by Rana Demiriz
As Eva stared at me in amazement, Alejandro stepped between us.“Gods and goddesses, you all witnessed the true power of The Divine Being.” Everyone nodded. First, Alejandro leaned into and whispered something as he helped Eva get up.
And then he came to me. He looked right into my eyes without saying anything. That look both meant everything and nothing. He politely offered his hand to me. I walked towards the elevator with my sword. I didn’t want to see anyone. I heard the click-clacks of Eva’s high heels. She paced up to catch us. “Ms. Riley!”
I turned to her. She seemed impressed rather than angry, which surprised me. I could see that she was sincere. An angry woman would not be able to hide it. I thought I would have to add her to the list of people who had a grudge against me, but instead, I found myself counting her as someone that I could trust. “Yes?” I asked.
“You were magnificent. No one could stand before me more than a minute before, yet you defeated me.” She smiled, and it was a genuine one. Eva surprised me more every minute.
“Shall we say I broke two records at once then?”
She laughed, looking at Alejandro. “Yes, I guess we can say that.”
We spotted Simon as soon as the elevator doors opened as we were waiting. He seemed frantic. “Master!” he said to Alejandro.
Something terrible must’ve happened. And then I sensed it.
Alejandro turned around and looked at me anxiously, and so did Simon and Eva. My eyes must have changed color. Alejandro gave Simon questioning eyes, but I was the one who answered.
“They’re here…”
CHAPTER 23
When we went downstairs, I saw a woman standing restlessly right in the middle of Alejandro’s living room: Julia -just as I suspected. A damned Zathef. She seemed so elegant with her purple silk dress and black high-heeled shoes. Her blond hair was up in a simple bun on her head. She seemed like she just casually stopped by at our place on her way to a cocktail party. Our place? God, save my soul.
Alejandro stopped for a moment when he spotted Julia, but she didn’t react in any way. Alejandro pulled me slightly back, which reminded me of Rio. He did the exact same thing when he first saw Julia. I remembered they were brothers, and that was odd. Two polar opposites, but still, they shared the same bloodline. It must have been really hard. I was the closest witness to that.
“What are you doing here?” Alejandro said, spitting out the words. Of course, Rio gave a totally different reaction to Julie. He actually hissed at her, which was really weird. So did that make Alejandro more polite? Calmer? More mature, or was that the difference between being the big brother?
Julia laughed. “I’m happy to see you guys. Alejandro, you’re getting more and more handsome every time I see you. Wait a second…” she pretended to think and continued:“You were fifteen the last time I saw you.”
“I asked you a question,” Alejandro said, but she ignored him.
“Mia, aren’t you going to say hello? I wonder how many weeks have passed since I came to your house.”
“Don’t talk to her. Just tell us why you’re here and then take off.”
“What’s the rush, Alejandro? Let’s not discuss this here,” she looked around at the servants, beginning with Eva.
Alejandro nodded, even though he was pissed. Just one glance at the others was enough. Everyone disappeared, including Simon. Eva hesitated. Alejandro gave her a reassuring look. Eva left the room as slowly as possible.
When everyone cleared the room, we were left alone. Alejandro turned towards me. I was surprised by the fact that he trusted Julia enough to turn his back at her. He got closer to me. “I want you to leave,” he whispered.
“No.”
“Go to your room and lock yourself in. Don’t worry, Simon will protect you.”
“A single Zathef can’t do anything to us,” I had to sound sure.
The only thing Alejandro whispered to me was, “She isn’t here alone.”
He turned his back to me before I had a chance to say anything, which meant it was time for me to leave. I moved towards the room by mere body as I just left my soul behind. I closed the door behind me as I left the room. And then I regretted doing it, but I didn’t have anything I could do about it, did I?
I saw two other servants other than Simon beside the bedroom door. Actually, it wasn’t fair to call them servants. They may be guards or soldiers but definitely not servants. They were pretty dangerous and armed to the teeth and the fact that three of them guarded my room gave me some peace even though ‘peace’ was a distant concept for me right now.
