“It wasn’t enough for you.” He all but yells at me before his voice softens. “Tiyo gave me everything but you. You were to be my equal, and yet you are running off to create something new.” His finger glides down my shoulder, leaving a tingling sensation in its wake.
Flames rise higher, to my ankles, and I raise my hand, letting water fall, whipping out the fire. “Stop with the flames; they don’t scare me. What you create, I can extinguish.”
He leans in and whispers, “Just as I can reduce yours to mere vapor.” To prove his point, the water which pours from my hands sizzles and evaporates into the air.
Our eyes meet and I can feel the anger bubbling up inside me, coursing through my veins. With a smug smile, he allows his hand to linger around my waist. My hand clenches into a tightfist, and a chill runs through my body. I take a deep breath, inhaling the cool sensation of rage before finally letting it go. The stone of his castle hisses as rain falls around us, a chilling testament to the power coursing through me. A deep chuckle leaves him. He loves to make those around him give into their anger. It’s a way of having them become more like him.
He bites his bottom lip. “I love when you let me in; imagine what we could be if you fully gave in to the way I can make you feel.” I hold his stare, the silence between us deafening. He opens his mouth and contemplates for a moment before backing away. I rescind my magic, and his flames resume.
“Remind me once more.” I lean in, licking my lips. “Give me a taste of what I’ll be missing when I leave.”
He seems to hesitate before he smirks at me. He releases his magic, orange embers igniting his fingertips and flows around me like a cruel embrace. I grab a bottle from my pocket of my dress, encapsulating a few of the embers behind my back. The last that was needed.
I lean into him, letting my magic navigate towards him, hoping that what I’m doing will work. Tiyo is constantly wanting us to learn new things, encouraging us to evolve. This is something I created, albeit cruel to take someone’s memories, but there is no other way. I feel the piece of his soul, the same fabric that connects us to the creator. Diving into his mind and hiding the memories of the flames that he just produced and the exchange between us.
He shakes his head as if clearing it before flicking his hand a split second. “Very well, the blaze inside Wodthos territory has stopped. I just had some pent-up energy I needed released. Which reminds me.” He whistles as he walks away from me and up to his large, golden chair on the dais. He calls it a throne, but the word sounds garish to me.. Why anyone would ever choose to sit in one is unknown to me. I would rather float on my waves.Sitting down, he looks to his side and curls his finger, beckoning someone forward.
His favoritetoneo, the elemental spirits that help us in our territory, comes in. She walks slowly towards him, adorning a low-cut sheer yellow top and a matching skirt that is slit on the sides. It’s beautiful on her honey beige skin, with her hair of flames dancing to a tune of its own in its coiled form. She doesn’t glance at me, her amber eyes looking only at him.
With a firm pat on his lap, Khaysus signals for her to sit, and she complies without hesitation. He brushes his finger against the soft skin of her inner thigh, flashing me a mischievous smile, licking his lips before tucking her fiery hair behind her shoulder. He wraps his hand around her throat, pulling her into him and nipping at the side of her neck. She arches her back, a moan slipping from her lips. “You’ve met Kya, haven’t you?”
“How you spend your energy is not my concern. Just stop irritating Wodthos. I have better things to prepare for.” I spit the words like venom.
We used to have so much fun, Dra. I’ll make it worth your while if you stay. If you were mine again, imagine all that we could do. His words flicker through my mind as his fingers dance across Kya’s skin, his eyes purely on mine.
“Fun, Khaysus,”—I say aloud, to make sure he understands —“is subjective. I have other desires now, and I have never been yours.”
“One day you will.” His flames once again push towards me, growing in intensity as they cave to his will. “You will either be with me or I will burn everything until I find you again. I will make sure this world is nothing but ash, and any other world that you go to. I still have not blessed you with my magic that you need to have this little world of yours.”
“Don’t start a fight you cannot win, Khaysus. Because I promise you, even if you burn everything in Mohasha and findme in a new world. Even if I have nothing left. I will ask Tiyo to take the breath from my lungs before I am found in your bed again.” My heel spins at my words, a sense of urgency flooding over me, desperately wanting to escape this suffocating place that threatens to consume me whole.
Once, when we were first created, we lived in a carefree mindset, our laughter echoing through the vibrant landscape as we revelled in the endless possibilities of our harmonious world. Our adventures together were filled with a myriad of shared moments, including the intimacy of sharing our bodies. Once Wodthos and Nuasis decided to keep their bed exclusive to each other, a shift occurred. A shift that still splits Khaysus and me. But Tiyo offered me something more ... and I welcomed the change.
Tomorrow I leave with a blessing from each of my siblings to create something new. A world of my own.
two
“We will miss you, Dra.” Nuasis swirls air in her hand as she speaks to me. Her body glowing with the light of her essence as she forms the ball of magic between her palms. “I can’t believe The Creator is giving you this.” She finishes forming the small ball between her fingers and slowly presses against the leather that I hold before giving me a tight embrace.
A requirement for life in this new world is the four of our powers. So many ways I could have carried them to the new place, but I chose a tome. I will embark on something new and plan to write my experiences as I go, already started with the story of how we came to be.
Wodthos takes the leather-bound book from her hands and presses his own magic into it before handing it to me, wrapping me into his strong dark arms, and squeezes tightly before releasing me.
I imbued the book last night with my water and Khaysus' stolen flames. I smile down at the leather between my fingers. A symbol is embossed into the front from the magic of us — four circles that are interconnected.
“How did you get Khaysus’ magic?” Wodthos asks, walking back to Nuasis’ side, putting his arm around her shoulder.
“A trick of magic and mind. Something new I tried.” I smile towards them, and a piece of my heart breaks at the thought of leaving them behind. But they are content here, and that was something I never felt. Like my waters, I never want to stop moving, changing, creating.
The ground beneath me rumbles and quakes. Waters beyond the sand tremble and rise, creating larger waves than I would normally allow. I walk out, letting the water calm around my thighs as I sing to the creatures inside the waters.
Sya emerges, his watery skin blending with the waves as he approaches me. He is my most trustedtoneo, because he was the first I created. He bows before he takes my hand in his own and kisses it.
“The Creator is near,” He takes a deep breath before continuing, “and I couldn’t let you leave without saying goodbye.”
“Goodbye, my friend. I wish I could take you with me … perhaps I’ll find a way.” I pull him into a hug.
A bright light illuminates around us. Tiyo, The Creator, approaches, and a smile plays across my lips. We shield our eyes from the light, but I know each of us on this beach are joyful with their presence. The Creator used to grace us often, but as timehas passed … they carry on and do other things we are not privy to know about. So now they are absent more than seen.
