Chapter 38
Soraya awoke with the wisp of a dream clinging to her eyelashes and steel determination settling deep in her chest.
The beginnings of an early sun crept through her window; the dove-gray gloom of a new dawn outlined her curtains in a silvery blue light. She realized she had slept through the entire day yesterday and throughout the whole night.
She clenched her jaw. She had only meant to sleep for a couple of hours.
She could feel Jesmine’s clock ticking. She didn’t know how long the winged demon wanted her friend alive. Otherwise, it would have killed her on the spot instead of taking her. Right?
Why take her at all?
She flung aside the clothes that had kept her peacefully warm throughout the night and stood from the bed. She could ponder its motives later.
Feeling more energized than ever, she took stock of her room, mind buzzing as she examined all her earthly possessions.
Packing, moving, starting new…Soraya was familiar with being constantly on the go. She had been on the move for most of her life. But something was different. She could feel it as she looked over her books and knick-knacks, eyes skimming the newly bought make-up she splurged on the week before.
Her gaze flicked to her favorite poster hanging by her desk, the one of the Devil’s Pool in Zimbabwe.
She dreamed of visiting the mighty waterfall and peering over the edge to watch as the water rushed down into the fast rapids below.
And now, she had the strange sense that she would never get to see it.
She didn’t have much, but it was enough. Each time she had to move, the less she took with her. After years of shuffling around from place to place, she had gotten good at making snap decisions on what would be left behind and what would come with her.
There were a few precious belongings that made the cut, regardless of the circumstances.
Like the poster she had with her for the past eight years, the little ceramic figurine of a horse that Evelyn had gifted to her in her sophomore year of high school.
She even had a drawing given to her by Jesmine on what their house would look like one day.
And her stuffed floral bunny rabbit—the only thing with her when she was dropped off at a fire station.
She won’t be able to take most of it, and that was fine by her. Even if she didn’t ever see any of it again, it could all be replaced with something new.
Her skin tingled as she went to her pack and pulled out a set of new clothes.
She quickly pulled on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt she had gotten from Laura’s shop.
Locating her running shoes, she slipped her socked feet into them and laced them up tightly.
She lost her gun, but she doubted it would have helped her where she was going.
She headed to her desk and opened her laptop. She typed out an email to Evelyn and sent it off, hoping she would see it sooner rather than later.
Pulling on her pack, she knew deep down that the journey ahead was going to be a long and tiring one. But if it meant getting Jesmine back, she did not care how long it would take. She will rescue her one way or another, with or without help from anybody.
She will find a way to bring Jesmine back home, and hope that by then the demon hell spawns stopped hunting for them, otherwise…what would they do then? Keep running for the rest of their lives, and hope the monsters give up?
Soraya stopped her train of thought. Those were questions she could ask herself in the future.
Taking a deep breath, she opened her door and marched out with all their coats hanging from her arms.
Soraya found them already alert and standing loosely around the apartment.
“Glad to see everyone up,” she said as a greeting.
“And I assume these all belong to all of you.” She dumped them on the floor, not in the mood to go to each of them and hand them back to herself.
Even though it was a kind gesture on their part, she still had every right to be angry at them for, well… all of it.
The clothing at her feet moved, causing her to flick her eyes down to the pile of clothes and watch as they zipped away, flying through the air until they landed into outstretched hands.
Soraya blinked as they slipped on their jackets and cloaks.
Right. She would ask them about that later, but for now, she had a more pressing question to ask.
“I’m going to take a wild guess here and assume you know what’s going on with me.
But before you tell me anything, I need you to know that for the past week, my memories have been…
spotty, and I’m concerned it might happen often on our travels.
And you can imagine how problematic that can be, so do you guys have a way to solve that little issue of mine? ”
Alkimos answered, “It’s called glamour.”
Soraya scrunched her brow. “Glamour?”
“It’s a type of illusion effect that can alter your perception of reality,” Tariq said. “It can also manipulate memories or make you forget, depending on the strength.”
More confused than ever, Soraya responded, “So it’s like…magic?”
Lestis answered, “No. It’s a primordial energy that exists between our worlds.
However, there has been an ongoing debate for millennia about whether it’s naturally occurring or was set in place by our ancestors to keep humans safe from our world.
