chapter 18
Titan’s hand collided with Ana’s cheek and her malevolent cackling ceased, but that didn’t stop her from enjoying the sight as we squirmed. “You’ve handed him this victory. All he needed to do was watch. You left poor little Naos defenseless,” she said, sticking her bottom lip out like she was truly sad. “But what’s even better, now he knows where you’ve been hiding.” Her eyes skewered Titan.
“You bitch!” Ronon shouted. “You’ve been playing us all along, haven’t you?”
“What do you mean?” I asked him, pulling away from Arrick’s embrace.
“She didn’t come here because she wanted that stone. She followed you here, so she could report back to Baal where we were!”
My mouth fell open. “But, Luka’s soul…”
“His soul isn’t trapped in that stone, is it?” Arrick asked Ana as she smirked at us.
“What does it matter whose soul is in that stone?” Ronon yelled. “We’re all screwed!”
My father began pacing, stomping back and forth across the room before throwing open the doors and calling for Mikel and the rest of the King’s Snake Guard. Arrick was keeping Ronon at bay from obliterating Ana, and Titan had stormed out of the room undoubtedly getting his army ready. We’d warned him from the very beginning that Baal was wreaking havoc, but I didn’t think he truly believed it till just now. He’d believed he was safe, hidden away in his desert citadel in the middle of the old world that had long been forgotten.
“Father, what are we going to do?” I asked him, trying to suffocate the panic in my voice. He ignored my question, mumbling to himself and continuing his frantic pacing back and forth across the room.
I didn’t think any of us knew the answer to that question. For all we knew, Naos could already lie in ruins and everyone we loved could be dead. The guilt came tumbling down around me. We were all pawns. To make matters worse, we revealed the location of Titan to Baal. Maybe that had been his plan all along? Titan had been his greatest adversary.
Mikel and the members of the King’s Snake flew into the room, lining up before my father with their fists to their hearts. My father waved off their show of respect and signaled Mikel to step forward. They huddled together, and I watched as Mikel’s eyes grew wide with shock and his body grew rigid.
“Titan!” my father barked the name, calling the king back into the room but he didn’t reply. “Ronon, I must speak with your father immediately.”
Ronon pulled away from the struggle with Arrick, and looked my father head on. “He will not come. He has gone to prepare the army. We will not allow Baal to attack us unawares.”
“You? What about Naos?” I cried out.
“It is too late for your region, I’m sorry.” He didn’t look sorry. “We must prepare for war here, while we still can.”
“How can you just turn your back on us?” I screamed, running at him and shoving him as hard as I could. He stumbled a few steps back, but looked no worse for wear which only infuriated me further.
“It’s the truth, princess, and you know it. There is no way you can get back there in time. If Baal is there now, as she,” he pointed at Ana, “says he is, then it’s too late. The only choice is to stay here.”
“You’re not going to help us?”
“If we leave, we could be leaving our region unprotected… as you have done.” He strode away from my glare, copying my father’s previous pacing.
“I can’t believe this!” I kicked a nearby chair, sending it clattering against the stone floor. We never should have come here. I thought seeking Titan’s aide would be our salvation, but it would be our undoing. At this very moment the people of Naos, my friends, my mother… they could be fighting for their lives and there was nothing any of us could do about it.
My heart began to pound in my chest, thrusting against my ribcage and shaking me to the core. Everything we’d done had been for nothing.
“Claire!” Arrick rushed to my side, curling his arms around me. “It’s going to be okay. We’ll figure something out.”
“How?”
Ana’s laugh tore me from Arrick’s arms. I stepped forward, staring her down and she stared right back at me until her eyes flicked to my pocket where the stone was tucked away. Why did she still want it? If Luka’s soul wasn’t trapped inside then why did she care if I had it? I could see the envy in her gaze; the greed. She wanted the stone, she wanted it bad.
Realization hit me like a lightning bolt. Maybe his soul really was inside, or maybe it wasn’t, but it didn’t matter because it was her getaway. It had been all along. She had triggered the chaos she came here to cause, and now she knew it was time for her to make her escape. Time for her to return to her master.
“That’s it!” I exclaimed to Ana, smiling at her as if she were on our side. She sneered at me, disgusted with my smile and folded her arms across her chest.
“What’s it?” Arrick asked.
“The stone! I can’t believe I didn’t think of it.”
“Think of what child?” my father asked, intrigued by my elation.