Especially after leaving Alejandro, the Master of Darkness, alone in a room with a Zathef… They hated each other, and Rio hated them both. Because Julia was among the people who cursed Rio and Alejandro, and they both remembered that.
Both three guards gave me a nod. I looked at them gratefully. And when I stepped in the room, I swore and cursed a hundred times under my breath. I cursed myself for leaving that hall and worry about Alejandro without even knowing why. I kicked one of the bed posts. I knocked over the black velvet armchair. I wanted to burn everything out of anger. I wanted to break the mirror and use the shards to cut all over myself. I kicked the armchair, which was already down on the floor, as I was bursting with anger.
Someone knocked on the door. Was it Alejandro? “You can come in!” I yelled excitedly. When Simon walked in, I was disappointed.
Simon saw me beside the tumbled armchair and made a sour face and looked worried. “Are you okay Ms. Riley?”
“Well… I’m just a little clumsy, you know.” I smiled, but it wasn’t genuine.
“Do you want me to help?” It didn’t sound like a bad idea.
I nodded. Simon got in and straightened the armchair just in seconds. He looked at me as if he waited for my future orders, but I just gave him dull eyes. He showed understanding and left the room without saying a word.
I sat on the armchair as the bed seemed too far away. I put my elbows on my knees and held my head between my hands. I didn’t even care if I ruined my damned curls. The seconds seem like minutes and the minutes like hours. I was about to go mad. My impatience hit the ceiling.
Someone knocked on the door again. Judging by the way he knocked, I recognized it was Simon. I raised my head and straightened up.“Yes?” I said. Simon got in. “What’s the problem, Simon? Is it something wrong?” I exclaimed worriedly.
“My master awaits you in the study room.”
I don’t even remember how I pushed Simon to get out of the room as quickly as possible. I was in the study room’s door seconds later. I knocked but got inside without waiting for a response. Alejandro was sitting right across the door on his desk. Julia seemed pretty relaxed on one of the leather couches. I looked at Alejandro. Some of his locks clung to his forehead, which was slightly wet with sweat. His eyes were as dark and deep as bottomless pits. His face was blank. Julia turned towards me when I stepped in the room.
“Ah, Mia! You’re prettier than ever.”
“Thank you,” I said as I closed the door. Alejandro took advantage of the fact that Julia’s eyes on me and wiped off his forehead.
I went to sit on one of the leather armchairs. Alejandro was tracking me with terrifying eyes.
“We were just talking about the reason why I came here,” said Julia. Judging by a little gesture he made, I realized Alejandro despised the fact that she used ‘we’.
“Yeah, and?” I said impatiently.
“Mia, I came here to take you away,” I held my breath as Alejandro frowned. Julia continued.
“Yes, it’s true that there is a curse. And yes, there are two different sides as Darkness and Light; yes, there will be a war to preserve the ‘balance’. But there is no such thing as ‘The Divine Being’. There is not a prophecy. These are all nonsense.”
“The prophecy is not real?” I asked. There were the words I had waited to hear for days. “So, there isn’t a Divine Being, right?”
“
Yes, that’s true.”
My mental age was equivalent of a nursery school student. “Is everything written on the wall a lie?”
“Completely made-up.”
“And what about this war?”
“It is only a part of the punishment we saw a few years ago. It’s merely a part of the curse.”
“The curse?” I was making her repeat everything she said. Julia fixed her skirt impatiently.
“Yes, Mia. Look, you don’t have to pick a side, okay? You’re nothing more than an Azurite. No one can kidnap you or force you to stay.”
He looked at Alejandro when she said the last part. The silence took forever. Was I just an Azurite? But what about all of those sword techniques I learned just in one day? Where did they come from? “And no one can interfere with my life?” I asked.
“Yes, no one can do that. You can go back to your former happy life. You can continue your classes. You can get married and have kids,” she said as if she meant to challenge Alejandro.
