by Ali Winters
“You should warn me the next time you want to run into me.” Lucian straightened up and steadied her, the corner of his mouth lifting up in a crooked smile and making her stomach flutter. When was the last time she’d seen that smile? Her lips lifted in response.
“Hello?” He waved a hand in front of her face. “Are you okay? You didn’t hit your head again, did you?” The smile melted into a frown, as his eyebrows crashed together in concern.
“No—fine, I’m… Fine.” She stepped past him, attempting to hide that her face burned with embarrassment. She’d been staring, at his mouth.
He must think I’m a complete idiot. Either that or something is seriously wrong with me!
Rushing into the grove surrounding the door, Oriana took a deep breath. She waited, leaning on the door frame, her back to the trees. Lucian followed a minute behind, stopping inches from her. Heat radiated from his body, the energy he gave off sent shivers up her spine.
She studied her nails with intense concentration, doing her best not to notice his presence. His hand landed on her shoulder.
Jumping, she spun to face him. The look on his face was the same as the last—concern. Lucian opened his mouth to speak, but she cut him off.
“I think we should go over that hill.” She pointed arbitrarily away from the forest.
His face managed to look even more worried.
“You mean that one?” he asked pointing in a different direction—toward the only hill in sight.
Oriana cringed inwardly. “Yes, I must have gotten turned around.”
“Are you feeling all right, Oriana? You look flushed. Should we really be exploring this place right now?” His hand touched her forehead, checking her temperature. “You do feel a little warm…”
“Um, no, I’m fine. I must just be tired, or hungry, or thirsty.” She leaned away, trying to get away from his scorching touch.
“You keep saying that, but if you’re tired, we can rest. You did hit your head really hard back at the palace.”
“No, I couldn’t sleep now.” She sidestepped around him and moved toward their next destination. She had no clue what she was doing, or why she insisted on moving around. Maybe it was her nerves that the men hunting them would come through the door at any minute, but there was something else. Something pulled at her. It made desperation course through as if she were racing a clock, and running out of time. She had to find the source of the pull, nothing else would ease the anxiety that flowed through her veins.
As Oriana crested the top of the grassy hill, the vegetation had thinned out until the trees were far behind them.
The view from the top of the hill was like nothing she’d ever seen. An ocean stretched further than the eye could see, lined by a thin beach of pure, white sand. The path they’d taken up the hill narrowed, as it led down the opposite side, surrounded by sharp cliffs. Her eyes followed the trail, ending at the mouth of a dark cave.
At the entrance to the cave, a thin figure sat, crossed-legged on a rock. Waves crashed around her, never reaching past the hem of her worn green dress.
Exchanging a look with Lucian, Oriana started down the sandy path. He gripped her wrist.
“Maybe I should go first? I can catch you if you slip. The trail doesn’t look stable.
Oriana nodded and let him step in front of her leading the way down to the beach.
“Oriana…” The voice continued to call to her.
Oriana
Oriana lumbered down the steep hill, doing her best to step in his tracks. She gripped the grassy side of the wall to help steady herself as the sandy foothold shifted from under her. Her right foot was hanging off the edge as she fell to her back. The blades of grass ripped out from under her tight grip as she twisted, scrambling to find purchase. Her fingers dug into the damp sandy ground.
Lucian swore from below. No doubt he’d been showered with sand and small clumps of dirt. She chanced a look down to him. Moving her gaze from the ground beneath her as she scanned the edge, trying to avoid taking in her height.
“It’s so high…” She squeezed her eyes and waited for the world to right itself.
Strong hands gripped her hips and lifted her back to standing.
“Grab on to me.” Lucian turned his back to her and waited for her to do as instructed.
Tilting her head to the side, her hands hovered over his back, then to his shoulders and over his waist as she contemplated where to hold. She scrunched her forehead and awkwardly held onto the back of his jacket.
He let out a faint chuckle and shook his head, then guided them down the rest of the way.
Putting her trust in him, she closed her eyes. This way she could pretend they were walking in a dark tunnel, and not along the edge of a sharp drop off.
“You can let go now, we’re at the bottom.”
Oriana dropped her hands to her sides and flexed her aching fingers. She’d held on to him harder than she’d realized.
“Thank you.”
Lifting a hand, he brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. “You don’t have to thank me for everything I do. That’s why I’m here—to help you,” he paused, his warm mahogany irises holding her own eyes hostage to his gaze, “To help everyone.”
She nodded and gave him a relieved smile. How had she ever made it to Earth?
Adrenaline… and the fact that the Erisian Citinal believed I was dead…
Now they knew she was alive and Lucian’s help and support had meant her continued survival. The stress and pain of this journey chipped away at her, wearing her down and sapping her strength piece by piece. She remained standing now only because of the strength Lucian gave her.
When he’d left, he had taken part of her with him. A part that she’d never gotten back. She couldn’t put a word to it. It felt empty, and full at the same time. Confusing. The sting had faded in the short time since his return but remained present in her mind and soul. Why had he left? It still didn’t make much sense to her.
She pushed the thoughts from her mind and moved forward and walked along the sand in silence as they approached the cave.
