The emotion of rediscovering one another, openly in love and unwilling to ever let go, was exhilarating. Sure, we’d kissed before, passionately and unapologetically. But it didn’t compare to how our lips felt with our souls bared. I could feel her, her every atom in friction as my arms encircled her waist.
I was overwhelmed, but I couldn’t afford a single second without feeling her, without our mouths, our bodies, and our souls connected.
Happiness coursed through me like a raging river, now knowing that she felt the same way about me. I was in love with her, and she was in love with me.
It was all I could focus on. The joy of experiencing her like that was an open blossom tickling my senses and setting fires I could no longer control.
I lost myself in her kiss, as she brought her arms up around my neck and tightened her grip on me. She didn’t want to let go either.
Field
Aida was exhausted after the last Oracle session, so I let her sleep it off while I trained outside. I couldn’t fly out anymore since the Destroyers had been instructed to capture me, but I figured I could at least increase my physical strength and burn some energy in the process to avoid going stir crazy.
I was on my third set of handstands when I saw Aida’s feet in front of me in the grass.
I pushed myself off the ground and landed on my feet, to find her standing there in a pale orange linen dress, most likely something worn under 19th century outfits as an undergarment. The fabric stretched gently over her curves, and the midsummer breeze brushed against it, showing me the lines of her legs and her generous hips. She was a wonderful sight to behold, even in someone else’s clothes.
My throat felt dry, and all I was able to do was nod my hello to her.
She gave me a lazy but bright smile. She’d just woken up, judging by her sleepy eyes and tousled cascade of brown and golden hair.
“Can we go up on the roof?” she asked, her cheeks blushing. “The wind’s a little stronger up there. It’s getting really hot here, and I’d like to cool down a little.”
“Say no more.” I beamed at her.
I loved holding her in my arms, and I especially enjoyed flying with her, even if it was just from the ground to the roof of an old plantation house. I whisked her off her feet, feeling her soft and warm against my chest, and spread my wings. I flapped them several times before our toes touched the roof tiles.
We sat down on the far western end, our feet dangling in the air as we watched the Destroyers move around the protective shield, patrolling quietly. Goren occasionally barked orders at them, and some rolled their yellow eyes, but they all obeyed.
“How are you feeling?” I asked her.
“I’m okay, I think.” She shrugged, giving me a weak smile. “I haven’t experienced any other Oracle transformation symptoms lately. I’m starting to think that these runes appearing during my visions are the worst thing that’s going to happen. I’m hoping it stops there!”
“Tell me if you experience anything else,” I replied. “I’m not easily scared.”
“That you certainly aren’t.” She chuckled, then looked down at the Destroyers again, frowning. “I wonder what they keep doing down there, wandering around the shield. They obviously can’t get in.”
The creatures were checking the soil where the protective shield started, using the tips of their spears to dig in. I looked around and noticed they were doing the same all around.
“Maybe they’re looking for the perfect spots to plant their explosive charges,” I mused.
She looked at me, her eyes wide.
“Do you think they can get through with those?”
“I doubt it,” I shook my head. “As long as we have the Daughter here, her sisters would never let Azazel through.”
“You heard Vita. Azazel has a Daughter in his possession as well. From what our Daughter told us, based on the conversation with her sisters, that bastard has leverage over them. What if he figures out this is their doing and demands action from them?”
I thought about it for a while, remembering the Daughter’s account of her sisters’ words.
“I don’t know. I’m thinking maybe they wouldn’t, but that’s just my opinion,” I said slowly.
“Why not?”
“They’ve already made a deal with him not to intervene in his conquest of Eritopia. Technically speaking, they actually didn’t when they placed this mansion under the shield. They were only protecting their sister. At least that’s how I see it.”
“Let’s hope your reasoning is true.” She sighed, then leaned into me, resting her head on my shoulder. “I should focus my next visions on the Destroyers again. I’ll bet I’ve yet to discover all the juicy stuff we could use against them.”
I smiled, resting my head on hers in response. She never ceased to amaze me. Always so proactive, so ready to fight and try harder to get results. I breathed her scent in, and her soft hair tickled my jaw.
Once all this was over, I was determined to give her everything she wanted, everything she needed, and more. She’d wrestled with her self-esteem for so long that I’d made it my mission to get her to see herself through my eyes, because she was gorgeous and strong and a force to be reckoned with.
I felt her go limp and slide down. I caught her before she fell off the roof and held her tight. Her head fell back, and I saw her eyes roll white as runes started to flicker across her skin. She was having a vision, and I wasn’t sure she’d planned it.
Her breathing was even, and her body was tender in my hands. Even in this state, I couldn’t get enough of Aida. I was ready to kill anyone who tried to take her away from me.
The bond we shared ran deeper than I’d originally thought. My heart swelled at the mere thought of her. I felt acutely that all roads would lead to her in the end. We were meant to be.
Aida
I was thinking about the Destroyers one minute, and the next I was walking among them, beyond the shield. I froze at first, wondering how I’d ended up there, but when none of them saw or heard me, I realized I was having a vision.
I sighed and shook my head in disappointment. I was having a good moment with Field, and this vision had caught me unprepared.
