’t manifested yet?
“You have so much power inside you already, Alora. Have a little faith in yourself.” Doing as Lisha asked, I pulled what light I could to the palm of my hand.
“You have the gift of life inside you. I can feel it,” Lisha declared.
Combining my power with hers, she placed both our hands on Darce’s shoulder, and I watched in awe as his wound began to shine with light and shrink into nothingness before my eyes. All that was left was a tiny scar.
“Does she know?” Nisha called from the fire in the centre of the cave.
“Nisha, give them a few moments.” Lisha’s tone was perplexed. “Darce needed to be healed.”
“We don’t have time! I can only ward this cave for so long while they are both here.” Nisha made the fire begin to spin. “We have to do this now.”
My eyes moved to Darce, who was watching me with tears in his eyes. “What is it?” I whispered, touching his face. What could possibly be causing that amount of pain?
“We have to hide you, Alora. Without your powers, I can’t protect you from my race or yours. We need time to prepare. Time for your powers to surface.”
“Hide me how?” I swallowed hard, watching Nisha fold the fire around her hands, manipulating it as if it were a part of her.
“I used my wish from the shadow ravens.”
“To do what?”
“To keep you safe until your power manifests.”
I didn’t like the sound of any of this. When I turned to the fire twins, they looked solemn.
“How are you going to do that?” I asked, afraid of the answer.
Darce turned to the twins, unable to form the words. The pain was too much for him.
“We are going to bind your soul and send you to another veil. One that neither of your races know about.” Lisha put her hand on my shoulder in comfort as she spoke.
“But I will know, right?” Darce panicked, holding me closer. “I won’t lose her!”
“You will be her only protector, watching over her soul tree.” My what?
“Part of your essence will always be near her. Bathin gave you an ancient spell, Darce. One that hasn’t been given in eons.
Alora will be safe. She will be reincarnated until she finally comes into her powers. Nisha has foreseen it.”
“Reincarnated?” I had never heard of such a word.
“Earth veil. The humans there were made in our image, but not given our lifespan or immortality. They only live for decades. A century, at most. Each time you die in human form, your soul will move into a new body. This is called reincarnation.” No, I didn’t like the sound of this at all!
“Will I remember who I am?” Nisha shook her head.
“No! I don’t want to forget! Don’t make me do this!” Darce dropped his gaze from me, trying to compose himself. Why would he want this? We couldn’t be apart. It would destroy us both.
“Alora,” he finally soothed, “I’ll merely be a shadow away. This is the only way I can keep you safe. I’ve used my last wish for this. Trust me. You’re not going to forget me, because I’ll be right beside you. You simply won’t be able to see me.”
“When your powers begin to surface, it will trigger all your memories.” Nisha wasn’t even looking at me as she spoke.
She was holding a large, golden seed in her hands.
“It’s the only way we can save you, Alora.
This seed will keep your soul safe.” Was it from Bathin?
Was that what Darce had received with his wish?
Did it have something to do with my soul tree?
“How long will I be gone?”
“A few centuries at the most.” Nisha began to pour her power into the seed.
Darce ran his hands through my hair, pulling softly on the ends.
“It will give me time to work out a plan for us. I need to fully explain to my parents. It’s the only way I can keep you safe from both our generals.
It won’t be forever, Starshine. Trust me, please.
This is the only way. Bathin has made this possible for us. ”
“Is this the only way we both stay alive?” I questioned, watching the torment in his eyes.
“This is the only way we can bring peace to Afterlight.” The truth burning in his eyes was excruciating. Leaving him for this Earth veil...forgetting him until my powers manifested...it all felt so wrong. “I’ll never be far from you, my love, I promise.”
“My father will go to war with you.” He would be readying his army immediately.
“War is going to happen either way. All I care about is keeping you safe.” The sincerity shining in his dark orbs floored me. This male’s protection was endless. “I’ve been fighting your race for millennia. You know I can take care of myself.”
“I don’t want to forget you,” I whimpered, pulling on his tunic. “Being in a world where you don’t exist...I can’t cope with that.”
“I will exist there. The darkness in that veil is my bloodline, as the light is ruled by yours. It’s simply a lesser veil that no one will think to check. Seers won’t be able to track you if your soul has been bound into human form. They won’t even know what humans are.”
“Darce, I’m sorry, but we have no more time for this. I can already feel Zohar searching for her,” Nisha warned, stoking the fire higher. “The seed is ready. We must do this now or all will be lost.”
“Alora, please trust me. This is how it has to be,” Darce pleaded.
“If I lose you, I might as well be dead. The only way I can get through this is knowing we’ll be together again one day and bring peace to our land.
When you are ready to remember me...when your power surfaces.
..I’ll come running, I promise.” With tear stained cheeks, I slowly nodded, allowing him to walk me towards Nisha.
Lisha joined her sister, linking their hands. When they did, the fire began to blaze a pure blue. Nisha placed the seed next to me, nodding at Darce. It was time.
“You’ll never leave me? No matter how many lives I have to lead before I find you again?” Needing to hear the words one last time, I wrapped my arms around his neck. “We love each other enough for this, I know we do.”
“I will be with you for every lifetime, watching over you. I’ll be the one planting your soul seed and protecting you with everything that I am.
” I crashed my lips against his, and he returned the kiss, pouring all his love and devotion into it.
“I love you.” His voice broke as he spoke. “Are you ready?”
“Yes,” I breathed. “I love you, too.” Darce leant his head against mine before planting a soft kiss on my forehead. “I’m doing this for us. We’ll be unstoppable when I return. I’ll finally have my powers and we will bring peace to Afterlight.”
“All I want is you back in one piece.” Looking down at me, he kissed me softly while stroking my face.
His eyes were full of tears. “I would do this all again, Starshine. You will always be worth saving. I’ll find you in Earth veil, I promise.
” As his lips pressed against mine one last time, I could feel myself begin to fade. All that I was and had been was gone.
I was in the universe, but not in physical form. I spiralled over and over until all I could see was darkness.
Everything from my time in Afterlight had been bound and hidden within me. I couldn’t remember anything, but I knew there was a bright light calling to me.
That bright light had been...Earth veil.