I pulled the stone out of my pocket and held it before me, turning around to face them. “These stones can do more than cause pain. They can transport you to other places. That’s how I got to Noire!”
“Dark magic,” my father whispered, both fearful and hopeful at the same time.
“You cannot use dark magic in Titan. My father will not permit it!” Ronon chimed in.
“Well, I’m not asking for his permission,” I spit back at him. “If this is our only way of getting back to Naos in time, then we’re going!” Ronon growled at me, but he didn’t say anything. He knew he couldn’t stop me.
“If you’re going back to Naos to fight Baal, then you’re going to need help,” Titan said. His voice was calm, almost excited, and that scared the hell out of me. He marched into the room with three fierce vampire hybrids following behind him. By their armor clad bodies, rippling muscles and grim expressions I needed only one guess who they were. Titan’s army.
“You’ll help us?” Glee bubbled up inside me as Titan nodded.
“What about our people? We can’t leave them here alone?” Ronon pushed past me to confront his father.
“It is time we bring the fight to Baal son.” Titan smiled toward Ana, but it wasn’t a friendly grin, it was one of those smiles that you give when you have evil plans in store for someone. “His minion opened my eyes. We’ve spent far too long hiding in the desert. That is what he expects us to do, is it not?” He directed the question toward Ana, but she avoided his gaze.
“Thank you old friend,” my father stepped forward, embracing forearms with Titan and bowing his head.
“All right, Claire, we’re listening. How do we get this stone to work?” my father asked, sounding hopeful for the first time. I shifted nervously realizing I hadn’t thought that far ahead. I’d never used the stone to actually open a portal before. I had only jumped through one… one that Ana had opened.
“I don’t know,” I answered, rubbing the stone with my finger. “But she does.”
Every face in the room directed their gaze to the agitated vampire who was grumbling in the corner of the room. I expected her to sneer at us, or even to begin laughing that evil cackle of hers, but she just stared, wide-eyed.
“Ana,” I said her name completely void of emotion. My feet carried me toward her, and the air in the room seemed to disappear as the rest of the group followed my lead and stepped closer.
“You’re going to open a portal for us,” I told her, making it very clear that it wasn’t a request.
“And if I don’t?” Her voice held the same emotionless void as mine.
“Then they’ll kill you,” I replied simply, almost casually. The King’s Snake Guard and the soldiers from Titan’s army stepped forward in unison, making even the stone floor shudder under them.
She hadn’t made a sound, but the sight of her gulping down the lump in her throat gave me my answer. Getting this portal open would be our only hope at getting to Naos in time to save everyone. Although hope was starting to rebuild in my heart, I still felt uneasy about resting our destiny in the hands of Ana.
“Ronon, gather the army and have them meet us at the arena,” Titan ordered. Ronon nodded his head and soared out of the room like a gust of wind. Titan’s three guards remained, towering over Ana.
“All right, we’ll meet you there in thirty minutes?” Titan nodded in response and turned his back to me to converse with his guards.
“Mikel and I shall coordinate the King’s Snake and head to the arena immediately. We will need to inform Titan and his army of all the secret passages in the Château, as well as the layout of the surrounding area.”
“I’ll coordinate a small team to seek out the remaining King’s Snake in Naos, and make our primary target Ione. We will get her to safety your majesty,” Arrick replied, sounding confident.
“Thank you,” my father said, signaling to Mikel before flying out of the room. All that were left was Ana, myself and Arrick.
“What are we going to do with her?” Arrick asked.
“We are going to have to take her with us. We can’t leave her here,” I said.
“No, I guess we can’t.” He looked disappointed and pulled his eyes toward me. “You should get yourself ready.”
I looked down at myself and groaned. There was no way I could fight Baal and his dark vampires wearing shorts and a peasant top with sandals.
“I’ll take Ana with me to the arena,” he said.
“Okay, I’ll be there as soon as I can.” He nodded, a sad expression tugging at his features before he grabbed onto Ana and yanked her out of the room. I stared after them for a long moment before the eerie sensation of being alone was more than I could bear.