Due to our innate differences, it has a stronger effect on humans than it does on fae. ”
Soraya tilted her chin up. “Well, if that’s the case, wouldn’t that mean I’m human and not fae?
I’ve had a really rough week, and the whole glamour thing really puts a cherry on top of it all.
” It’s felt like she’s been losing her mind the past week, and if she were fae, then wouldn’t that mean she would have been safe from the effects?
Sorenth cut in. “No, you are very much fae. However, you are correct; primordial glamour has a stronger effect on you than on other changelings who have been taken and lost in the human world. Which only serves to make things slightly more difficult, but nothing that can’t be solved.”
Changeling? Lost? Soraya shifted on her feet as she tried to understand what they were saying and how that related back to herself.
“Why am I different?” She asked after a moment.
Well…more different than already being different.
It still sounded crazy, but she had little choice but to accept what they were saying, for now.
“We believe someone has placed a curse on you.” Soraya looked to Alkimos, who was watching from behind the bar.
“Something you should know, it is highly unusual to lose a child to the human world, but when it happens, it’s usually through nefarious reasons.
And I suspect whoever brought you here also placed a curse on you so you wouldn’t be able to find your way back home. ”
Soraya pursed her lips. “So…like black magic?”
Makoto let out a husky chuckle that had her spine tingling, and she mentally slapped herself to pay attention. “You can call it that if it helps you to understand. We’d need to examine you to determine what exactly you’re afflicted with. Are you having trouble remembering now?”
“Well, I remember all of you,” she cast her gaze around the room, “but I can’t remember what I don’t remember,” she said dryly.
Raz flashed her a crooked grin. “How exactly do you remember me?”
“Enough.” Lestis cut in just as Soraya scowled at him.
Raz’s grin turned sharp as he dragged his gaze to Lestis. Something about their exchange made the hair on the back of her neck stand up, before he looked back at her. “In any case, if you have trouble remembering going forward, we will be there for you and help fill any gaps you have.”
Soraya pinned Raz with a look. “You promise you won’t let me forget?”
She watched as Raz’s whole demeanor shifted then. Holding her gaze, he vowed, “By the Mother and upon my blood, I won’t let you forget, Soraya.”
A chill swept over her, and her skin tingled with his promise. Soraya nodded her head as the rest of the apartment went quiet.
It was good enough.
“Let’s go. You can explain everything else on the way,” she announced. She stood straighter, her pack shifting on her back with the movement.
Lestis and Makoto both stared at her expectantly.
Tariq and Alkimos nodded their heads.
Raz and Sorenth both shot her twin grins as they seized her up.
All of them felt her resolve.
“As you wish, sweetness.” Sorenth sauntered over to the door and, with a flourish, opened it. Lestis and Makoto both brushed past her and stalked out of the apartment first.
“You’re familiar with this way of transport, yes?” Sorenth asked, and the others waited for her to answer.
Soraya blew out a breath and nodded. “Very.”
“When do you think we should tell her about the mating bond?” She heard Raz murmur behind her.
Soraya didn’t hear Alkimos’ response as she approached the door.
With each step she took, she was aware it could be the last time she saw this apartment. Although she didn’t have any sentimental connection with the place, it was still the place where Jesmine, Ahvi, and she lived.
And there was this feeling that it would be the last time they would share such a space again. It didn’t help that the feeling blended with the thread of anxiety about leaving her life in the hands of strangers.
As she passed the kitchen, she noted the mugs were cleaned and neatly stacked on the counter.
Something eased in her chest ever so slightly at the sight of it.
She stopped in front of the open door and peered out of the front entrance. Looking out, she could see that it didn’t lead into the hallway.
Instead, on the other side was a world she knew was dangerous—and yet—as she gazed upon vibrant wildflowers just beyond the threshold, wavering against a crystal blue sky, she knew there was also beauty.
And she couldn’t really describe it, but it felt as if something was calling out to her, beckoning her forward.
“Soraya?”
Her heart was thundering in her chest as she looked back at Tariq. “Once we find your friend, you know you can’t return to the human world with her, right?”
Soraya stared at him and at Raz and Alkimos, who watched her carefully.
She turned to look straight ahead at the meadow. “Fine by me.”
Not wasting another second, Soraya took a deep breath and stepped into a field full of wildflowers and sunlight.