ALLURING : Between Two Realms

Chapter 9 - Obsession

Days passed without any more interference from whatever energy, or strange dreams, I had encountered before.

The verses of protection were performed daily without fail.

Not because I was scared. At least, that was what I told myself. It was for peace of mind.

Protection.

Prevention.

Still, I could not stop myself from examining the saffordite pendant I had found days ago.

It was not from my inventory.

If it had come from my stock, I would have had records of it. I had been running this crystal business for some time.

It started with my first purchase, something I bought in the name of healing, when stress had become too much for my body to carry.

From there, the passion grew.

From a single bracelet, my collection had expanded into different kinds of crystals.

Bracelets.

Gravels.

Chunks.

Tumbled stones.

And many more.

But saffordite...

No.

I was certain.

I had never bought a saffordite pendant. Not for selling. Not for personal use.

I reached for my phone.

My finger hovered over the screen for a moment before I searched for my recent chat with Mimi, my best friend, the one who shared my passion for crystals, essential oils, and holistic healing.

I typed quickly.

Mimi, did you ever give me a saffordite pendant?

Her reply came almost immediately.

Nope. Why? I'm not really into saffordite.

I stared at the message.

So I did not buy one.

And Mimi did not give me one.

Saffordite, or Chintamani, was often known as a cosmic stone.

People believed it carried cosmic energy.

A high-frequency crystal.

Lately, I had been drawn to high-frequency stones.

Herkimer.

Melody Stone.

And others I could never quite explain.

It was as though my body had begun attuning itself to their vibration.

Their frequency. Their energy.

I looked back at the pendant lying on my palm.

Then I typed another message.

I found a saffordite pendant.

I took a picture of it and sent it to her. A few seconds later, I added.

But I don't remember buying it.

Then another.

And it suddenly appeared in my bedroom.

The conversation ended there.

I hurried to finish my house chores before continuing with the order list and several custom-made crystal pieces.

I decided to pack the ready-made bracelets first.

They were easier to manage.

So I keyed in all the order details on the courier website, packed the orders, and placed them in the small box on the porch.

Later, the courier staff would come and collect them.

By the time I finished sorting and packing, it was already two-thirty in the afternoon.

I would continue the custom-made bracelets tomorrow.

The customers had already been informed that any custom bracelet would take three to five days to complete.

As my hand hovered over the lamp switch in my small office, my eyes caught the saffordite pendant I had placed on the working desk earlier.

I walked over and picked it up.

Out of instinct, I unclasped my necklace and slid the pendant onto it.

Then I wore it.

The saffordite pendant fell against the center of my chest.

A sudden wave of sleepiness consumed me.

I usually took a short nap before getting ready to pick up my kids from school, but this felt heavier than usual.

I dimmed the hall lights and lazily lay down on the couch, but not before adjusting the air conditioner to the perfect temperature.

Within minutes, I slipped into a deep slumber.

Meanwhile, in the Other Realm, something stirred within Ravynn's mind.

And his memories.

He was in his chamber, seated on the balcony.

A pair of copper chairs rested there, with a small garden table between them. Ravynn often sat in that very place whenever his mind needed silence.

Tonight, however, silence did not bring him peace.

A gentle breeze brushed against his face, stirring the loose strands of his silver hair. It carried the scent of moonflowers from the gardens below.

He had been staring at the sky for a long time.

That endless silver twilight.

The same sky that had watched over their realm for centuries.

But recently...

there had been something else.

A faint glimpse of blue.

Not much. Not obvious. Only a streak.

A glint. A hue.

In his hand was the velvet pouch that held his Nuummite stone.

𝐑𝐚𝐯𝐲𝐧𝐧 𝐏𝐎𝐕

Strange.

As I stared at the sky, my eyes caught that faint blue glimmer again.

Not large.

Not clear.

Barely there.

And yet, I saw it.

For as long as I could remember, this realm had existed beneath never-ending silver twilight.

No sunrise.

No sunset.

No blue sky.

Only silver.

Always silver.

I brushed the thought aside.

Perhaps my eyes were playing tricks on me.

I had been struggling to sleep for the past few days, ever since Arjuna returned from the Human Realm.

Each time sleep began to consume me, something inside me jolted awake.

As though a buried part of me was begging to resurface.

It was exhausting. Worse than exhaustion, perhaps. Because I did not even know what it was. I had considered seeking Arjuna's mother. She was one of the most powerful healers in our realm. If anyone had answers, it would be her.

But I held myself back.

Questions created attention. And attention was dangerous.

Sometimes, in this realm, even walls and stones became the Elders' ears and eyes.

Not yet, I told myself.

I looked down at the velvet pouch I had been holding since I woke.

Slowly, I unfastened the string.

Then touched the Nuummite inside. It lay against my palm, cold and heavy. Heavier than usual.

I did not remember how I first obtained this stone.

