The Celestial RealmSeleneI peer down at the glass orb on my table. The people of Mysteria are celebrating the solstice in each town. I glide my fingers across the orb to watch other villages. In Garnett Halls, the people have draped large garlands around the horse’s necks. In Bramblemore, I do not see one sober person. I cover my lips with my fingers and giggle as a handsome lad drunkenly falls into the lap of a lady. She looks down at him and hiccups, only for them to both blush and laugh. The beginning of a new romance for sure. I then glide my fingers along the globe until I stop when I see my descendants celebrating not far from Moon Crest Castle.A mage and a soldier flirt at one another behind a half-crumbled blue stone wall. Women hold ribbons and dance around the maypole. Others couple up and frolic in the nearby woods. Nina, Magnus, Alec and their families sit at a long table, eating an assortment of foods and drinking plenty of rum and wine. I watch them dance around and c
As soon as the veil closes, Cerridwen, Ogrun, and Valkrim release me. It’s a moment I dread as I know it means I’m too late. I can’t save Mysteria.Cerridwen places a hand on my shoulder. I stand and glare at her. I don’t need to say how angry and upset I am at her. My face says it all.‘Selene, I’m sorry. It’s for the best to keep you safe.’I step away from her and run to my glass orb and wave my hand over to see Mysteria.We see Magnus watching Nina dance to the beat of drums with other women around a large fire. Suddenly Nina and the others pause as the ground beneath them shakes vigorously with so much force that some of them fall back onto the ground. The air around them thickens with fog as they begin to step back with fear.A thunderous roar is heard in the distance. I’ve heard it before. It’s Thypon. He slithers forward, making himself known to the people. More creatures appear near his tail. There are thousands of them.Thypon swings his staff around, which emits a beam of
We follow Juliet for half the day until we arrive at where Atlanta was last scene.‘She isn’t here,’ Cerridwen says as she cautiously looks around.I walk over to a ring of black crystals on the grass and lean down to inspect them.‘She was here,’ I say as I stand. ‘Stay back here with Valkrim. I think she might still be around here somewhere. Remember the plan,’ I remind her.She nods and races back over to Valkrim’s side.I walk by a couple of trees, ‘Atlanta, why did you do it? Why did you release Thypon?’‘Because, sweet sister, you and the others deserve to suffer just as I have,’ she says, stepping out of the shadows.‘Atlanta, the people of Mysteria do not deserve this fate. They have done nothing wrong,’ I say to her.‘I know, but hurting them is the best way to hurt you and your friends,’ she says and looks over my shoulder at Valkrim and Cerridwen.I extend my hand toward her, ‘You don’t have to keep doing this, Atlanta. Let Helios and Aria go, and then come with me to help
I hover my hand over the orb and think of Nina. It lights up and shows her to me, asleep in a bed.‘Okay,’ I say, staring up at Cerridwen, Valkrim and Ogrun. I summon a teapot and teacups, filling each cup with sweet tea. ‘Drink this. It will make you all fall asleep for a short while. I will bring you all into my dream so we can all talk and interact with Nina. I will dream of our Celestial world so we will be here in a dream state as well as physically.’They reach for the tea cups and drink. Within a minute, their eyes close, and their heads tilt down. I close my eyes and bring Cerridwen, Ogrun and Valkrim into my dream.‘Is something meant to happen?’ Cerridwen asks, opening her eyes. ‘I’m still waiting to fall asleep,’ she says.I laugh and smile at her, ‘You’re already asleep and inside my dream,’ I say to her.‘Are you sure?’ she asks and punches Valkrim in the shoulder.‘Ow! What was that for?’ he says, rubbing his arm.‘I’m checking if we’re in a dream,’ she replies.‘You’re
NinaI suddenly jolt awake and take in my surroundings, remembering I’m in Vera’s little house.‘Nina?’ Alec says, stepping out from the shadowy corner. ‘Are you all right?’ he asks, sitting on the bed and placing his hands on my shoulders.I wipe the sweat from my forehead and slow my breathing. My eyes meet Alec’s serious look, ‘We have to go to Oak paw mountain. There is an item there I need to collect. It will make me strong enough to protect everyone else from being killed by Thypon and his monsters,’ I tell him.‘How do you know this? Why did you jolt awake like that? Did you have a bad dream?’‘I met our deities, even yours, Valkrim,’ I say, kneeling with my hands against his chest.Alec tilts his head and narrows his eyes, ‘Whatever do you mean, Nina?’‘When I fell asleep, I entered the celestial world where all the deities reside. The Moon Goddess and other deities had been waiting for me. They told me they knew Thypon had been released and could not enter Mysteria in time. S
‘We should bathe before we have the meeting,’ I say to Reaper.Queen Maia laughs and points to a little hut, ‘That hut is the bathhouse. Go freshen up.’ She looks me up and down and frowns at my grubby, torn dress, ‘And I’ll have the villagers organise you something to wear,’ she smiles.‘Thanks, Maia,’ I smile back and retreat to the bathhouse.The door creaks as I push it open. The wooden tub takes up half the room in the hut. I repetitively push down on the lever to pump the tub full of water. Reaper perches on the edge of the bath as I strip my dress off and step in. I scrub the slobber from my arms and face and then scoop my hands with water to let it trickle over Reaper. His wings expand and shakes. Water flies from his feathers onto the ground. He uses his beak to reach and clean the rest of himself.As I step out, I hear a faint knock and open the door a tad. There’s a plump middle-aged woman holding a dress with a towel folded on top.‘Thank you,’ I smile as she pushes it thr
It’s almost nightfall, and we have barely covered the tiniest fraction of the mountain. Alec stops in front of me, ‘You won’t be able to see the sceptre in the dark. You also need to eat and rest, and I need to feed as well. Let’s make a fire to keep you warm through the night first,’ he says.I collect the sticks, and Alec finds a couple of small logs. As soon as we stack them into a pile, I point my finger about to cast the fire spell, but a large gust of flame blows past me and ignites it. I turn and find Vermilion sitting like a dog, staring at the fire.‘Thanks,’ I laugh.I sit beside Alec, but he pulls me onto his lap. His fangs protrude, and he instantly bites into my neck, making me yelp. He drinks more than usual, then flings his head back in satisfaction before gazing into my eyes. He kisses my forehead, then my nose and then nuzzles back into my neck, where he slides his tongue across the puncture marks sending wild and pleasurable sensations throughout my body. He then kis
Vermilion dodges flame, ice, lighting and poison strikes from the dragons. He hovers on the spot as more fly from the opposite direction towards us.‘Vermillion, fly!’ I shout as they get closer. But he doesn’t move and continues to wait. ‘Vermillion, please!’ I cry out then as they release elements toward us. He flies upward, causing the strikes from each group to hit each other. I laugh at the realisation Vermillion had planned that move. No wonder he wasn’t listening to me.The dragons form a group together and fly behind us, ‘Vermillion, they’re going to catch up to us,’ I say to him.He flaps his wings quicker and zooms through the sky. Some of the smaller dragons cannot keep up. The larger ones, however, are close behind us. We lean forward as shards of ice shoot past us. There is a mountain split in two in the distance. Vermillion turns sideways. I scream and hug myself against him for dear life. ‘Gods, is this necessary, Vermillion?’ Alec shouts, clinging even tighter to the d