Shade Academy

Chapter 26

The darkness was all consuming, nothing I tried to do could penetrate it. Fear inched its way into my being, slowly trying to grasp at my very core, but I couldn't let it. I couldn't take the risk of it being a distraction, hindering me from finding my way free. 

I closed my eyes, taking deep calming breaths as I opened my senses, all except sight. Being a witch I could disable one sense to heighten the others. As my hearing heightened, I could hear a dull humming coming from the distance. I slowly started walking towards it. Step by step the humming became louder and louder, until it was so close and so loud I had to open my eyes. 

And my jaw dropped at the sight before me. In the epicenter of the darkness stood a beautiful and enchanting meadow. A few trees lined it, as flowers of all kinds was as far as the eye could see. But more than that, right under a beautiful weeping willow was a woman with her arms out stretched above her. I couldn't see her face, but her raven black hair flowed over her shoulders and back in waves, stopping just below her butt. She wore a toga made of brilliant shades of purple, gold bands were clasped around her wrists and upper arms. I could see a golden band that was wrapped around her head. The sight was remarkable. 

"Hello?" I called trying to get her attention. Her arms fell to her side as she turned to face me. Her skin was deeply tanned, her eyes as brown as the earth itself. She had high cheek bones and a small nose. But what caught my attention was her ears. They were long and pointed at the end, gold and silver rings dangled there. "Hello, my child. Come, sit and I will explain things to you." She said sitting gracefully and motioning for me to sit next to her. I hesitated for a brief second before remembering I am in some darkness and didn't have anything to lose. 

"Where am I?" I asked sitting in front of her. She smiled lightly "This is the Fae meadow. A meadow lost thousands of years ago. The fae realm did not appreciate the magic and uniqueness of the meadow and tried harvesting it for its magic. But you see, the meadow has a mind of its own, so once they step food into the meadow and it sensed their intentions, they were forced out and the meadow moved itself. It does not allow anyone within its protection unless they feel that person is pure of heart and soul. 

You are the first person I have seen the meadow allow here since the meadow relocated itself. I was so attached to it I decided to go with it, and the meadow agreed. So I've been here thousands of years, waiting for the next person it deemed worthy. This means you are special, powerful beyond your knowledge. Who are you?" 

It took me a minute to answer, trying to absorb the information she shared with me. A meadow with a mind of its own? How is that possible? I guess anything is possible when it comes to magic. With a sigh I looked up to her. "My name is Anna Ashford. I am a witch and apparently have Fae somewhere." I raised my arm and showed her my mark. She gasped and gripped my arm firmly turning it over and over studying it. "You're the one." She whispered. 

I jerked my arm away from her and narrowed my eyes. "What does that mean?" I asked a bit too harshly. She smiled softly and lifted her arm out to me for me to see. My eyes widened as I looked it over. It was the same but different. A man was hand in hand with a woman as they face what looked to be this very meadow. Crowns were atop their head the same as mine. This time however the man had a brilliant silver light shining from his hand towards the garden. "What do these mean?" I whispered. 

The woman sighed lightly. "It is our destiny as mates. Mine and my mates destiny was to free the Fae realm and create peace. After the war, my mate gave his life to create this meadow. His essence lives here and keeps this meadow alive. It is him who decides who is worthy. And impressing him is hard." She said with a wink. I chuckled lightly. "So that's why you're so attached. In a way the meadow is your mate, your comfort and your joy." She beamed at me. "That is exactly right my child." 

I looked down at my mark. "Mine is completely different though." I whispered. "We were attacked at the Academy. My four mates were being overpowered. The golden light." I said running a finger gently across it. "It completely disintegrated our enemies. His gift was creation, mine is destruction." I shook my head trying to hold back tears. "I don't want to hurt people, but lately I have been forced to. Forced to kill in order to protect the people I love. Now it seems like my path is nothing but darkness, destruction, and death." 

I dropped my arm into my lap and stared at the grass. I rubbed a blade of grass across my fingers, trying to distract myself from what I discovered. The lady whose name I still didn't know cupped my face in her hands and brought my eyes to hers. "No child. Your path is far more than you know. This." She said pointing at the mark. "Means another war is coming. Only you and your mates can stop it. But above all you will need the Fae in which holds the other mark. You and him should never be apart for too long until you finish the bond, it will weaken you. Once the bond is complete the both of you will become stronger, more powerful and it will also break any barriers that hold your powers and make them stronger." 

"What is your name?" I ask again. "Oh, please forgive me. My name is Queen Nova. I was the very first Queen of the Fae realm. I left my kingdom in the hands of my son Draco. I heard he has had a son. I am excited to see how noble and loyal he will become." I scrunched my brows. "As in the current king?' She nodded with a smile. "How long do the Fae live?" I asked in astonishment. "Oh my dear, we are immortal. There is only one way a Fae dies and that is if someone uses the power of the royal line to do so. But the only people who get the power are those who obtain the bond of the royals, which would be you and your mate. Who is your Fae mate if I may ask." 

I sighed. "Prince Ashe, son of King Draco." Her eyes shone with joy. "Oh, how wonderful." She beamed. "Do you know how I am fae when my parents were a witch and a warlock?" I asked. "Ah, yes. Well as with most supernaturals we have a deity. Her name is goddess Mumbi. I would guess that when the goddess saw the future she was able to see that things would end, so she placed some of her essence in a being that would obtain unique and powerful magic. So my assumption would be she saw you and placed her essence inside you. Even I can sense the power you hold, although much of it is blocked." 

I felt like my head was going to explode. All the information I had to absorb made me feel like my brain was turned to mush. Rubbing my temples I huffed "How do I get home?" I breathed. Nova laughed. "My child all you need to is wake up. You are sleeping after using your gift before you were ready. You drained yourself child." She informed me. I knew this already though, I remember falling and falling and falling. Wow, I really done it this time. 

But closing my eyes I focused. Searching and reaching for my physical form. When I found it, my consciousness was slammed back into it and fatigue crashed into me like a ton of bricks. I groaned turning my head to the side as I opened my eyes. There beside me was all four of my mates, staring at me with fear and worry. I smiled softly. "Don't worry guys, I'm fine." I assured them. "It seems my mind took a journey to the Fae meadow where I met Queen Nova." 

Ashe's eyes bulged. "You met my grandmother? In the meadow? How?" I chuckled lightly. "I don't know Ashe, really. But I'll tell you more about it later. Right now I need to rest." His eyes softened as he gently kissed my forehead. "Rest then my queen, we will speak more about this later." I nodded my head "I love you guys." I whispered as I drifted off to sleep.