Starlight

  My head was resting on his shoulder and my nose gently touched his chin. For the first time in a long time, I was looking forward to kissing someone again, but still, he only kissed me a few times on the lips. Lately it was on my head, but it always came from him, never me.

  I’d never done this on my own. I wasn’t supposed to feel this toward any man, ever again. I was supposed to hate them for what they did to me.

  Then my lips brushed his chin and it was like a sign he’d been waiting for. He lowered his chin and his lips found mine.

  His kiss was gentle, so gentle it made me forget once more where I was; the danger of tomorrow was far away. It was just the two of us.

  I felt safe with him, I really did. I felt as if I’d finally found a place where I belonged. I knew it sounded stupid, but I’d felt so lost, even if I’d found the truth of who I was, I’d never felt like a princess. I sucked at that. But being here with him, kissing him like this. Now that was really easy.

  He broke the kiss and pulled me in for a tight hug, laying his head on mine. “We should really try to get some sleep, Elena.”

  “If you say that Tabitha is seriously a better kisser than me, I’m going to scorch your ass.”

  He chuckled. “No, hell no. It’s just the opposite. You wake things up that shouldn’t be awake yet.”

  I blushed as I got what he was saying.

  “Now sleep,” he ordered.

  “Okay,” I smiled again and looked at him. “Goodnight.” I turned around and it felt good when he wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me closer to him. I became like his pillow he slept with, and I knew I could sleep like this forever.

  AT MIDNIGHT THE alarm in the house screeched. It was time to move the first group through to the other side.

  Blake stepped into his jeans and I grabbed some of my clothes and went to the bathroom behind the divider.

  We met everyone in the living room. All of them had a bag of clothes with them.

  Emanual and all of his men, including Taylor, who looked as if she’d just swallowed a lemon, waited to go back to the other side.

  We all went together to the Creepers. At least Blake was going to be here and then tomorrow he was going to leave with August and Tom on this crazy mission.

  I kept my eye out on tonight’s task.

  Blake came in with me.

  Emanual looked at Taylor. “You’re up.”

  She just glared at him, and picked up her bag and walked over to me.

  She stood behind me and wrapped her one hand around my waist.

  The Creepers woke up again, started to slightly vibrate as they moved together. They hissed slightly as I took Taylor inside.

  She was quiet, really quiet, and I didn’t like that at all.

  “Sorry about tonight,” she finally said.

  “It’s fine. I get why you are angry.”

  “You do?”

  “Yes, you wanted to stay. I get that. You feel more needed here.”

  “Fucking finally.”

  I laughed softly.

  When she was safely on the other side, one of the other troops took her place and I could hear King Helmut starting to speak to her as we made our way inside.

  He was big, like Emanual and he gasped just like everyone did when we reached the core.

  “Breathtaking, I know,” I said.

  He just stared at him, mesmerized.

  He exchanged a quick download of info with Emanual and then they shook hands.

  Emanual was coming out next.

  “I’m watching you,” Blake joked and Emanual had this grin on his face as he picked me up.

  He ran with me inside and once safely past the mouths of the Creepers, he started to walk.

  “So what was it you had to get for King Helmut?”

  “It’s private, Elena.”

  “Does he have family this side?”

  He nodded, but the look on his face said it wasn’t good. “That is why he wanted you to enter, didn’t he?”

  “I told you before, it’s private. Now stop being nosey as it’s really hard not telling you this. But I gave my dragon oath that I wouldn’t.”

  “Wow, that important?”

  “Yes, so if you want to see me shrivel in pain, ask me one more time.”

  I smiled. “Okay, sorry.”

  King Helmut was really happy to see Emanual exit the Creepers with me. At a safe distance her put me down and I took another of the troops in.

  When all the troops and Emanual were out, and new ones had taken their place, it was Charles’ turn.

  At first he wanted to stay as he was one of the main speakers when the Council came, but Emanual put him at ease. That the guy that was going to take his place would sit with him on the other side and just study him, and everyone he needs to know from the Council.

  Right now, well he was the opposite. He was like a giddy young boy of ten. Kept talking about breathing in fresh air, seeing the stars.

  “Not yet, it’s daytime on the other side.”

  “Still, stars will shine tonight,” he smiled.

  Inside he gasped. “It shouldn’t surprise me that something so dangerous had something so beautiful and serene in the inside.”

  I smiled. “Just like the Yin Yang.”

  “You mean the Dent sign.”

  “It’s a bit different though isn’t it?”

  “Not really. To be honest, I think they had the Yin Yang wrong.”

  “They copied it and sort of made it their own?”

  “Something like that.”

  We exited and I could see a slight fear lingering on his face as he saw all the troops that were going to take their place.

  King Helmut stepped forward as we got behind the yellow line they had put up.

  He reached out his hand to Charles and Charles just stared at it. A smile finally broke over his face and King Helmut returned it.

  Then Charles bowed.

  King Helmut pulled him back out and shook his head. “Welcome home.”

  I smiled as Charles saw Connie and they embraced one another. It was a really good feeling to watch lost ones find the people they hadn’t seen for such a long time.

