“Back to being what?” I pushed, most of my fury gone now. Learning the truth from Len had thrown me, but I was already at a place of acceptance. I really should have expected nothing less from Reece.
Deciding his answer didn’t even matter, I simply gathered every ounce of my equilibrium and pushed through his power, exiting the sand barrier to find a furious Mera on the other side. Shadow was holding her back, and she was shouting, “If anything happens to her, I will legitimately break you into ten fucking pieces.” Her eyes spat fire while tears traced her cheeks. “He’s toxic for her—you know it as well as I do—and this is not okay.”
Her protective streak was as large as the Solaris System itself, and it reminded me that I was loved now. No longer would I exist alone, stepping through the day without feeling a damn thing. No matter how hard these changes were, they were the best thing that happened to me.
“Reece is not her kryptonite, Sunshine,” Shadow said, his eyes meeting mine over the top of his furious mate. “He’s not toxic for her. And those two need to sort their shit out, or it will impact the rest of us and our ability to deal with whatever is happening in the Desert Lands.”
Mera sobbed a few times, but she was no longer fighting him. “She always protects me, and I know she’s struggling. It kills me that I can’t protect her the same way.”
My heart ached when I heard that. “Hey,” I said softly. Mera’s head jerked in my direction, and as she released her hold on Shadow, she raced toward me, dodging fallen books and scurrying goblins.
My wings were gone by the time she reached me, so there was only a round belly to get in the way of our hug. “Are you okay?” she asked breathlessly. “I could feel the energy spikes, but the sand was too thick to get through. Shadow thought we should give you both a moment.”
Behind my back, I felt Reece’s power die down, the sands returning to their invisible barrier around him. Oddly, he stepped closer to me, and I could almost taste the dry heat of his power on my tongue. When he stepped even closer, I was all but sandwiched between him and Mera.
“Angel and I are fine, Meers,” he said in a soothing voice. “Don’t stress yourself. We have some unresolved issues to work through, and it’s best we do that before we head into this new situation. Once we’re in the Desert Lands, I’m going to need us to present a united front. Desertlandians can sense weaknesses quite easily, and we have no time to deal with manipulations that could arise from that.”
Mera pulled away to look up at him. “And have you sorted it out?” Her tone was short, and I was happy that she was still standing firmly on my team when it came to this situation. I turned as well to find that Reece wore his usual stoic façade, face void of any true emotion. “We’re closer,” he finally said.
Closer to murdering each other.
The thought thankfully didn’t show on my face, and we were able to reassure Mera enough that we could move on to planning our next few steps. As the atmosphere calmed, all the others stepped forward, including Alistair, Galleli, Lucien, and Len. Everyone was suited up for the trip into the Desert Lands, except for me in my human clothes, but since I could call my armor when needed, there was no concern.
Reece, who was still standing far too close to me, got right to business. “Everything will be provided by the dynasties, so no need for supplies outside of weapons and energy stones.” He looked around, catching our eyes. “There should be no immediate danger in this first part of our journey as we head to the Ostealon and attend this impromptu gathering of the dynasties. From here, I want us to start investigating the disturbance and figure out who’s involved. Once we know that, we can question them about what’s happening and hopefully get to the bottom of the real issue here.”
“The issue of who or what is disturbing the sacred lands,” Shadow added.
Reece nodded. “Exactly.”
At the same time Mera asked, “What’s an Ostealon?”
“It’s our neutral ground,” Reece told her. “A powerful piece of land that is owned by none and is a central gathering point surrounded by sand rivers, our main channels of transportation.”
Mera’s brow furrowed, and there was a flutter of confusion between our bond.
“You’ll understand it better when you’re there,” I told her. “It’s quite spectacular.”
This brought a smile to her lips. “Despite the dangers, I’m pretty excited about this.”
“We know,” Len, Lucien, and Alistair all said at once.
Low rumbles of masculine laughter filled this section of library, but I didn’t join in, far too stressed to find any of this funny. Returning to this world was always going to be a struggle for me. A torment I had to bear.
Something told me that after this mission, life as I knew it was never going to be the same again.
12
The Desert Lands doorway was not one I’d stood in front of in years. Thankfully, I wasn’t the first through today, with Reece taking that honor so he could direct the rest of us to the safest place to arrive. As the others moved into the swirling portal, Galleli and I were last. When it was my turn, I shivered at the feeling ofothernessthat always sprang up whenever my energy meshed with that of a foreign world.
Are you okay?Galleli sent warmth with his words, and it was comforting.
I’m oka—
The tail end of the lie died on my tongue as I was once again unable to push down my emotions. In the spirit of moving forward and growing up, I decided to be straight with him.I’m struggling with this new reality.Struggling with my new energy, my new aura, and all of the emotions that are once again bouncing around inside of me without any place to go. I don’t know how to get back to the equilibrium I used to exist in.
There was a moment of silence as we moved forward into the doorway, the scent of desert and power filling our senses. It didn’t seem that he was going to answer until I felt his touch on my shoulder.You do not want to go back, Melalekin. There is nothing back there for you. No hope. No happiness. No love. This gift you’ve been given... embrace it. Fall into it. Stop fighting the inevitable because in the end, you’re only costing yourself a second chance at a real life.The ache in my chest was acute.Your future is bright.
His touch lifted, and I had to force my shaky legs to move forward again. There wasn’t much in this world that could knock me like those few words had.Do you truly see a bright future?
