Chapter 6 - Intervene
1577 Words
๐๐ซ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ง๐ ๐๐๐
The human realm lay unusually still.
Above me, the full moon hung high in the night sky, bathing the world in its pale silver light. Stars shimmered around it, scattered like fragments of forgotten dreams.
Beautiful.
Fragile.
Nothing like home.
And yet...
Here I was.
In the human realm.
Despite every warning.
Despite every law I had sworn to uphold.
Despite knowing the consequences that would follow if I were discovered.
I crossed the Veil anyway.
My gaze settled on the modest house before me.
Her house.
Zattie's house.
A quiet laugh escaped me.
How utterly absurd.
Arjuna.
A warrior of the Other Realm.
Trained for centuries to master every emotion.
To remain disciplined.
To remain unshaken.
And yet...
A single human woman had undone everything.
There was nothing extraordinary about this house.
Nothing that should have drawn me here.
It was her.
Her presence.
Her essence.
Her impossibly alluring aura.
It lingered around this place like an invisible melody only I could hear.
I had faced wars.
Assassins.
Ancient creatures that existed long before kingdoms were built.
None of them had ever unsettled me the way she did.
How could one human possess such power...
Without even knowing it?
I drew a slow breath.
This wasn't curiosity anymore.
It wasn't fascination.
Whatever this was...
It had already slipped beyond my control.
And for the first time in centuries...
I found myself asking a question no warrior should ever ask.
What exactly was happening to me?
๐๐๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ง๐ง ๐๐๐
I stood alone on the balcony of my chamber, gazing at the eternal silver sky of our realm.
Moonflowers bloomed beneath the endless twilight, their petals shimmering like tiny stars. Their fragrance drifted through the cool air, a delicate blend of ylang-ylang, vanilla, and the faintest hint of sweet citrus.
Refreshing.
Calming.
Familiar.
For reasons I had never been able to explain, I had always been drawn to these flowers.
As though they carried memories older than the realm itself.
As though they were quietly guarding secrets no one was meant to remember.
I lived alone in my mansion.
No guards.
None were necessary.
Although several remained stationed beyond the main gate.
The Elders insisted.
As for servants...
No.
My chambers were off-limits.
Always had been.
I preferred my solitude.
Gardeners came when the grounds required tending.
Helpers appeared only when summoned.
Everything else, I did myself.
Cooking included.
It kept my mind disciplined.
Or at least...
It usually did.
Tonight, my thoughts drifted elsewhere.
To Arjuna.
That fool had kept a low profile these past few days.
He probably believed no one had noticed the summons from the Hall of Echoes.
He was wrong.
The Elders had not questioned him out of anger.
They questioned him out of curiosity.
His connection with the Human Realm had become... unusual.
He should never have contacted a human.
Not directly.
Not repeatedly.
Especially not her.
Zattie.
Arjuna believed he was merely captivated by her aura.
By the strange pull of her energy.
He had no idea how dangerous the truth truly was.
The moment I crossed the Veil after him...
The moment I sensed her essence...
I knew.
She wasn't simply an empath.
She was something far rarer.
Something that had not fully awakened.
Not yet.
Her abilities were still unfolding.
Growing.
Evolving.
And that made her far more dangerous than she realized.
"Ravynn."
A familiar voice echoed inside my mind.
Telepathy.
An ability possessed only by members of the royal bloodline and a handful of noble families.
None of the Elders shared it.
I recognized the voice immediately.
Aurelia.
Panic bled through our connection before she spoke another word.
"Ravynn..."
"What's wrong?" I asked at once.
"I'm sorry for disturbing your evening..."
"Tell me."
I cut her off before she could apologize again.
A brief silence followed.
Then...
"It's Arjuna."
My jaw tightened.
"He crossed."
Of course he did.
"Please..."
Her voice trembled.
"Bring him back before Father realizes he's gone."
For all her grace and composure, Aurelia had never learned to hide her fear where her brother was concerned.
As children, she had followed Arjuna everywhere.
His shadow.