The woman sat motionless on her perch. Oriana glanced at Lucian sideways. Were they mistaken in thinking she was more than an intricately carved statue?
She walked around the figure. The hem of the dress plastered against the rock by the waves that reached up and kissed the edges of the delicate material. Stopping in front of the woman, Oriana studied her face, infinitely old and young all at once.
Oriana leaned in close. The smell of crystal spring flowers mixed with sea salt rose from the still figure that looked so life-like. White hair spilled around the woman’s shoulders and blended with the wispy cloth of the dress.
Her eyes snapped open.
Startled, Oriana jumped back, bumping into Lucian. His hands caught her shoulders and steadied her.
“I have been waiting.” The statue was alive. Her voice reverberated with the age of the universe, ageless and wise, beautiful and frightening. It created an eerie echo as it reached them. Her eyes were white, blind, but all seeing. It was the same soft voice that had called to her.
“You’re the Oracle,” Lucian murmured, his face awed.
“Oracle?” Oriana whispered, tugging on his sleeve. There’s no such thing as an Oracle.
It’s a myth… a child’s story.
Yet, there was something odd about the woman’s face. She’d seemed so old when they’d first approached them, her face lined with wrinkles. The longer Oriana observed her, the smoother the skin appeared. The woman wasn’t old, but instead young.
A trick of the light.
Shaking her head, Oriana brought her mind back to the woman’s words.
“I am Annot.” Her smooth voice resonated within itself. Pale, clouded eyes looked through them, seeing more than their flesh, deeper, past their souls through a plane of existence no one else knew about or could name.
“What is this place?” Oriana slid her hand into Lucian’s and moved
closer to his side, completely unaware of her actions.
“Ceres,” he answered not taking his gaze off Annot.
“Ceres?” Oriana echoed.
He turned his head to face her. “Yes, it’s the Oracle planet, from the legends. For someone who has the ability to find places that shouldn’t exist, you know very little about these things.” A teasing smile crept over his lips.
Oriana dipped her head. “It was left out of my education. My mother didn’t approve of fairytales.”
“This isn’t a fairytale anymore, Oriana.” Lucian stepped forward.
“You are not the one from the prophecy.” The Oracle’s sharp voice forced him to take a step back. The air around them thinned with the resonant boom. “You were not called.”
Oriana looked between them uncertainly.
“You called me here. It was your voice I heard?” she asked, taking a timid step forward.
“I called for the one who holds the key to the prophecy.”
“The key?” Oriana startled and reached into her pocket to pull out the key to the gateway. The key… could it be the same as the Lumeria? Excitement coursed through her at the possibility of being one step closer to having answers.
“What is the Lumeria? The Erisian Citinal attacked us looking for it.” She held up her hand with her Gateway key. “Is this it?”
“Look to your heart.”
Okay… not quite the answer she’d hoped for. A simple yes or no would have been helpful.
“I don’t…” Oriana bit down on her bottom lip to keep from making a heated retort. Her gaze darted over her shoulder at Lucian.
“Control the fire within and by unlocking the key, you will choose the fate of the universe. The choice you make will lead to salvation or destruction.”
Oriana squeezed her eyes shut and rubbed her forehead.
“But… How will I know what choice to make? Or what my choices are?”
“You must choose the sacrifice of one to save another!” the Oracle’s voice took on a hard edge. “And you alone have the power that will decide the fate of all.”
Sacrifice? There has to be another way.
She didn’t want the key. She didn’t want the power. She just wanted things back the way they used to be.
“I can’t sacrifice—”
“You must! For, in the hands of darkness, only darkness can rise. Destruction will bring a new light. Only you have the power to unlock the salvation or destruction of the universe. You will bring destruction to save us all.”
Key. Destruction. Sacrifice.
Nausea rolled through her in waves. “How? I am just a princess. I can’t fight a Citinal. I don’t have any power,” she shook her head. “What you’re asking is impossible.”
The Oracle’s face contorted in anger, a sneer distorting her features.
“You are the only hope. It is destruction or new life—only you can choose,” her voice hit with force. Oriana stumbled backward a few steps as though she had been pushed by the wind from a supernatural storm. Shaking, she stepped forward again. Annot closed her pale eyes and lifted her head to the sky.
“Please, tell me what I must do!” Oriana begged, clutching the Gateway key tightly to her chest. The metal bit into her skin of her palm, leaving its mark.
The Oracle sat once again, unmoving and silent. She had spoken all she would say.
Defeat washed over her. She turned to face Lucian. He stood back giving her room to talk to the Oracle. Her gaze dropped to the ground, avoiding his questioning expression. She walked past Lucian and up the sandy beach until she reached the wall of a cliff that stood between them and the blind woman.
Spinning on her heel when she heard Lucian approach she bit out, “What kind of Oracle spouts gibberish?” Her fists balled at her sides.
His eyebrows shot up in surprise. “All of them?”
She scowled. “This isn’t funny, Lucian. I need help. She didn’t tell me anything.”
“Oriana,” Lucian brushed a strand of hair from her face and placed it behind her ear. “She told you everything you needed to know.”
“How can you say that? You didn’t hear her.”
