by Kristen Day
Just like he’d instructed me earlier in the night, I threw one leg over so that I was sitting on the horse facing him. I slid off carefully and landed in his capable arms. He slowly lowered me to the ground and I felt small in his grasp. As my body slid against his, I fought the energy building within me and the irrational urge to wrap my legs around him and kiss him until the sun came up. When my feet landed on solid ground, I left my hands on his strong shoulders simply because I didn’t want to let go of him. Neither of us moved. As my heart jumped into overdrive and I watched his eyes soften, his hands slid down my back and gripped my waist hungrily. Then he peered over at the bridge and made a silent decision.
“Come with me,” he ordered with a heartbreaking smile that left me breathless.
“You do realize I was kidding when I said I’d hurl myself off this bridge, right?” I informed him curtly. “Despite your best efforts, my dreams are still very much intact.” He pulled me to the middle of the bridge and like a train wreck you couldn’t stop watching, I reflexively glanced down. The canyon below was black as night, except for the thin ribbon of water running below.
“I’m counting on it.” He clutched my waist and drew me against him. My body came alive with countless sensations and I forced myself to get control over my emotions.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I contended warily.
“Because dreams really are meant to come true,” he purred in Greek.
As if he had planned it, a hushed roar descended upon us from the dark sky above at that very moment. I watched in awe as the swarm of glowing beings filled the night sky with a brilliance that lit the world up with magic.
While the mass of chrysí̱ petaloúda surrounded us with their powerful luminescence, Sebastian’s eyes turned a brighter blue and his face blazed with fearlessness as he slipped a hand behind my neck and met my gaze with clear intent. When his lips covered mine gently, my senses came alive and I felt the electric current of my essence shoot out into a frenzy. As he pressed his body against mine, I ran my hands up his back and clenched onto his shoulders with a desperate compulsion to touch every part of him. A potent hunger seeped into every pore of my body, and I ran my fingers up the nape of his neck and through his silken hair. I grabbed a fistful and pulled his mouth impossibly closer. I forced his lips apart with my tongue and deepened our kiss. His hands ran along my back and he responded to me with eagerness.
I fell into a cloud of blissful desire and we clung to each other with a passion that grew more and more insistent. The gentle breeze of fluttering wings that sent shivers across my skin was enhanced by Sebastian’s unrestrained yearning. He slowed our kiss and leaned back just an inch, and it took me a moment to realize where we were.
“Look.” He grinned and looked around. The large glowing butterflies had begun to circle us; their bright bodies changing from deep gold to a bright white light. As one landed on the bridge at our feet, I saw the spectrum of colors running over its body pulsing and sparking with a tangible energy.
“What’s happening to them?” I asked breathlessly. Looking down left me weak and dizzy from the extreme height, mixed with his kisses.
“They’re feeding off of your electrical essence,” he told me simply.
“Whoa,” I muttered.
“Hold out your arm,” he instructed. As I did so, he stepped back and waited patiently. A lone butterfly hovered just in front of me as if inspecting me cautiously. It flapped its brilliant wings once, and then twice, before settling down onto my arm. At its touch, I felt a surge of energy and the butterfly brightened momentarily.
The weight of its body was more than I was expecting, but I remained still. A warm calm crept into my heart, and the elation and gratitude it felt towards me lightened my soul. A smile stretched across my face, and then the brief connection was broken as it flapped its wings and soared back into the air.
“That was unbelievable!” I covered my mouth in astonishment. The swarming cloud of butterflies instantly brightened in a flash of brilliant light, and I looked at Sebastian with wide eyes. “Oops.”
He chuckled lightly and took my hand. He interlaced his fingers through mine, and I couldn’t help but stare at how beautiful he was amidst the glowing beings that circled us. I felt like we were in our own enchanted snow globe, but with star-kissed confetti raining down on us instead of white flakes. My heart felt just as shaken as he pulled me close and kissed me again. After another moment, I noticed the radiance around us fade dramatically and I searched the night with disappointment.
“Where are they going?” I asked as we watched them descend into the canyon below.
“Home,” he said simply.
“Home,” I repeated wistfully. Sebastian tilted my chin toward him.
“I have one more surprise,” he divulged with a devious grin.
Chapter 40
Stasia
The cool relief of her calming essence filled the room as Fallon effortlessly crawled back through the bedroom window and sat back down on the bed beside me. I could tell she’d brought back something with immense energy, but I couldn’t tell what it was, nor could I open my eyes to see it.
“Stasia,” she whispered urgently. I drew from everything inside of me and fought to move, but only felt my lip twitch ever so slightly. My failed attempt was underwhelming at best. “I’ve brought you something. You have to drink it, okay?”
Incapable of answering, I helplessly waited for her to make the next move. I felt a cool glass lip press against my mouth, but could do nothing to widen my own lips. Thankfully, Fallon gently pulled my chin downward and tilted the glass upward very slowly. Cool, bubbly liquid quickly poured into my mouth; rushing along my tongue and into the back of my throat. Its salty flavor exploded onto my taste buds, and I thought I had been whisked away to heaven, it tasted so wonderful. I was able to swallow to an extent, but breathing in the water came infinitely easier. As she poured the rest of the liquid into my mouth, I took a deep breath instead of gulping it down.
