Nikolai
“Ready?” Fiyona asked me.
“Yes.” Valerie and I breathed.
We were going home. Finally, after seven long months, I am going home. I can’t wait to see Ava.
She plucked three leaves from the Bonsai tree and handed us one each. “Remember. Keep the leaf in your mouth, and then repeat the chant together three times. Then, we chew on the leaf until we are back in the real world. Only after that will you swallow it, okay?”
“Yes, Mom.” Valerie nodded, and I nodded too.
We stood around the Bonsai tree in a circle and held hands. I looked at Valerie and then Fiyona, and then in unison, we spoke,
“Earth and Water, Fire and Air, Sun and Moon, we pray to you. Break this curse, free us from this world.”
Fiyona’s eyes flashed and her one eyeballs turned brown and the other one turned ocean blue, like the colour of her special elements-earth and water. Valerie’s eyes flashed too, and one eyeball turned transparent, and the other one turned red- like her special elements, air and fire. I’m sure that mine turned golden and silver, like my special element, the sun and the moon.
“Earth and Water, Fire and Air, Sun and Moon, we pray to you. Break this curse, free us from his world.”
Everything around us flashed so brightly that I had to shut my eyes. Fiyona squeezed my hand, motioning me to continue.
“Earth and Water, Fire and Air, Sun and Moon, we pray to you. Break this curse, free us from this world.” We repeated for the third and the last time, and I began chewing on the leaf just as Fiyona had instructed me a million times.
I felt the floor beneath my feet shift, but surprisingly, I didn’t move. I felt like I was being sucked out.
I held on to the hands of Valerie and Fiyona tighter, not wanting to let go before all of us were safe. From what I knew, this spell broke the curse and created a sort of tunnel to the real world. But it was a tunnel through millions of other universes and dimensions, and we could fall and get lost. Which I won’t let happen. I held on to both the females tightly.
And then suddenly, we came to a stop.
I cracked my eyes open.
Everything looked the same. We were still in the observatory room. The Bonsai tree was still in between us.
Are we still here?
Did we get back home?
“Swallow,” Fiyona whispered, and then I gulped down the remnants of the leaves in my mouth.
The floor beneath my feet shifted, and the marble floor uprooted, making me stumble and fall down. My eyes widened in alarm when the small bonsai tree started growing in size. The sheer size of it made me release my hold of their hands, and I crawled backwards, giving the tree the space to grow and so I wouldn’t get hurt.
I covered my head with my hands because the growth of his height and branches had broken down the walls, and then debris was falling down. A few heavy slabs of marble fell down on me, but it was nothing I couldn’t handle.
After the disruption stopped, I pulled my hands away. I had to crane my neck up to look up at the sheer size of the tree. It was humongous. It had broken the glass roof along with the marble around it. The long branches had extended enough to break through the walls of the palace. I’m sure one branch went into the throne room too.
And then I felt a tingling sensation at the juncture between my neck and shoulder, exactly where my mark was. And then I felt each and every cell of my body charge up as my soul re-intertwined itself with Ava’s, and we became one again.
I touched my mark, and tingles spread across my body. It was real.
I could feel Ava’s shock. I could feel her emotions that were in turmoil. I’ve got to get to her now.
I heard a cough, and I was up on my feet, looking to see if either of the women were injured. “Are you both okay?” I asked, my voice echoing in the room.
“Yes.” They both replied in sync.
I took a breath of relief when I saw both of them sprawled on the floor. Besides a bit of dirt on their clothes, they were injury-free.
I offered them my hands and smiled, “let’s get the hell out of here.”
Smiling, both of them took my hand, and I pulled them up. Once they were stable on their feet, I released my hold and turned on my feet to exit the observatory.
The first stop I’m making is the west wing. I need to see Ava. I’ve missed her terribly. I can’t go another second without filling my eyes with her beauty. I placed my hand on the door, and the door slid open.
My heart was beating fast when I walked out.
The first thing I noticed when I walked out was that the entire throne room was packed. For the first time in a long time, I heard so many heartbeats together; I was smelling so many werewolves and vampires. It assaulted my senses, making me unable to think straight.
My head started filling with all the pack member’s links again. I clutched my head. It hurt. It was too much at the same time.
Everyone was looking at me in shock, obviously not expecting me to be here.
Oh yes, I’m back from the dead for them.
But the truth is, I never died.
I need to see Ava.
I really, really need to see her.
I ignored my headache. I ignored all the heartbeats and the scents and focused on finding her.
A heavenly smell hit my nose. I tiled my head up, wanting to catch more of it. My heart was beating so hard that I’m sure everyone could hear it.
I love you, Ava.
I told you I’ll never stay away from you.
I promised you I’ll never leave you.
I promised you I will love you for eternity.
I’m here to fulfil all my promises.