From the beginning I’d thought that the Titan region were a bunch of party crazed vampires and humans, but if I had arrived on a night like tonight I would have thought differently. There wasn’t even the memory of a smile on any face I passed by as I hurried to my room. Despite the grimness of the situation, I was comforted to see that Titan had ordered every citizen of the region to be made aware of our current circumstances. I stopped midstride and glanced out a window that looked down into the city. People were closing up their shops and boarding up windows. Others were collecting animal skin canteens filled with wine laced blood. Every able bodied man was arming themselves. The elderly, women and young children were being ushered into their homes and I breathed a sigh of relief knowing every precaution was being taken. There was no way to know how the night’s events would end, but at least Titan’s region would be prepared if the worst were to happen.
I didn’t even bother packing up my belongings. Instead, I dug through my bag of clothes until I found a pair of black workout pants, and a plain black t-shirt. A smile twitched at the edges of my lips as I remembered why I had brought them. I swore to Eli that I would continue my training while I was gone, but I hadn’t so much as broken a sweat since I’d been here. Well… that’s not entirely true, it was definitely hot enough for perspiration to wet the back of my neck, but I hadn’t done anything physically exhausting. Yet.
I dressed quicker than I’d ever dressed before and glanced in the mirror, appreciating that my clothes were skin tight. I didn’t want anything dangling around for a dark vampire to grab. Tonight I needed to be fast and stealthy.
As I jogged down the corridor, I pulled my hair up into a tight ponytail braid; it hung like a thick rope down my back. I knew it would likely get yanked on at some point during the night but I didn’t exactly have time to do much else.
Reaching the end of the corridor I breezed through a set of double doors that led to the catwalk around the outer edge of the citadel. I was so preoccupied with getting to the arena that the dizzying heights didn’t even bother me. One foot flew in front of the other and before I knew it I was on the other side, leaping down the descending seats of the arena. They were steep stone benches that encased the entirety of the arena. I was so concentrated on not falling that I hadn’t even noticed the gathering below me. There were at least one hundred vampire hybrids in formation. They were lined in neat parallel rows, all facing the same direction. Giant torches sprouted from the sand like flaming trees around them, casting eerie shadows in every direction.
My fingers closed around the railing at the end of the seats and I launched myself over it; sailing to the ground just ten feet below me. A tiny glint of panic pricked my senses as I was mid-air, but when my feet landed solidly on earth, a small smile lightened my otherwise sever countenance. It really was ridiculous that I was afraid of heights.
The floor of the stadium felt like beach sand and I fought for balance as I ran to the front of the gathering. Compared to his army, Titan looked naked. The vampire hybrid army was clad in cloth pants and thick leather vests that looked to be molded to their bodies. Each of their forearms were strapped with more leather that held tiny throwing daggers. Diamond shaped silver shields covered their midsection, and I couldn’t help but notice they were nothing like regular shields. These shields were welded with serrated edges, perfect for decapitating any of Baal’s dark vampires.
Both Titan and Ronon were bare chested, their muscles flexing as they stood before the army. Titan held true to his name and towered above everyone around him. His meaty arms were folded across his expansive chest, and his fangs were bared violently. He was readying himself for the fight ahead.
Ronon’s chest gleamed with sweat between two crisscrossing straps of leather that carried two deadly looking blades on his back. His shaggy brown hair hung in sweaty ringlets against his brow, and his eyes were set in their usual harsh glare. He was scarily handsome, if you were into that is-he-going-to-kill-me-or-does-he-just-look-that-angry-all-the-time sort of thing. I wasn’t. I liked the ruggedly handsome, tough guy who was all warm and gooey on the inside.
My eyes landed on just the guy I was thinking about and my heart thudded in my chest. I wanted to leap into his arms, and kiss him without holding back. Tonight could be the last night we ever spent together. Sadly, in my next steps Ana came into view and the mood vanished, being replaced by the feeling of bile rising up in my throat.
Arrick’s hand was clasped around her tiny wrist like an iron shackle. She was tugging weakly on her stick-like limb, but Arrick’s arm didn’t so much as twitch. She wasn’t going anywhere. I tried not to look too happy about that fact as I approached the front of the group. We still needed her to do something for us after all, and pissing her off with a smug grin wouldn’t help.
I eyed Arrick hungrily as I stepped up to my father. He and the King’s Snake looked as they always did, ready to kick some ass.
“Is everything ready?” I asked, giving my father a quick hug.
“As ready as it can be. Tell us about this portal, Claire. What should we expect?” he questioned, not sounding nervous, but more concerned.
“Oh…” I hadn’t thought about that part. I was only focusing on the end results. “I’ve only been through a portal once,” I said, turning toward the crowd so everyone could hear me. “I had been wounded, and I jumped in after Ana.”