The blissful sea water was inhaled by my lungs and I felt its energy begin to circulate through my body; revitalizing and energizing cells as it went. Craving more, I heard myself grunt something. The bottle returned to my lips and more essence-saving sea water flowed into my lungs. Suddenly my eyes flew open and I watched as Fallon jumped back with surprise, but then smiled at me with amused satisfaction.
“You scared me!” she giggled. I felt my own mouth pull up in a smile and hope filled my heart. It was working!
“More…” I was able to choke out, and she continued to pour the sea water into my mouth. I noticed she had two more bottles full, and I wanted to hug her. If I could have moved that many muscles at once, I would have tried. I just wasn’t sure that was possible at the moment. As she continued draining the water into my mouth, she spoke.
“I am technically your cousin,” she explained leisurely. “But we do have matching traces.” She spun around and lifted her pale hair from her neck. A violet half-moon decorated the back of her neck, and I wanted to reach up to feel mine, but couldn’t.
“The other night in your reverie you saw me practicing. My mother, Luna, has been nothing if not convincing when it comes to the importance of understanding your own powers. Unfortunately, you haven’t had that guidance and you’re running out of time.” She frowned. “But I’d be happy to show you a few tricks.”
She peered out of the tree house window and sat in silence for a long moment. As I looked on, the serene blue of her eyes swirled to a light silver, and then finally to a supernatural violet hue. She held up her palm and a thin ray of moonlight made its way across the cottage floor, over the bed, and into her upturned hand. She mumbled something I couldn’t make out, and the ray of moonlight collapsed upon itself; becoming a small ball of silver light in her hand. She grinned like a little girl and stared down at it with elation. Her violet eyes met mine, and I gasped at the power I saw within them.
“I used to hide and practice in the top atti
c of my dorm at the House of Eventide on Cyprus.” Her mouth turned up into a sinful grin and she chuckled lightly. “I would crawl up there at night and play with the moonlight streaming through the round window.” She bounced the ball in one hand and caught it with the other. “It was just like playing with any other toy, until I realized I could channel it into…other things.”
She stood and allowed the moonlight to drip out of her palm and down to the floor; eventually creating a sort of waterfall of light. She held my gaze as she swung the waterfall of light over her head and disappeared into thin air. I fought to sit up, but only made it up a couple of inches before collapsing back down onto my pillow. I couldn’t believe what I’d just seen! Where exactly had she gone? The waterfall appeared once more, and she seemed to step out of it. My eyes widened with disbelief when the silver light returned to her palm and reshaped itself into a ball. She shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly but the pride on her face was contagious.
“We can travel this way – except only to other places where the moon’s shining.” She furrowed her eyebrows. “At least that’s all I can do – I might not be strong enough to do it during the day. It can get complicated if you don’t know what you’re doing. But anyway, you can do it too - you just don’t know you can. Unfortunately for us, Selene does. I’ve seen you travel under her influence that same way.”
My heart plummeted into my stomach at the thought of Selene forcing me to use powers I didn’t even know I had. It was a violation of my essence and mind, and it awoke the raw instinct within my soul to protect myself. The gaps of time and memory suddenly turned more perilous. I had no idea what else she’d made me do besides theft. I could have a hundred people’s blood on my hands. Fallon must have noticed my attention waning, because she snapped her fingers in front of my face.
“Stasia, focus.” She plopped back down on the bed beside me. “Now there’s something I need to explain to you, so listen closely.” I watched her keenly as she tucked her light hair behind one ear and meet my gaze with intensity.
“We are both only half Aura, however we have one glaring difference. Selene personifies the dark side of the moon; the dark energy. Luna personifies the light side of the moon; the light energy. Therefore we do, as well. You have dark Aura energy running through you, so you have to learn how to harness it and use it to protect you. During a solar eclipse, the moon’s light energy is at its strongest. During a lunar eclipse, the moon’s dark energy is at its strongest. But when a lunar eclipse lines up just perfectly, a blood moon is the result. And that is when the dark energy of the moon is overpowering and irreversible.”
I struggled to understand the slew of information she was providing me, and apply it to what I’d experienced up to that point. It was a tall order indeed.
“The sun is coming up, which means we have some time before Selene can try to invade your mind again,” she clarified, and swabbed some rogue drops of water that had landed on my chin. “You are the most susceptible during the evening and night. This sea water should help you regain your strength, but we have to be patient. You need to be at full strength by tonight. If my mother’s visions are correct, Selene is planning to conjure up an extremely old energy…a ritual that will require Luna’s crystal, Selene’s moonstone, and a blood sacrifice.”
“But…tonight?” I croaked again and was immediately assaulted by vivid images of daggers, blood, a red moon, and death from my horror-filled dreams.
“Tonight will be a lunar eclipse, but not just any eclipse,” she whispered. “Tonight, the blood moon will rise.”
Chapter 41
Olivia
The sun hadn’t yet peaked over the awakening horizon, but I knew it wouldn’t be long. The night seemed to stretch on forever, but at the same time I found myself not wanting it to end. The beginning of the Atlantean Games was still several days away, and I wanted to stay here on Atlantis just like this; Sebastian and I riding across the island on horseback, free to do and be whoever we chose to be.