“I know, but that’s always been the nature of Oracles. They know all and see all. To tell you everything would be impossible, they must simplify it for us as best as they can. Tell me what she said, and maybe we can figure it out together?” He sat on the sand, leaning against the rocky cliff, and patted the ground next to him.
She sat and repeated what the woman had told her.
“So this key, is the key to the problem?” The corner of his mouth lifted, the grin becoming wider as Oriana glared at him.
“I need to know what this ’key’ is and how to unlock it.” She wrapped her arms around her legs and rested her cheek on her knee, watching him sideways. “You don’t unlock keys; you unlock things with keys. I don’t think she’s a real Oracle.”
“She is,” he settled down in the sand on his back and motioned for her to do the same. “We just need to figure out the meaning of her words.”
They lay side by side, lost in thought as she searched her mind for a clue that would give them the answer they desperately needed.
The sun lowered in the sky and sank below the horizon beyond the water. Twin moons rose, two watchful sentinels far in the distant sky. The small orbs did their best to provide pale light to the world below.
He chuckled, drawing her out of the labyrinth of her thoughts. She dropped her head to the side and examined his profile.
“I can’t believe we found Ceres... You found Ceres.” His lips pulled into a soft smile. “I don’t know how you do it. You stumble onto everything you need at just the right moment.”
“I don’t think I do,” she said after a moment. “I don’t think I needed the destruction of every ally we’ve ever had resting on my shoulders.” Tears pricked at her eyes, burning. She blinked rapidly up at the sky.
Lucian’s fingers brushed against her hand and weaved their way between hers, giving her a gentle squeeze. “You aren’t responsible for the attacks, Oriana. You know they were beyond you.”
She inhaled a shaky breath but remained silent. Tipping her head to the side toward the soft waves, she sighed as she watched them slide in and out like the steady breathing of the world around them. She let herself get lost in the hypnotic movement, and let it clear her mind.
The sea foam glowed with a soft iridescent pale blue light as the sun’s final rays sank slowly below the horizon. Incandescent lights twinkled dimly above, faded and distant in the blanket of the night. On this world, it was void of nebulas providing a stunning rainbow for the stars to twinkle against, only the empty and infinite blackness. The bare and lonely sky wrapped itself around her as shooting stars streaked across the inky heaven. The alien scene above only reminded her of how far from her home she was, how far from her life she’d come. She shivered and pulled her jacket tighter around herself.
“Oriana…” Lucian’s hand released hers, taking the security of his warmth with it. Firm fingertips touched her chin, the light pressure guiding her to face him. His dark brows pulled together, as his mouth formed a deep frown. “These attacks had nothing to do with you. You’ve done so much to help everyone. You pulled what was left of our weakened alliance together and united us. We are all stronger because of you.”
His intense gaze was more than she could handle, he believed every word he said. She wanted so much to believe him. But, why else would this have happened the way it had? Eris was looking for something they believed she had, or at the very least something that was on Soleis. They had destroyed everything and killed so many innocents to get their hands on it.
She nodded her head and moved her chin from his hand. Her eyes stared at the blurry night above, but she could feel the weight of Lucian’s intense gaze. After several moments, he lay back down.
Oriana shifted onto her side. The ground was uneven and the soft sand felt hard and unforgiving beneath her. Her ey
es scanned the silhouette of Lucian’s strong features, her eyes tracing the lines of his jaw, the slope of his nose and the curve of his lips. One eye opened, catching her gazing. Heat flooded her face, and she was glad it was dark so he couldn’t see.
“Are you warm enough?” He moved to his side propping his head up on his hand to face her.
“Y—yes,” her voice wavered, belying her words.
Shrugging off his jacket, he draped it over her and lay back down. The heat from his body lingered on the cloth, soaking into her chilled skin.
Turning over to face away from him, she closed her eyes and fell into a restless sleep.
The light of morning washed over her face, warming her skin. Weariness made her mind sluggish and the weight of a dreamless sleep lingered, pulling her back.
Oriana snuggled deeper into the warmth of her covers and inhaled deeply, drawing the warm musky scent into her lungs. A deep groan vibrated against her back.
Her eyes shot open as she surveyed her situation. An arm was draped on her side, his hand resting on her hip. Her head rested on a muscular, and very male arm. Lucian was molded to her back, holding her close.
Swallowing hard, she slowly inched away, only to be pulled back by the arm at her waist.
“Just one more hour,” he murmured into her hair. Warm breath on her neck sent shivers racing over her skin.
“Lucian…” Oriana prodded his arm with her finger. “Wake up.”
She felt him tense, then shift, freeing her from his hold. Oriana scooted away keeping her face turned away as she sat up. Stretching her arms over her head, she let out a soft yawn. The pendant spilled out of the collar of her shirt. As she twisted to face him, she found his eyes locked on to the pendant resting against her chest.
Embarrassment flooded her face as she gripped the stone and began to hide it. His hand shot out and grabbed her wrist, stopping her.
“Look,” he said, gently prying her fingers open. The tiny crystal still glowed with the light of the sun, burning brightly in her palm. “A fire within…” he murmured.