“And what if she wants to stay?” said Alejandro. He accepted her challenge. Julia turned towards Alejandro.
“Of course, she can stay if she likes.” Alejandro seemed slightly relaxed. And I was more like frozen. “But not with a ridiculous title such as the Divine Being,” she added. Alejandro’s face was back to its blank state from five seconds ago.
Julia turned her head to me. “She can stay as the Mistress of Light or Darkness,” I waited for her to continue in shock. Because she wasn’t finished yet, I couldn’t even look at Alejandro.
“Did you understand what I said?” said Julia to me. The heat climbed up from my neck and flowed in my cheeks. I haven’t blushed for a long time. But it was a really embarrassing subject to talk about.
“But she can stay if she likes, right?” Alejandro asked.
“Yes, of course. That’s up to her,” said Julia. Alejandro got to his feet, walked up to me, and held my hands. I gave him questioning eyes, but he looked at Julia.
“We’ll be back in a minute,” he said to her; Julia smiled. Alejandro politely helped me get up, and we left the room. He led me into the living room next to his study room and closed the door behind us. We were looking at each other in the middle of the room. I could almost hear violins in the background. I would be crying right now if the violins were real.
“Stay…” he whispered with eyes as dark as night itself.
“Why? So you could choke me to death again? So you could cut my throat?”
“No…Mia, they were all mistakes, you know that,” he said with a voice filled with pain. I felt a deep pang of sadness. My heart was about to fall apart.
“I’m not even The Divine Being. And the prophecy was a lie anyway.”
“No, that’s not true. That’s what Zathefs want us to believe. You know that too.” Yes, I admit that. Because I knew I was The Divine Being. That would be just too much coincidence. I nodded.
“Then stay with me…”
Just a few moments ago, Julia said what I have yearned to hear for days. Instead of running without looking back, I was standing here, listening to the Master of Darkness. Damn it! Damn it! I thought about it for a while.
“Why would I stay, Alejandro? To make all of the gods and goddesses hate me; to reign over your dark world together?” I said harshly and in pain.
“No,” he whispered, and so did I.
“Just give me a reason to stay.”
He collapsed on his knees and held me against him. I froze. I didn’t move or speak. “Because you’re the only light in the shadows….” I leaned my head back and closed my eyes. Two drops of tear rolled down my cheeks. I forgot to breathe, and I couldn’t think, see or hear for a moment. My heart skipped a beat as blood ran dry on my veins.
“What?” I whispered.
“You’re the light in the dark, goodness in evil and happiness in my eternal agony. You’re my only hope in this vain world.” Tears started to run down my cheeks faster. I have never felt such deep emotions before.
He stood up and looked right into my eyes. His dark eyes were back to their usual color now—shadow grey, more like himself. Neither my heart nor my mind could lead me forth right now. The only thing I could see in his eyes was that strong bond between us that filled my entire soul and touched my real self. He wiped my tears away with the tip of his hand.
“If you leave,” he began to speak. His eyes held so much pain.“I'll surrender to Rio with my sword and ask him to end my misery.”
I pressed my finger to his lips to make him stop. I actually made my decision days ago, but it was stupid of me to refuse to listen to my heart and deny what I saw in him and me. I wasn't brave. “No, you're not going to die...”
He looked at me with wondering eyes. I took my finger off his lips. I continued to speak. My eyes were full of tears. “I'm staying.”
I burst into tears on his shoulders as he embraced me. I held him tighter than I ever thought I could hold anyone. I held on tight to the silent promise of being loved and protected by him and that he was never going to leave me. On the other hand, he embraced me like I was a life ring he found when he was about to get drowned or as if I was the last solid thing on earth. I let my tears soak into his t-shirt. After I pulled myself together a bit, I let him go.
“Let's go. Julia is waiting for us.”