  It was time to take in another troop.

  David came back and the rest of the night it was all I did. The times that I did rest, Blake handed me water, and a sandwich. Then I went back in.

  It carried on until the sun’s first rays started to light up around us.

  “That is it for tonight. We got through quite a lot,” Blake spoke. “Elena, take Gertrude back and come back tomorrow afternoon at two. The new group will be waiting.”

  I didn’t like this, because he wasn’t going to be there tomorrow. I grabbed him around his waist. “Just be safe, please.”

  He stroked the back of my head. “I promised you before: I will come back.” He touched my chin and pulled my face up to look at him. “I promise, Elena,” he said and kissed me. It was a soft compassionate kiss and then it turned into something else. Wanting more. My heart rose, not from evil memories, from really wanting him to stay. He broke the kiss, turned around and walked away fast without saying goodbye.

  I closed my eyes, said a soft prayer to just keep him safe, and a soft hand stroked my arm.

  “He will come back to you, Elle.” Gertrude looked at me with soft eyes.

  I nodded.

  “It wasn’t easy saying goodbye, that we all saw.”

  I hugged Tom. “Keep him safe, please.”

  “I promise,” he said.

  August was next. “I really hope you guys are going to find Max.”

  “I do too,” he said, with a lot of doubt lingering on his face.

  We said goodbye with a hug.

  “I’ll make sure he blends in, Elena.”

  I laughed. “It’s the blending in part I’m worried about the most, August.”

  “He’s going to be fine. I promise.” Raymond stayed, surprised that King Helmut said it was okay. Taylor was not going
to like that.

  I nodded.

  “Hey, he’s the Rubicon. You worry for nothing.” Raymond had that confidence I wished I owned right now.

  I nodded again and took Gertrude back. She was just as scared as the others when we neared the Creepers.

  “Close your eyes,” I whispered softly as I took my position behind her and wrapped my arms around her arms.

  The sun that Goran created, an illusion, started to rise. My stomach grumbled and I only then realized how hungry I was.

  Blake was right, I was going to be too busy to worry about their mission, as my own was going to exhaust me the next few days.

  The Creepers hissed close to our faces: their teeth still scared the living crap out of me. They were so vicious, and it was hard to explain how I felt being the only one that could walk through them.

  When we passed their mouths, and were safe inside the core, I told Gertrude to open her eyes.

  She gasped at the small golden light floating in the air.

  I still had no idea what they were. They didn’t look like bugs and they definitely weren’t fairies.

  The pink and purple flowers growing on the roots, the long silver leaves hanging from the top, it made the core look like a fairy tale.

  She looked around her, exactly like every single one of them did.

  “Who could’ve imagined…?”

  I laughed. “You and everyone else keeps saying that, Gertrude. It sure is beautiful.”

  “It’s heavenly, Elena.”

  I smiled.

  “Not so evil as we all thought they were.”

  “Oh, no they are vile, Gertrude. They can still rip you to pieces.”

  She tapped the back of my hand and laughed. “Not what I meant. They do belong in Paegeia. In everything ugly, evil, dark, there is something beautiful, good, and light in the middle.”

  I just stared at her. Didn’t even want to think about it.

  “It’s a pity that we have to destroy this to free Etan.”

  She nodded her head. “It is.”

  We finally reached the other side and her entire body trembled again, as she closed her eyes tight, walking past the thousand teeth and hissing.

  The reunion, even though it was just a week being apart, was nice to watch. Cassy was all over her grandma and acted as if she hadn’t seen her in years.

  Connie cooked up a storm. I ate while all the other’s sounded cheerful. I wondered how they felt, finally being free. By the look on their faces, they still had a small fear. Especially Marcus and Gertrude. Both her boys were on this dangerous mission. At least Raymond and Blake were with them.

  “Go to bed.” Emanual ordered as I finished my coffee.

  “Yes, Dad,” I said and his lips curved into a huge grin.

  Charles came up to me.

  “Elle, we can never thank you enough.” He took both my hands in his. “I know it was hard for you to let Blake go today. Thank you for doing that.”

  I gave him a smile. “All of you deserve to be free, Charles.”

  “I just hope fooling the Council is going to work.”

  “I trust King Helmut. If he says that these men are the best observers he has, then I believe him. It’s going to work.”

  He gave me that grandfather smile of his. “Sleep tight, Elle.”

  Everyone said in unison, “Good night.” Some even thanked me, grateful for finally being safe and free. But at what cost? They lost their farms.

  I went to my room and took a bath, just replaying that major goodbye between me and Blake. Why did he turn around and walk away like that?

  This was going to be the longest three days of my life.

  THE SECOND DAY I went in with a troop at two.

  King Helmut held a huge meeting. The guy that was going to take Charles’ place was busy interrogating him, to get all the info he needed.

  They looked at the camera that was installed in one of the buyos that the first ten went in with. They scouted Eikenborough, and the nearby cities.

  I hated seeing Eikenborough again. It brought back memories that I still struggled with whenever I was alone.