“What happened in the portal? Are there demons in the between?” one of the hybrids shouted from the back of the group.
“No, I don’t think so. It’s more like a void. You’re in absolute darkness with no way to tell which direction you’re going or whether or not you’re even moving. It feels like an eternity, yet only a heartbeat all at the same time.” I blinked hard, not enjoying the memory of the experience or the fact that I’d have to go through it again.
“How does it work?” Titan asked, and many of his army repeated his question.
“Well…” I looked away, turning to my father like he’d know the answer. I honestly wasn’t entirely sure. I only had a guess, so I went with it. “I think the portal takes you to where you want to go. If you think about a place hard enough, that is where the portal will open and spit you out. When I jumped in after Ana all I could think about was my Blood Mate, Arrick. How I thought I was dying and I wished I could be with him.” I turned to look in his direction, giving him a warm smile that he returned.
“And it worked?” Ronon questioned.
“It did. At the time though I had no idea where I was, or what had happened. But I did indeed travel to where Arrick was.”
“Claire,” my father said my name, stepping forward. “How can those who have never been to Naos think of it in order to get there?”
Now that, I had absolutely no idea. Portals weren’t exactly Point A to Point B. They were more like the ultimate game of chance with a million possible outcomes.
“You have to bind them,” Ana said in an irritated tone as if she were trying to educate children.
“Huh?”
“Two people can’t travel to one destination unless they’re tethered.”
“Bind them,” I repeated Ana’s words, turning to the crowd. But there were so many! I’d tethered myself to a small group of vampires during Baal’s first attack at the Château, but that had only been a handful. Maybe seven in total. How could I possibly do it for over one hundred?
“There’re too many of us,” I said in a whisper. My father picked up on my words and grasped my shoulder. I watched as his eyes picked through the crowd, as if trying to choose the strongest to go with us.
“How many can you handle?” he asked, counting in a low voice.
“What’s the problem?’ Ronon joined our huddle as the army began to murmur.
“I don’t think I can bind that many people at once,” I answered, hating to admit it. I was as stubborn as they come, and admitting that I wasn’t good at something just wasn’t something I liked to do.
“So, what… you need more power?”
“Well…” I thought about it for a moment, “yeah.” I hated making it sound like I was some kind of battery, but in a way I was.
“Then use me,” he said, puffing up his chest. “Just tell me what to do.” My mouth fell open in shock, and not because I wanted to drool over his bulging pec muscles. I totally forgot that Ronon was like me. We were both born from a vampire’s humanity and turned. If I could wield the power of the stones, and use their magic then maybe he could too!
“You’re brilliant!” I slapped him on the arm, a grin beaming from one ear to the other.
“Of course I am,” he eyes softened for only a moment before returning to his unsympathetic glare.
“All you need to do is focus. Close your eyes and envision your soul latching onto those around, like an invisible ribbon,” I closed my eyes trying to envision it myself so I could better describe it to him.
“A ribbon? Will a ribbon be strong enough for such a journey?” he blurted out, and I heard Arrick chuckle behind me.
“It’s not really a ribbon, Ronon.” He wrinkled his brow at me, looking utterly confused. “Okay, okay. Close your eyes and imagine a massive steel chain latching onto every member of your army.” I peeked at him and saw he was nodding as if he could see that very thing in his mind’s eye.
“Got it?” I asked.
He grunted.
“All right, now concentrate your energy like you did with me and send it out to everyone. Make that chain unbreakable, loan them your strength and your energy. Imagine you are leading them, guiding them to their destination,” I told him, opening my eyes again to watch him. His body began to sway and I placed a hand on his shoulder to settle him. Ronon took a deep breath, and suddenly nearly half the army gasped and stumbled a step or two back.
“It worked!” Ronon shouted, and the mass of bound hybrids regained their positions as the “unbreakable” chain, broke.
“Nice work. Now we just need to do that together, and for everyone at once as we travel through a seemingly endless void of darkness to face the worst enemy imaginable. No big deal,” I said, joking weakly.
“Sounds easy enough,” Ronon replied, sounding undaunted. “How do we open the portal?”
“That’s where she comes in.” I turned to face Ana. She peered out from behind a curtain of hair.
“I never said I’d help you,” she spat at me.
“I’m sorry. I don’t recall giving you a choice,” I spat back at her. Two could play this game. She tried to turn away from me, but Arrick pulled her forward.
