Fourteen
CHAPTER
Iwas still wrapping my head around the fact that I had magical abilities that stemmed from not one of the Realms, but multiple.
Perhaps even all the Realms combined. I lacked control, not only of my emotions, but the repressed power that I could feel within my very bones.
I wasn’t sure of the strength of my magic, but I knew that it was not the same as the Divine beings of their respective Realms had.
I still didn’t understand how it was possible. Why me?
Starfire manipulation was a trait those within the Realm of Stars possessed.
Shadow manipulation came from the Realm of Nightmares.
The ice I could only assume was from the Realm of Seasons, given I should have been reborn there.
Or perhaps I was, and Neil did not find me like he said he had.
It didn’t make sense. Nor did it explain what I saw.
Was it a vision? A hallucination? A memory?
For now, that didn’t matter; all that mattered was that I got out of there.
Gods above, please be with me.
My legs were wobbly and weak. Using the bars, I slowly managed to pull myself up, my palms gripping the sharp obsidian.
I stood there wavering, my bare feet raw and blistered, but that didn’t stop me from sliding from one side of my cell to the other.
Damp, soot-covered curls hung in my face as I peered at the torches that illuminated the dark hallway before me.
I reached between the bars, attempting to grasp the closest torch to my cell, but I was too short, unable to reach even on my tiptoes. A sigh left my lips, and standing flatly, I used those bars to hold myself up. My head turned one way then the other, peering down the dimly lit hallway.
“Come on… come on…” I whispered, waiting for Javaid.
I should’ve known he was a spy based solely on him being the only one that was remotely kind to me, but that was beside the point.
There was no time for questions regarding who he really was and where his allegiance lay.
What mattered was that he was going to get me out of here.
“Where are you?” I turned my head the opposite direction, and my eyes met his fiery hues on the other side of the bars.
CLICK.
He shoved the key into the padlock and opened my cell with a single turn of the latch. The door creaked open. I fell into his embrace, no longer strong enough to hold myself up on my own two feet.
Javaid said nothing. He scooped me into his arms, then began walking with a great deal of haste. We made our way down the hall and into what appeared to be a secret passage, for he had to pull down on a torch and a doorway into a tunnel appeared.
Molten rock and lava surrounded us within the sharp jagged caverns Javaid carried me through. Sweat beaded his forehead. I struggled to hold my head up. My heart raced, fearing we might not make it out.
He was risking everything. For me. Why?
Javaid carried me through the jagged caverns, carefully maneuvering around sharp rocks and out into the open.
He helped me stand on my own two feet again.
I squinted despite the sky being covered in dark clouds.
It was still far brighter than the dark cell I had been kept in for however long.
It felt like maybe two weeks, but it was hard to keep track when the days blurred together.
I lifted my hand and rested it above my eyes to better look at Javaid as he fumbled with his inner jacket pocket with one hand, holding me against him with the other to keep me steady.
It was weird, standing outside when I couldn’t even remember how long it had been since I smelled fresh air or felt the ground beneath my feet.
Standing on hardened lava rocks, I peered down at how much blood and ash covered my bare feet, unable to fully process the poor condition I was in.
“Here,” Javaid said, handing me a pouch.
Carefully cupping it within my palms, I yanked the string to open it.
Stardust.
“But I’ve never traveled alone,” I croaked.
Javaid’s hands slid to either of my shoulders.
“You don’t have a choice. You need to leave now.
There’s no time to explain.” We could both hear the distant sounds of clicking dragon scales and guards searching nearby.
“Just take a handful and visualize where you want to go. Now. There is no time. GO!” He pushed the bag closer to me.
“Our paths will meet again, I am certain of that. Goodbye, for now, Aerilyn.” He took a step back, and then another, before he faded into the shadows of the entrance to the secret passage we just emerged from.
With another deep breath, I grabbed a handful of stardust and envisioned the bright marble walls of Neil’s Manor. The smell of citrus and fresh dew. Once I had a clear visualization of the Manor, I dropped the stardust, praying to the Gods above it would work.
And it did.
If I wasn’t so exhausted, I would’ve jumped for joy.
I had never been so happy to stand in the Manor I once called home.
I took in the familiarity of the high ceilings, the marble walls, the oil paintings, and the porcelain decor filling the hall on either side of me.
White and gold tapestries, fluffy cream rugs, and billowing curtains.
Open windows and a nearby crisp breeze. My heart felt full again.
Grinning ear to ear, I stepped forward, leaving bare soot and ash footprints behind.
Blood, soot, and ash caked me from head to toe. My hair was matted and my dress torn. Open wounds stung as the breeze tickled my skin. My necklace remained untouched; the one Neil gave me as a gift at the Summer Solstice celebration. My fingertips grazed over it at the thought of Neil. My Neil.
I loved him, I did. With all of my being, I did. My heart yearned for him, even now, despite not coming to save me himself. He would have, if he was able to. I knew it. He simply couldn’t, and that was why he had Javaid help me instead. Surely, Javaid was a spy for him.
Who else could Javaid possibly be a spy for?
What was his reasoning for wanting to help me if it was not Neil? Certainly, there was nothing to gain from my escape, at least not one that I could think of.
Pausing momentarily, I looked around me, relieved to see paintings I had nearly forgotten, and those thin, white billowy curtains gently swayed in the breeze. Vases and fine porcelain China painted in gold.
I was home.
Thanks to Javaid’s help, I was home. I was home and everything was going to be okay. I was safe and sound and I was right where I belonged. Neil would apologize, and I would forgive him. He would explain everything and all would be as it once was. Better than it was.
I pushed forward, stumbling down the hall, keeping one hand against the white marble wall at all times to help balance myself, black handprints left in my wake. The voices became louder as I approached the throne room.
I stopped at the entrance, and through the gap in the door, I saw Neil. I stopped, hesitating where I stood, and when I realized why, I was glad that I did.