“I see…”
“What path do you desire to follow?” he whispers, now stepping closer.
“I desire what Selene desires,” I whisper, without hesitation.
His lips curl, and I feel it in my bones, the immense power radiating from him like heat from the sun.
“Then we are aligned. You have come of age. And so, I offer you a gift.”
He lifts a hand and, with a flick of his wrist, shadows bleed into the desert, swallowing the golden horizon until I’m staring into a rift of living darkness. A portal or vision of some kind.
A man stands unmoving in the centre, his back to us, his head hanging. My heart stammers then slams hard in my chest. I’d recognise him anywhere.
“Dad?” I whisper, my legs giving way and I drop to the ground. I reach out but it’s gone in the blink of an eye, and I am once again surrounded by the burning desert. “Is he alive?!” I exclaim, my heart pounding.
“Yes and no,” the cloaked man replies calmly. “He is bound to a demon. Death cannot claim him, but life will not hold him, either. He is trapped, suspended between two worlds.”
“How do I save him?” I ask, voice trembling. The thought ofhim out there, waiting, suffering all alone… I’d give anything. “I’ll do anything. What must I do?”
He crouches, his hand lifting to cup my chin. The moment he makes contact, I can’t breathe, finding myself staring into golden eyes. The air thickens around me, heavy with ancient power. A deep chuckle rumbles through his chest, sending a shiver down my spine. I’m unable to look away or move; I’m completely at his mercy.
“It’s a simple price,” he says, eyes like voids boring into mine. “For the happiness of your entire family,” he pauses, letting the weight of his words sink in, “But you must tell no one of this. If you do… it will all be lost.”
He begins to fade, dissolving like smoke in the wind. “No! Wait! Please, tell me!” I cry, scrambling forward.
“I will tell you soon.” His voice echoes faintly, already distant. “But first… are you willing to pay the price?”
What kind of question is that? “Yes,” I say without hesitation. “I’ll pay anything, as long as I can have my father back!”
“Who are you?!” I cry out in frustration.
He laughs raucously, the sound ringing in my ears as everything begins to fade to black.
“I’d have thought you would have figured it out by now. Some call me Ra, and some, some call me Helios.”
Plans & Talks
Jayce
Afew days have passed since Sienna’s birthday, and classes have continued as normal. Commander Maria, as we are calling her, and I find the title far more fitting than Headmaster, is fitting in well, visiting every class and discussing things with students and teachers. I’m confident she’s going to be excellent as the Head Commander of this Academy.
I went to see Mom and Dad two nights ago. It was nice to be home for a while. Mom liked the surprise, too, and I got to talk about Egypt with Dad.
Sienna, on the other hand, has been pretty happy, and I fucking love that. Despite being stuck in her demon form, she hasn’t let it worry her too much. Her mom and aunty are working on an amulet that will work better than the glamour spell.
Aside from having a lot of fun, she and I have been working on the passages from the book that was stolen, and we’ve figured out where the location that we need to go is. We sent the information to Leo, and now we’re just waiting for his confirmation on when we’ll be heading out.
The wait makes me restless. The urge to go there is growing incessantly.
What is in Egypt that has my intuition pushing for me to go?
“You okay?” I ask Sienna softly as we sit in training class. We’re behind the partition. We’re working on her control again, as we have every single day. We’ve returned to evening training with the group, and she gets an extra hour as well. Sometimes it’s distracting, but we’re able to complete our sessions, or almost complete them.
“Yeah.” She smiles up at me, and I kiss her lips softly.
“You got this, Darling.” I’m sitting behind her as I guide her on channelling the chaos of emotions from around us and focusing them into her own control. “You’re doing great. Don’t suppress their emotions; let them surround you, not as chaos but as a shield, a blanket caressing your skin, protecting you… from the world,” I murmur, brushing my hands down her arm.
Her power sizzles, and I can see the red glow shimmering around the shadows that wrap around her.