“What’s in it for me?”
I smiled, knowing she’d ask for something. On my run out here I’d thought about how I was going to make her comply. I knew it was going to cost us, but that would be the only way to get the portal open. I would have to give Ana something she really wanted and I could think of only one thing. Freedom.
“We’ll let you go.”
The whites of her eyes expanded.
“Seriously?” Arrick asked his eyes as wide as Ana’s.
“Yeah,” I answered. “We have bigger fish to fry.” It was true, and if I really wanted to be honest, once Baal was gone Ana wasn’t really a threat. She’d return to being her spiteful, vain, bitchy self and the world would keep on spinning. Maybe I was wrong, but at the moment I was more worried about Baal then her. Ana I could handle, but an ancient, pissed off vampire with an army of minions, evil magic and dark vampires… not so much.
“Deal,” Ana replied quickly, obviously wanting to agree before I changed my mind.
“All right then, open it,” I ordered, nodding to Arrick to release her. He did so reluctantly, but didn’t take more than a step away. If she tried anything, he’d be ready.
“I’m going to need the stone,” she growled, rubbing her red wrist.
“I thought you’d say that,” I chuckled, pulling the stone out from under my shirt. I closed my fingers over the cool pendant around my neck, and offered her my free hand.
“What are you doing?” she looked at my open palm like it was a snake.
“Do you really think I’m just going to give it to you? Channel the power through me Ana. I’m not going to let you have it.” I might have been willing to let her go, but I wasn’t dumb enough to let her leave with a stone too. That was just asking for more trouble.
With a snarl she latched her fingers around mine, and squeezed as hard as she could. She wasn’t crushing my fingers, but she wasn’t exactly gentle either. I watched as she lifted her head toward the night sky, and closed her eyes. Immediately heat began radiating from the stone in my hand, starting from comforting warmth to a scalding burn. Pain radiated from the heat, traveling up my arm and across my body to reach Ana. I clenched my teeth, allowing my fangs to pierce my lips in hopes that it would distract me from the seared flesh of my palm.
I cried out, hot tears racing down my face. Arrick darted to my side, attempting to pry my fingers free but they wouldn’t move. I was certain my hand had begun to blister and melt, bonding with the scorching stone.
“Stop it! Stop it now!” Arrick ordered Ana, but she ignored him as a sudden gust of wind nearly knocked us all on our butts. The stone was instantly cool, and I released Ana’s hand to survey the damage. Arrick took my hand in his and scanned my palm. There was no evidence of the burning pain I’d just endured. Not even the remnants of an ache. It almost seemed like I had imagined the whole thing until I felt the sweet taste of blood on my bottom lip. I’d bitten hard enough to break flesh and I slid my tongue along the injury.
“Are you okay?” Arrick asked, kissing my hand.
“I think so. I feel fine,” I answered breathlessly, tucking the stone back under my shirt. My father pushed his way past Arrick and surveyed my hand himself to be sure I was indeed unscathed.
Titan brushed past me, colliding with my shoulder. I opened my mouth to yell at him when I saw what was drawing his attention. It had worked. Ana had opened a portal. Then an eerie thought crept into my mind like a skittering spider. Why was it that Ana could open the portal in the first place? I’d only focused on the fact that she could do it, and not the why.
Right now I didn’t have time to ponder the mysteries of what made Ana the twisted thing that she was, and I focused on the spiraling portal in front of me.
It was about the height of an average doorway, and swirling with black smoke and wisps of dark purple energy. Almost like looking down the funnel of a tornado, except the eye of it was nothing but blackness. I stepped closer feeling the intake of air around me as the portal pulled violently. Ronon stepped up beside his father, both their expressions completely mystified, like they were staring at an alien. Ronon reached out a hand, trying to touch the twirling tendrils of smoky vapor, but I slapped him away.
“Don’t get too close. We need to do this together, remember?” He nodded.
Arrick and I both caught sight of Ana tip-toeing away and I nodded for him to grab her. He sprinted up behind her in seconds, and pulled her back to me as she thrashed at him.
“You said you’d let me go!” she roared.
“I did, and I will, but not here. You’re coming with us first, and then we’ll let you go.”
“You bitch!” she shrieked, snarling and snapping at me as she tried to leap from Arrick’s arms.
“Sorry.” I really wasn’t, but I didn’t have time to fight with her. I needed to concentrate and focus on Ronon and me creating the bond so we could travel through the portal and save Naos.