That should have disturbed me. Perhaps it did.

But the Nuummite had been with me for centuries.

Always near.

Always carried.

Always kept close, as though some forgotten instinct within me refused to let it go.

And I did not know why.

For a long time, it had simply been a stone.

Dark.

Ancient.

Silent.

But recently... it had begun to feel alive.

As if memories had been erased from me.

From this realm.

From the very bones of history itself.

And somehow, this stone remembered what I could not.

At Arjuna's mansion, the healers had just adjourned from their monthly meeting.

It was held in the family office area.

Nothing too formal.

Sometimes, the meeting was only a quiet exchange of rare herbs gathered from different parts of the realm. Sometimes, it became a discussion of new findings, healing methods, or strange cases they had encountered.

As everyone slowly dismissed, only Arjuna's mother and Aurelia remained.

The maids moved quietly around the room, collecting cups and dessert plates. Some wiped the large meeting table, while others arranged the chairs back into place.

"Your brother is in his chamber, Aurelia?" her mother asked as she rose and walked out of the meeting room.

"Yes, Mother," Aurelia answered. "He was meditating when I checked on him before the meeting started."

Her soft voice echoed faintly through the hallway.

Arjuna's mother lifted a hand and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"I feel a little weary. Let the maid bring my healing tea to my chamber, Aurelia. I need some rest."

"Of course, Mother," Aurelia said gently. "You might have been using too much energy these past few days. Go and rest."

She paused, then added, "I'll ask the maid to prepare your tea and herbal soup."

𝐀𝐫𝐣𝐮𝐧𝐚 𝐏𝐎𝐕

Zattie.

Her name kept slipping through my mind.

Again.

And again.

All day.

All night.

I tried to keep myself occupied.

The other day, I trained with several warriors until my muscles burned and my breathing became uneven.

I told myself it was discipline.

Focus.

Routine.

But the truth was far simpler.

I was trying not to think about her.

More importantly, I was trying to stop myself from crossing the veil again.

As nobles and royals of the Other Realm, we had access to different realms, though every realm had its own laws, rulers, and boundaries. We could not simply cross whenever we wished.

The Human Realm, however...

was different.

There were no rulers standing at its border.

No royal guards.

No formal warning carved into the veil.

No clear law from their side forbidding us from entering.

And that disturbed me more than I wanted to admit.

Still, crossing too often had begun to take a toll on my energy. It did not merely drain me.

It hurt something deeper. My core energy.

I smirked bitterly.

Perhaps I should have listened to Ravynn.

He had his reasons for stopping me.

He always did.

So today, while the mansion was filled with healers, I decided to remain inside my chamber and meditate.

At least, that was what I told everyone.

But I failed miserably.

My focus slipped.

My mind drifted.

Again and again, it returned to her.

To Zattie.

To her impossible energy.

To the pull I could no longer pretend was harmless.

And then...

I did it again.

I channeled my focus toward the Human Realm, sending only a thin thread of awareness through the veil.

Not my body.

Not my essence.

Only my mind.

Just enough to search for her.

Just enough to catch a glimpse.

A second.

A flicker.

Anything.

At first, there was nothing.

Then the veil softened.

And I saw her.

She was asleep on the couch, her body still beneath the dim light of her home.

But it was not her face that stole my breath.

It was the pendant resting against her chest.

Dark.

Ancient.

Glowing.

Its energy pulsed with something cosmic, something impossibly old, and it resonated with her aura as though it had always belonged there.

My heart struck hard against my ribs.

What is that?

The glow deepened.

Her aura shifted around it, soft and luminous, blending with the pendant's frequency in a way that should not have been possible.

I leaned closer through the thread.

Too close.

I knew it.

And still, I could not stop.

Her name slipped from me before I could pull it back.

Not through my mouth.

Not through the chamber.

Through the connection.

Through the fragile space between her sleep and my obsession.

Zattie.

She jolted awake.

The movement was sudden.

Sharp.

As though something had pulled her out of sleep by force.

For one breath, I saw her eyes open.

Wide.

Startled.

Confused.

Then her hand flew to her chest, fingers closing around the pendant.

The glow vanished.

So did the warmth of her aura.

The thread between us snapped.

Violently.

I gasped as pain tore through my skull.

My body lurched forward, one hand gripping the edge of the meditation platform as the chamber around me spun.

The Human Realm disappeared.

Her house.

Her face.

Her energy.

Gone.

Only silence remained.

Cold.

Heavy.

Cruel.

I stayed there, breathing hard, my pulse roaring in my ears.

I had not crossed the veil.

I had not touched her.

I had only called her name.

And still...

she heard me.

My hand tightened against the marble floor.

A slow, dangerous realization settled inside me.

She was not merely being pulled toward me.

She could hear me from the other side.

Even through sleep.

Even through protection.

Even through the seal.

And that should have frightened me.

Instead...

it made me want to try again.