As I walked towards the door, he grabbed me by the wrist and pulled me to himself so hard that our lips were pressed tight together. There was no more struggling. We were partners and equals. I quietly surrendered. It was a thank-you-kiss. This was the kiss of our love that has only just begun. This was only a little sign of my heart, which was burning bright and passionately for him. I ran my fingers through his hair for the first time. It was velvety soft. His hands tightened around my waist.
Only when my head started to spin with happiness, he moved away from me reluctantly. The stars deep in his eyes were shining brightly. He didn’t hold my hands. Instead, he wrapped his hands tight around my waist and pulled me close. As the words fall short, we opened the door and stepped out in silence.
Julia was waiting for us right beside the living room door, stomping her feet impatiently. She was outside the study room. We both stopped when we saw her. She stared at me. “Apparently, you're staying.”
“Yes,” Alejandro smiled with pride. I didn't react in any way.
Julia pursed her lips. “I've been through this before. Helena and Antonio stood against me once too, just like you.” Her words pierced us both like sharp arrows. The people she mentioned were my mother and Alejandro's father. My fears came true. I was compared to my mother. I took a deep breath to avoid bursting into tears. Alejandro was frozen.
“Of course, they were married to other people. Fortunately, you're both single, and there is no question about a betrayal. Mia didn't side with anyone up until now, but she showed her true colors today.”
I took another deep breath. Julia turned to me. “You resemble your mother a lot, Mia.” If Alejandro hadn't tightened his grip on my waist, I would have been on the floor, crying my eyes out. But he gave me strength.
“Don't ever repeat my mother's name!” I hissed. Julia smiled and turned towards Alejandro.
“You need to make an explanation to the others.”
“And?” Alejandro said.
“She stays here with you as?”
Alejandro didn't answer. Julia looked at me. It was hard to blurt out those two words, which was my new title. Actually, I was the Divine Being, but Zathefs didn't believe that, let alone the prophecy. I did believe it, though. The biggest proof of that was the lightning bolt symbol, which was carved on the prophecy wall. But still, as I said those words, I felt my tongue got heavier in my mouth. I felt as though my vocal cords were shredded. I forgot what I had to say. Actually, it was so simple. The words which came out of my mouth with great difficulty were my new identity from now on.
“The Mistress of Darkness.”
Just like your mother, something said in
side of me. Alejandro's fingers on my waist were nearly showed into my ribs from squeezing too much to support me. Julia raised her eyebrows thoughtfully.
“Go now,” said Alejandro.
“All right, I'm leaving. You're not going to see me until the war is over. Assuming you made it out alive, of course. Don't underestimate Rio.”
“If you're done with giving us advice, you know where the elevators are.”
She turned towards me just before she left. “The others won't like this, Mia.” She meant my sisters: Lana, Carmela, Sophia, and Aida. I took a deep breath and turned to Julia.
“I know...” The corners of her lip slightly curved up, but she didn't say anything. She took the elevator and left.
I moved away from Alejandro and went to my room for a while. He respected my choice and didn't follow me. He understood my desire to be on my own and process the latest incidents. We didn't say a word during our late dinner. We were both thoughtful, or to be honest, I was thoughtful, and he was worried because of my lingering silence. The words swirled around my head all night long.
You resemble your mother a lot, Mia.
Of course, that wasn't true, but it still made me feel bad. Not just for myself but for my sisters. They were all going to hate me. I didn't have anyone other than Alejandro for now.
When I entered the bedroom, I grabbed my nightgown and slowly walked towards the bathroom. After I accepted the fact that we were alone in this huge world except for each other, I was struck by the fact that we were also alone in this room. I didn't know what to do. I wished to stay in that bathroom forever. Damn it.
When I finally left the bathroom, I saw he just wore track pants to bed -just like Rio. Alejandro was more tanned than Rio. I wondered why Alejandro looked more tanned than Rio even though they were brothers. His biceps were glistening majestically under the light like a bronze statue. As I was walking towards the mirror to comb my hair, he grabbed me by the wrist. He looked into my eyes.
“Are you okay?” I gulped and shook my head.