Arrick handed Ana off to one of the soldiers and followed by my side as I approached Ronon. “You ready?” I asked him, and he grunted.
I gave my Blood Mate one longing glance before I laced my fingers into Ronon’s waiting hand and guided him. I repeated the words I’d said before, only this time I focused my own energies on trying to tether to as many as I could. Of course I latched onto Arrick and my father first, then the soldier and Ana. No offense to Titan and his army, but I gave my team first priority. Plus, I wanted to make sure Ana didn’t have the chance to slip away while we were inside the portal.
With my eyes closed and my fingers wrapped around Ronon’s I almost felt like I was standing in the middle of a plasma globe. Ronon and I were the center and every time we latched onto another hybrid a bolt of energy would shoot out and connect with them.
When our globe was buzzing with activity and full to capacity I knew we’d gotten everyone. I felt electrified, drunk off the amplified power as I released Ronon’s hand. He blinked wildly for a moment like he was waking from a trance until steadying himself.
“You good?” I asked him, grasping his shoulders so I could look him in the eyes.
“Yesss,” he answered, slurring the words. “That was… amazingly strange.”
“Yeah,” I giggled, “but let’s not do it again. Okay?”
“Sounds good to me.”
He stepped away from me, and began to shake off the odd feeling that buzzed around us like a static aura. He rolled his shoulders, and craned his neck at awkward angles until it popped loudly. When he met my gaze again he had regained his rigidity.
“As you enter the portal try to clear your minds of all thoughts. You should feel the bond we created to tether ourselves to you, and I believe it is strong but I don’t want to take any chances.” The army of hybrids nodded their understanding and I continued. “Once on the other side you’ll probably feel disoriented, but form into your groups as quickly as possible. We don’t know what’s going on over on the other side so we might not have much time.”
“I will enter first,” my father said, signaling the King’s Snake to step forward. Mikel stood by my father’s side, always his loyal first guard. I stepped forward, the portal tugging at me as I wrapped myself in my father’s arms. He cupped my cheeks, and planted a firm kiss on my forehead.
“Please keep yourself safe, Claire. I love you,” he said, sadness mixing with the resolution in his eyes. He was a vampire, a man, a father, a king, and a husband preparing for the fight of his life.
I stepped away from his embrace, pressing my back against Arrick’s chest and watched as my father and his guard stepped into the portal.
“You should go next,” I told Ronon, and he lifted his chin as if he had already intended to do so. “We should have one of us on either side until everyone has gone through.”
“I agree.” He spun on his foot and turned toward the army behind him. “Ready!” he shouted at them, fisting his hand in the air. The army roared a battle cry and, following Ronon’s lead, leaped into the spiraling void without hesitation.
As the army jumped one after the other into the portal I felt the tug on our connection as the tether lengthened. I sent a small prayer up to Nyx that it would hold as least until we’d all made it through. If anyone broke off they could end up anywhere with no way to get back.
When the last of the army disappeared through the portal, Titan stepped forward. He flexed his muscles as if he expected to jump right into a heated battle with Baal, and without even a glance back at me he stepped in and vanished.
Arrick and I remained with the one guard who still held a furious Ana in his grasp. I nodded for them to step forward, and despite her trashing the guard coiled his arms around her and allowed the tug of the portal to suck them in.
My fingers closed tightly around Arrick’s and I held my breath as he brought them to his lips. “This ends tonight, Claire. I promise. Baal won’t escape again,” he said, with solid determination. I wanted what he said to be true so badly, but I did know one thing; I would fight to the death to make sure that happened.
I nodded at his words, pulling his face to mine and kissing him deeply. The portal tugged at our bodies as we latched onto one another in a passion filled frenzy. My lips parted, giving him entry as our tongues danced and our hands squeezed onto each other. It felt like fate was threatening to tear us apart, and we were fighting to make our bodies’ one. This could be the last kiss we ever shared. The last time I ever felt his body against mine, or felt the love that united us in ways beyond comprehension. We were one heart in two bodies, and I didn’t want that to end.
Breathlessly, Arrick pulled away. The portal began to flicker and with our hands laced together, we stepped forward. The pull was so strong I felt the very air being sucked from my lungs. I clenched Arrick’s hand as tightly as I could, and looked up at his handsome face as the portal sucked away the tears on my cheeks.
“I love you,” I told him, stepping into the portal.