I looked over my shoulder, where the mansion was supposed to be, but I couldn’t see anything because of the protective shield. I stood on the very edge, where three Destroyers were checking the ground with their swords, stabbing it here and there.
I leaned forward to peek through the shield, and I saw myself up on the roof, limp in Field’s arms. I felt a grin stretching on my face as butterflies tickled my stomach, pleased to see him looking after me.
I turned to face the Destroyers again, watching as they poked the ground, muttering and hissing among themselves. Goren barked more orders several yards behind us.
“I don’t get it,” one of the creatures said.
“Get what?” asked the second.
“How a weakling like Azazel managed to amass so much power. Genevieve and Almus alone could have taken him down if they put their heads together. Not to mention the other kingdoms. I still don’t get how he made it this far.”
“We all know he’s got some dirty secrets up his sleeve,” the third Destroyer chimed in. “This spell he has us under, it’s not of Druid making.”
“I can’t even kill myself,” the first one muttered.
“He won’t let you. He needs us.”
“For what? He’s already got so much power! He’s about to overtake the last planet, and his dark magic is ridiculously strong,” the second one said.
“He’s not as strong as you think, though.”
That got my full attention.
“What do you mean, Uvar?” the second Destroyer replied.
“You’ve heard the rumors. You hear the others whispering in the dark. He still has a soft spot for that Lamia, and he’s too proud to admit it. He was too proud to even admit there’s another Druid out there standing, even when we all saw him in the castle. Under
his nose! He’s losing his touch. He can’t focus because of Tamara,” Uvar whispered, constantly looking over his shoulder to make sure Goren couldn’t hear him.
“You think?”
“Yes,” he nodded vehemently. “He’s been pining after her since she ran away with his child. I’m not sure whether he wants her back or just wants both her and the little Lamia dead, though. His pride is of epic proportions. Makes him do the cruelest things.”
A moment passed before either of them spoke again. They continued testing the ground further along the shield.
“I’m still having a hard time believing Azazel was ever a Druid,” the first Destroyer said.
“That’s because you were only a child when he went dark and lost his Druid form, Garnet,” Uvar replied. “You didn’t meet him when they assigned him the third planet. He had great plans, much ambition. He was progressive, a lover of mixing sciences with magic, but the bureaucracy drove him off the edge. He couldn’t get anything done, and his pride couldn’t take so many defeats. He just lost it.”
“Well,” the second Destroyer said, “we both know it wasn’t just the bureaucracy that made him flip.”
Uvar snickered, wiping beads of sweat from his forehead. Garnet looked at them both, visibly confused.
“What’s Keiten talking about?” he asked.
Garnet grinned. “They didn’t tell you anything, huh?”
“Azazel had the hots for Genevieve, but she kept shooting him down. Not only did she reject his advances, but she married Almus, once Azazel’s closest friend. Then she sided with the other Druids and kicked him down every time he made significant changes to his kingdom’s legislation. I think he truly lost it when he got word of her pregnancy. He loved and hated her at the same time, because she had enough power and influence to keep him in his little corner. But then she died in childbirth, and Azazel was suddenly on a roll.”
I would’ve stayed for longer, but my vision had decided I’d had enough. I scoffed as I slipped into darkness, making a mental note to find a way to control timing on these sessions. It was getting frustrating.
I could feel myself moving, as another image came into focus. I realized I was walking alongside Patrik, somewhere in the dungeons of Azazel’s castle. The black stone walls were narrow and glistening under the green torches.
We entered one of the prison halls, where hundreds of cages were stacked on top of each other in multiple rows. I recognized several fae, Lamias, a couple of other species I’d yet to recognize, and a plethora of incubi and succubi. They all looked miserable and wounded. Their clothes were tattered, and their shackles bit into their ankles and wrists.
Patrik was quiet as he slithered forward, walking between two rows, his yellow eyes wandering as the creatures he passed shuddered and backed into their cages in a desperate attempt to put some distance between themselves and the Destroyer.
He stopped in front of a Lamia’s cage. The torn silk dress she wore had once been bright red. Now it was faded and covered in dried blood and dirt. Her snake eyes were a gold yellow, and the scales on her long arms, legs, and neck were smooth and a familiar shade of greenish yellow. Her hair was long and straight, a cold platinum shade that reminded me of someone.
“Tamara,” I said to myself. “You look a lot like Tamara.”
I got closer to the cage to get a better look. Patrik watched her for a while. She glared at him, her lips twisted with disgust.
“You can keep coming here until the world ends,” she muttered. “I will never tell you where she is.”
“Kyana, I’m not asking for Azazel. I’ve told you before. Unfortunately, I can’t convince you otherwise, given my condition, but I still have to know. Where is your sister?” Patrik’s voice was calm and low.
“I don’t know.”
“You must know something. You must know where she’s hiding. Azazel is intensifying his search for her, and she must be warned. Where is Tamara?” he insisted.
She scoffed and rolled her eyes. I liked her spunk.
“I have no idea. And I would never tell you. You said yes to him. You said yes!” She was seething, and I started to get a feeling that there had been some history between them. The pained look on his face and her blistering anger pointed to it.
