Light blaring through the room has everyone but me shielding their eyes and turning their heads. I give V a deadpan stare as he appears perched on the backrest of Yemi’s couch.
Now was most certainly not the time to make his grand entrance.
They’re all stunned as it is.
“I warned you they’d be shocked and to prepare for that.”
“I-impossible,” Havar stutters as he backs away from the counter.
“Not impossible. He’s standing right before you,” I huff and pinch the bridge of my nose. “Everyone, this is V. He somehow has impeccable, yet poor timing.”
“Don’t listen to my negative Vedae. My timing is perfect. I’m so happy to finally meet you all. My name is V. I will be inadvertently guiding all of you alongside Thayla. So my first piece of guiding advice is to drop this conversation. You are allworried, worked up, nervous, and fearful. All of which is normal, but I can promise you, Thayla is no different of a person than she was before she told you these truths. Her Valtrue are still the men you’ve come to know. The five of them aren’t to be feared.
“One way or another, beside them, or without them, all your lives would be changed by the changes happening in our realm. This journey you all are embarking on together is your opportunity to grow closer. Envision a realm you want to live in. Together, you are all going to make a difference.”
V’s power flows through the room like a small breeze on a scorching day. It settles over our skin, cooling the emotions that were blazing to life. I’ve felt his power plenty. Every time he lands on me or I hold him, but this is the first experience I’ve had where his words are physically changing something inside of me.
My fear and doubt that they’re going to freak out and never want to speak to me again cease to exist. Everyone seems to gradually become lighter.
“V, what exactly are you doing?”
“The same as what happened to you in the hot spring is happening right now. My realmly power allows me to wash away obstacles such as thoughts that could be clouding your judgment. Fear is a very powerful emotion. Sometimes it is best to embrace it, make decisions based on the situation at hand. Then other times, like right now, the fear is a natural response, but there is nothing for anyone to work out or learn from that emotion.
“It’s weighing you all down and burying your truer sentiments. If any of them had really felt negative toward you, they would’ve reacted so as soon as my power washed over them. The same as you. If you didn’t care for them or their opinion of you, it would’ve been obvious. I don’t usually interfere to this degree, but I wanted you to see your friend’s truth and I wanted them to see yours as well. You all mean something to one another and it’s time to put the hesitation to the side.”
All four of them twitch or gasp, indicating V spoke to all of us.
A lump forms in my throat. It’s not that I don’t believe him. My heart knows he’d never lie about anything like this or about anything really. It’s my head that likes to tell me otherwise.
I’m scared to face them and they be mad he washed away their feelings.
Suck it up.
A shaky breath pours through my lips as I gaze at four relaxed faces. “Are you all okay? I had no clue he was going to do that.”
“Surprise.”
“Not helping.”
“I’ve never felt so relaxed in my life and that’s my domain,” Rose cheers and a shocked laugh slips out of me at the beaming smile on her face. “I was definitely internally freaking out. Although it didn’t really have anything to do with you. I knew you didn’t mean any of us harm. It’s just scary. Goodness, you’ve been living with all this and not talking about it?”
“I’ve had the guys, V, and Seismet, but yeah, I tend to bottle it all up and shove it away.”
“Yeah, you do.”
My eyes playfully narrow on Lambrit.
“I’m still worried, but his power was remarkable. It’s as though it uncluttered my mind and lined up every problem for me all at one time. It felt like in milliseconds, I had it all worked out,” he says.
I cut my eyes over to V.
That’s literally exactly what the hot spring did to me.
“Why don’t you do this to me every time I freak out?”
“Because I’m not meant to fix every problem you face. I’m supposed to guide you through it. All of you being in emotional distress over all this information was unnecessary. There are going to be many times you need to work out your emotions on your own. This wasn’t one of those times.”
“Yemi, Havar, are you two okay?”