  My throat closed as I saw Seymour and Billy’s faces through the crowd. They were busy having a discussion.

  One of the scouts that gained all the information told the others who they were, the clothes they wear, all of it.

  A part of me didn’t fear them anymore. It was only hatred and pity for what Blake would do to them when he found them.

  I felt an arm stroking my back. It was Annie. “What are you doing in here? Come, let’s go.”

  She took me out, and led me to my room.

  We both sat on my bed, none of us said a word.

  “What did they do to you, Elena?”

  “You know what they did, Annie.”

  Tears welled up in her eyes again. “I hope that my cousin finds them and show them hell.”

  “I don’t. It will mean that Goran will find him and…”

  She touched my arm. “I didn’t mean right now.”

  I nodded; the fear of that turning into a reality was evident on my face, but I manage to give her a smile. “I never thought being with another guy would feel like this.”

  She laughed softly. “Yes, Plucky always had a gentle side to him.”

  “He wasn’t always like that, Annie.”

  “Then tell me, what was he like?”

  I squinted. “You really want to know?”

  “I do.”

  I start telling her the story, how he truly hated my guts since the night Matt brought me through. She listened, even gasped at some times. Pure shock was written over her face a few times and right before I stopped, she even had tears glistening in her eyes.

  “The dark really had its claws deep inside of him, didn’t it?”

  “It did. I just came to know this Plucky you are telling me about.”

  She smiled.

  “It’s hard to take it all in. I mean, I only knew this side of him. I can’t imagine what he was like being dark.”

  “It’s in the past now. He just needs to come back.”

  “He will. I know he will,” she reassured me.

  “Elena, you ready?” King Helmut asked and I jumped back to the present.

  I nodded and saw the first troop that was going to replace one of the farmers.

  The first was always the hardest as a fear of the Creepers waking up, making that horrible hissing sound, and finally devouring us, still lingers with me strongly.

  When we reached the other side, the next group with lanterns was waiting for us.

  I looked up at the sky and saw the starless night. The faces around me were familiar, but not the one I really wanted to see. He was gone. Please, just be safe.

  I brought out another and the entire ritual started all over.

  Emanual and a couple of yesterday’s troops, with Jerry and Semeon, were waiting for the new group to exit from Etan.

  Emanual looked after me, brought me water and sandwiches as the time went by.

  When the sun started to come up once more in Etan, the second day came to an end.

  I’d brought out fifty in two days. Master Longwei was so right that I was going to need to use Monday and Tuesday to complete this. At least Tuesday Blake would be back.

  I slept in the next day. I missed my friends. At least with them here, I could’ve had some sort of a distraction.

  They would’ve loved the lake. The one where Blake taught me how to fish. The one where he gave me that kiss that made me run away like a mouse.

  After I ate lunch, I spent a couple of minutes in the library, just looking again for that missing ingredient.

  Two o’clock crept nearer, real fast, and once at the Creepers, the third day started. It was the same thing.

  The day ended with a total of seventy-five of King Helmut’s army in Tith, pretending to be the farmers. Tomorrow the last twenty-five were going in and then Blake was coming home. The mission would be over.

>   On Tuesday I took the last twenty-five troops through and brought out the rest.

  The last five troops were the most important as they studied the heads the past three days. Learning everything they could to fool the Council.

  They were either going to make or break this mission.

  I hoped it was the first.

  Charles walked with Remi, the troop that was going to take his place. I could hear him going over the list of things Remi needs to remember, which was of the utmost importance.

  When they reached me, Remi laughed, turned around and cupped Charles’ face. “You worry too much. I learned plenty from you the past few days, Charles. I won’t fail you.”

  Charles smiled. “Okay son. I trust you. Just watch out for Seymour, please.”

  “He will never know the difference sir.”

  They said goodbye, and I took Remi inside.

  “Princess,” Remi greeted me. I hadn’t spoken to him before, just seen him with the troops and speaking to King Helmut from time to time.

  “Elena, please.” I smiled.

  He laughed. “You don’t remember me, do you?”

  I squinted, trying to think where I should know him from.

  “It was my brother you saved that night when we ran into the hippogriff.”

  “He was your brother?” I sounded like an idiot and Remi smiled.

  “How is he?”

  That made him roar with laughter. “You took him in on the second day.”

  I felt like an idiot. “Sorry, the past few days were a blur to me, honestly.”

  “I can only imagine.”

  “So they gave you the big task of becoming Charles. You have some serious big shoes to fill.”

  Remi squinted. “I got that much.”

  “I have faith in you.”

  “Thank you so much, Your Highness.”

  “Elena, please.” I laughed.

  He gasped too as we reached the core. Everyone did.

  When he was safely through, he hit the button of his buyo and became Charles.

  “Good luck Remi,” I said as he walked to the farm with one of the other men that had taken one of the farmhand’s places.

  I feel sorry for Seymour if they are going to find something out of place. He wasn’t dealing with farmers anymore, he was dealing with an army of dragon riders who all owned abilities and knew how to use them.