“You know I had no choice, Kyana,” he replied, his voice trembling. “Please, just tell me where Tamara is. I need to reach out to her before he finds her. I don’t want him to win, but there isn’t much I can do to fight him. He’s still in control of my will, but I’ve been able to shut down his hold on me for brief moments. I can help her. I can help you both see each other again.”
Kyana’s glare did not subside.
“What happened between the two of you?” I asked out loud, although I knew I wouldn’t get an answer.
“What happened to you, Patrik?” she muttered, her gaze softening slightly. “You had everything. You had me. And then you said yes to Azazel. Why did you do that?”
“You know exactly why I did it,” he shot back, grunting. He was struggling with self-control again.
“What? He threatened to kill me? Well, he put me in a cage, instead. Well done, Patrik. I would’ve been better off dead, and you would’ve fought against him a little while longer. Maybe you would’ve even made a difference!”
Patrik grasped the cage bars, drops of sweat sliding down his temples. There was a mixture of pain and longing in his yellow eyes, as they flickered back to his natural color for a moment—enough for Kyana to notice and get closer.
“I’m not letting you die, Kyana,” he replied. “I’m meaningless without you.”
He reached into the cage, slowly, and his knuckles brushed her cheek gently. She smiled. Then she hissed and bit into his hand, her fangs piercing the skin, drawing blood.
He cursed and withdrew his hand, taking a step back.
She chuckled and spat the blood to her side, licking her lips with a sadistic grin. “You’re already meaningless, you mindless beast. You’re Azazel’s puppet,” Kyana said.
Patrik’s eyes changed back to yellow, as he gripped his wound with two fingers and slithered out of the dungeon. There was more than physical pain carved into his features. He was suffering tremendously because of his situation and because of the rift that Azazel had put between him and Kyana.
Clearly Druids and Lamias didn’t get along very well, despite the Lamias’ procreation needs, but Patrik and Kyana seemed to have been in a relationship before Azazel came along. It made sense to me, in a way. They descended from the Druid species, and they had more in common with them than with any other creature. And the Lamias were beautiful. There was plenty to fall for.
Kyana watched as he disappeared into the corridor, left in utter silence with just the sound of water dripping somewhere nearby. She wiped the blood from her lips with the back of her hand before she caved in and shuddered. Sobbing tears streamed down her cheeks. I felt sorry for her, trapped in there, forced to watch her lover turn into a beast.
I stood on a massive platform made of black marble with archways stretching across it. Glass bubbles hung from them, most of them empty. I was at the top level of Azazel’s castle, where he kept his collection of Oracles. He was on the edge, looking up at Destroyers atop their winged horses as they circled above. My blood ran cold.
I gasped as I recognized the Nevertide Oracle floating in one of them. Two more were prisoners there, both females who were blind and covered in runes. I walked toward them, and, as I stopped in front of the Nevertide Oracle, she opened her white eyes.
My breath hitched.
“Aida,” I heard her whispering inside my head.
I froze, realizing that she could see me.
“Aida, there isn’t much time,” she said, her lips still. “There’s a traitor among you.”
“Wait, what? How? No, that’s not possible,” I said.
My mind instantly started going over all possible scenarios, looking at every single person in our group, every ally and new friend
made, including the succubi, the Dearghs, and the Lamias. I shook my head.
“Azazel is cunning, Aida,” the Nevertide Oracle insisted. “His spells will slither into one’s soul, and you won’t even know he’s looking or listening. You must be careful. I see betrayal hanging over your heads.”
“You don’t know what you’re saying!” I shot back. “Besides, why should I believe you? You’re stuck here with him! I know he can control the visions. What if what you’re telling me now is actually coming from Azazel, just trying to cause a divide between us?”
“Aida, please believe me! I didn’t give you my gift to see you end up here in a glass bubble. I’m trying to help you,” she pleaded, placing her palm on the glass, as if reaching out to me.
I didn’t believe her in the slightest, but before I could say anything else, the image warped before my eyes, and Azazel burst out of nowhere, his face inches from mine with big eyes blazing green and a chilling grin stretching from ear to ear.
“Gotcha!” he hissed, and I screamed.
I screamed as hard as my lungs could handle.
I woke up, still screaming with my arms flailing. Field’s arms held me tight to keep me from falling.
I gasped and cried as I looked around, realizing I was back on the roof.
“Aida, I’m here. It’s okay!” Field said, his hands gripping my shoulders.
Horror filled my veins with ice, and my stomach reduced itself to the size of a pea.
“Aida, it’s okay.”
It took me a minute or two before I was able to speak again, my eyes darting around as if expecting to see Azazel pop out again somehow.
“He saw me,” I managed to croak. “Field, he saw me! Azazel saw me!”
He stilled, his turquoise eyes nearly popping out of their orbits.
“How? How? How did he see you? What happened?”
I burst into tears, shuddering as he pulled me into a comforting embrace.
“I was on top of his castle. The Nevertide Oracle was there. She could see me, but this wasn’t the first time. She’s done it with Vita, too, so I was surprised, but not shocked. And…and…”