[Erica] Her heart was still pounding, dulling the throbbing ache in her chest momentarily. She had screwed her eyes shut, giving into the exhilarating sensation of teleporting from one place to another. It felt as if the wind was rushing past her ears, caressing her entire body, and then it just stopped. She cautiously opened her eyes, expecting the worst, but the place made her gasp instead. She was standing in the same forest where she had been countless times in her dreams. The only difference? Now it was real and a little misty. The astonishment made her forget for a moment why she was there. She looked around. A thick mist hung in the air, making it difficult for her to see what was beyond the line of trees that were within five feet. Everything was black, inky black. How on earth am I supposed to look for anyone here? Elias did not even tell me anything else, she thought morosely. Her thoughts involuntarily went back to her mate... ex-mate? Maybe, and with that, it brought
[Erica]She blinked several times to convince herself that these were indeed people and not just her hallucination. However, she felt extremely awkward with them kneeling like that. "Uh...can you not kneel like that? I mean, I am not a queen as you all are saying," she mumbled, shifting her weight from one foot to another. "You are a queen whether or not you have been officially crowned", Elias said cryptically, then he turned to the group and said authoritatively, "Rise". All of them rose at once. Erica swept a glance over them. There were people of her age as well as her grandfather's age, probably. Maybe older, who knows. One face, in particular, stood out. There was something familiar in his features or his eyes, but she couldn't recall why it felt so familiar. He appeared to be in his late 60s or early 70s. The man, too, was staring at her, but not curiously. His gaze contained surprise and maybe pride? However, Elias' voice distracted her from interpreting further."I have arr
[Erica] Her eyes fluttered open. However, she couldn't tell if it was day or simply she had woken up in the middle of the night. She definitely felt rested, even though her eyes felt dry and crusty. She rubbed her eyes and padded to the washroom. The mansion was surprisingly equipped with a good water supply. Maybe it's magic, she thought offhandedly as she washed her face. She looked at the medium-sized mirror above the washbasin. Tired, swollen and red-rimmed eyes stared back at her. Her skin looked pale. She hardly recognised herself anymore. She exited the washroom and decided to go outside and see if anyone had woken up. The corridor was silent. She padded her way to the hall or the living room where she had first met the others. She was about to enter when she heard hushed voices coming from the room. She stilled and strained her ears to listen. "I don't want to burden her any further, " a male voice said, and Erica could bet that it was the same man who had shown her to her
[Erica]"You can come in, Erica," she heard Elias say. She inhaled sharply but went in nonetheless. Lucien looked at her before averting his eyes. "I think you have heard the crucial part at least?" Elias questioned, gazing at her knowingly. She nodded, her gaze travelling to Lucien, who opened his mouth as if to say something but then thought better of it and remained silent. Erica crossed her arms and said with a heavy sigh, "I think some things need to be made clear. At least now that I am here and not talking to via dreams-""Oh but they weren't dreams, not exactly", Elias interrupted, shrugging at Erica's shocked look. Lucien glared at him, "You did not tell her about soul travel, did you?" Erica's wide-eyed look was now directed at Lucien, "Soul...what?"Lucien glanced at her before suggesting, "Why don't you sit and let us explain and also answer your queries". Erica nodded wordlessly and took a seat at the long dining table on the far left of the huge hall. She looked at Elia
[Xavier]Those two words stay in his mind like a heavyweight, an uncomfortable presence. Every meeting he attended, every conversation he had, those two words always stayed with him. It's been a week since his first visit to Tristan. His brother was steadily recovering, still in his half-changed form but he was now able to sit with the help of support and talk in minimal sentences. He never minded one of his family members being there with him. Ava had practically started staying at the hospital until Mathilda had to convince her to stay at their house for the time being. However, Tristan had not spoken another word about his time in captivity. According to Dr.Reese, it was the trauma. Once their father had tentatively broached the subject instantly Tristan had deflated and stopped talking. Since then, no one has dared to bring it up. Even though Xavier wanted to know more than anyone but he was also concerned about his brother's well-being. He has visited him every day since then,
[Xavier]He nodded reluctantly, his heartbeat rabbiting nonetheless. What information did Tristan have? His brother stared at him for a long moment before fixing his gaze on his paw-like hands, tubes and channels sticking out of them. His muzzle and ears had receded but the furs were yet to recede back completely. "Your...mate...a mage," were the first words that he uttered. If Xavier had any doubt about the first two words he spoke, then he was sure now. However, he inhaled sharply. Tristan's gaze gravitated back to Xavier again, "Like...him". Spitting out the pronoun as if it was some kind of poison, a taboo term. Tristan's jaw clenched, and Xavier could understand whom he meant. Aldred...Aldred, why did that name sound so familiar to him?He remained silent, neither denying nor agreeing to his statement. Tristan exhaled shakily before continuing, "He...tor-tortured...me, kept me...bound." His eyes grew distant as if he had gone back to those days again...relieving those days. Xav
[Erica]"Can I not use the soul summoning thing?" Erica pleaded for the fourth time. Grey snorted, and Elias shot her a pointed look. "No. It's dangerous. You might be the prophesied queen, but you are still a novice. A beginner". He vaguely gestured at her outstretched hand, "You can barely control this levitation power and you are already talking about soul summoning". Erica lowered her gaze and glared at the ground petulantly. She thought it would be easy but it wasn't. Elias had to know why she was asking this, right? If only she could talk to Xavier for once, see him even if it was through the dreamscape...even then she would be more than happy. "Don't bite off more than you can chew," she heard Grey sneer before she heard a loud smack. Erica glanced up to see Vrisha, a girl slightly younger than her, frowning at Grey, "That's rich coming from your mouth". She received a glare from the older boy in return. "Hush, you two," Elias intervened while Erica continued sulking. It was
[Erica]The three young mages stared at Elias, baffled. It was Grey who spoke first. "Aether?" Elias simply nodded. Erica cocked her head in confusion. Elias said, "Come with me". They followed him inside the mansion. Elias led them into a library which Erica did not know existed until then. It wasn't huge but it was fairly large and as her eyes scanned the shelves, she concluded that most of the books were ancient. The room smelled of mothballs and varnish. There was a small table with two chairs near the window. "So..." Vrisha prompted as she rocked back and forth on her feet. Erica glanced at her. The former looked more excited than her. Elias swished his hand and said something silently under his breath and soon two books from two different shelves floated and came to him. He plucked them and walked to the table. Grey sighed, "Old man, do some work at times". Vrisha snorted, "We ain't humans, Grey". Erica tried not to wince or feel offended. Even though she wasn't a human anymor