Back on the saddle of Xanthos, we rode along the deep trench, heading north. We passed several more intricately twisting root bridges and countless acres of lush forest, until we finally slowed once more and Xanthos headed west – away from the canyon.
We reached a slight clearing surrounded by oddly shaped trees and impossibly tall grass. In the middle of the clearing stood a single tree. Its trunk looked as if it had been twisted like a wet towel, and then stuck in the ground to dry. Its sprawling branches extended outward more than upward, and I noticed a small wooden platform perched high amongst the heart-shaped leaves. After we dismounted, Xanthos commenced to joyfully chewing on the tall grass at the perimeter of the clearing.
“Welcome to my secret spot,” Sebastian announced with something I’d never seen in his eyes; insecurity.
“What....is it?” I examined with uncertainty; eliciting a light snicker from him.
“It’s where I come to think,” he divulged quietly. “Are you thirsty?”
“I could definitely drink something,” I admitted, and looked around for a water source. Not surprisingly, I didn’t find one.
“Well, you’re in for a treat,” he proclaimed cheerfully. I followed him to one of the oddly-shaped trees that lined the area with skepticism. We came to a stop in front of one in particular.
“These are called baobab trees,” he explained. “They store water in their trunks for years on end; hoarding it for a dry spell or change in climate.” I inspected the base of the large tree and decided it was the ugliest tree I’d ever laid eyes on.
The trunk was so engorged it bowed outward; bulging slightly at its center. I would have guessed you could park a small car inside. The canopy was made up of branches that appeared more like sprigs compared to the tree itself; completely overshadowed by the large trunk they stood atop. Sebastian produced a small knife from his shoe and wasted no time in stabbing the tree. He yanked the knife out, which created an instant gush of water. It came pouring out of the small slit, and Sebastian bent down to place an open mouth in the stream. He was able to drink for several seconds before it eventually ran dry.
“Your turn,” he informed me and handed me the knife. I held it in my palm and inspected the foreboding tree with consternation. My ribs still ached from the last time I’d pissed off a tree, and I wasn’t so sure I wanted to go to the extent of stabbing one.
“I can’t imagine this tree wants me stabbing it,” I argued quietly; unsure as to whether or not the tree could hear me.
“It doesn’t mind.” He pointed at the spot where he’d just drunk from. “See? It sews itself right back up. No harm done.”
Not even halfway convinced, I took a deliberate step towards the tree, hesitantly held up the blade, and drove it into the side of the tree with anticipation of a branch falling on my head. I pulled it out as fast as possible and looked on with delight as a stream of crystal clear liquid sprouted from the puncture wound. I quickly placed my mouth below it and drank the most pure, delicious tasting water I’d ever had. I drank until the last drop and then eyed the closing hole for more.
“That’s enough for now,” Sebastian laughed at me. “We can hit up another one in a little while.”
As we strode back to the middle of the clearing, I eyed the other trees surrounding us and wondered just how much they could hear and feel. It was an eerie feeling. To be alone in the forest, but not truly alone.
“Careful.” Sebastian grabbed my arm and pulled me backwards a couple of steps. Before I could ask any questions or run for dear life, the tree started to move. With disbelief knocking at my thoughts, the entire trunk slowly twisted in on itself tighter and tighter, until we were eye level with the platform as well as the branches it was supported by. I ducked under an especially thick branch and Sebastian gripped my waist.
“Jump,” he instructed simply. He effortlessly lifted me up onto the wooden platform and shimmied up himself before standing. I climbed to my feet cautiously and took a suspicious glimpse aroun
d. What I’d thought was an ordinary platform made of wood scraps was actually an incredible retreat tucked into the limbs of the twisting tree. A large shag rug had been draped across the planks to create a comfortable place to sit or lie down. A rustic storage trunk had been placed on one side, flanked by two smaller boxes with cryptic markings.
Stacks upon stacks of books were strewn about, along with what appeared to be leather bound journals. Four potted plants were placed in each corner, while several pillows and a white cotton blanket was folded neatly nearby. Sebastian took my hand almost formally and indicated I should sit back down.
“You might want to brace yourself.” He grinned down at me with a sparkle in his eye. I froze in anticipation of what was surely the unknown source of my untimely death. He set to spreading out the blanket and placing the pillows behind me.
“I’m gonna go out on a limb here…” I peered up at him and waited for him to get my cheesy joke. He chuckled and rolled his eyes as I continued, “…and guess this tree is about to untwist and shoot us up in the air like a slingshot?”
“Nope, just you,” he taunted me playfully, and then plopped down beside me with outstretched legs. Just as I’d feared, the tree untwisted itself and lifted the platform higher into the night as we spun around at a leisurely pace. After we stopped moving, I sucked in a breath at the awe-inspiring view stretched out before me. Majestic hills rolled out towards the horizon, and were dusted with pockets of lush forest, winding streams and clumps of rocks. It could have been a Bob Ross painting with happy little trees and expertly drawn reflections in the water.