Now she stood beside their mother as one of the kingdom's most gifted healers.
Powerful.
Elegant.
Compassionate.
Yet when it came to Arjuna...
She was still simply his little sister.
"I'll find him."
Without waiting for her reply, I severed the mind-link.
I walked back into my chamber and reached for my cloak.
Arjuna had finally crossed the line.
Tonight, of all nights.
The full moon strengthened the thinning Veil between our realms.
A crossing now carried greater risks than ever before.
Fortunately...
The Elders had entered their annual meditation.
For the next few hours, even they would be blind to the shifting currents between worlds.
Lucky for him.
Unfortunately for Arjuna...
I wasn't meditating.
Zattie POV
I remained seated by the window for a long moment, staring at the moon.
The voice had faded.
But the feeling hadn't.
My name still echoed somewhere at the back of my mind.
Soft.
Distant.
Impossible.
I looked down at the saffordite pendant resting in my palm.
Under the moonlight, the dark stone looked almost translucent, as though something inside it was trying to wake.
A faint warmth pulsed against my skin.
Once.
Twice.
Then nothing.
I swallowed.
"Okay, Zattie," I whispered to myself. "Enough."
I placed the pendant on the bedside table and climbed into bed.
The room was dim, lit only by the pale glow of the full moon slipping through the curtains. Outside, the wind moved softly against the window, carrying the scent of rain that had not yet fallen.
I pulled the blanket up to my chest and closed my eyes.
I was tired.
Exhausted, actually.
My body wanted sleep.
My mind refused to obey.
Every time I tried to drift away, his voice returned.
Not loud.
Not clear.
Just enough to disturb the silence.
Zattie.
I turned onto my side.
My blue sheen moonstone bracelet pressed against my wrist, cool and familiar.
A small comfort.
A small shield.
At least, that was what I told myself.
Minutes passed.
Or maybe only seconds.
I wasn't sure anymore.
Then the air changed.
The room did not become colder.
The darkness did not move.
Nothing dramatic happened.
And yet...
something had entered the silence.
A presence.
The same one.
The same energy.
Him.
The hum of his energy remained.
Steady.
Patient.
It coiled around me like invisible threads, wrapping itself around every corner of my consciousness.
I slowed my breathing.
One inhale.
One exhale.
Anything to steady the strange turbulence inside me.
To calm my aura.
Silence stretched between us.
Then, with the kind of patience that felt older than time itself, he finally spoke
"You heard me."
My breath caught.
The voice was the same.
Low.
Controlled.
Impossible.
"I didn't call you," I whispered, though I wasn't sure whether the words ever left my mouth.
"No," he answered softly.
"But you listened."
The voice came again.
Low.
Close.
Not spoken aloud.
It vibrated somewhere beneath my skin, sending a shiver crawling down my spine.
I couldn't move.
I tried pushing the presence away.
Tried closing whatever invisible door he had opened.
But I failed.
Completely.
My black tourmaline was still on the dressing table.
Far beyond my reach.
Only my blue sheen moonstone remained around my wrist.
Under the pale moonlight spilling through the curtains, the stone no longer merely reflected light.
It glowed.
Softly.
Almost... alive.
Its energy did not shield me.
It amplified something.
Something in his presence.
Something in my aura.
The invisible hum grew stronger.
Closer.
Not forceful.
Not violent.
But overwhelming.
Like his energy was trying to understand mine.
Like it was drawn to every part of me I had spent years trying to hide.
My pulse stumbled.
My aura trembled.
Every instinct screamed that I should pull away.
Yet another part of me remained still.
Not willing.
Not inviting.
Just...
listening.
"You feel it too."
His voice softened.
Barely a whisper.
Yet somehow, it echoed inside my chest.
I swallowed hard.
"What are you doing to me?"
A pause.
Then his answer came, quiet and controlled.
"Nothing."
The hum deepened.
"I am trying not to."
Fear rose inside me.
Not because he sounded cruel.
Because he sounded honest.
I gathered every ounce of strength I had.
Not to fight him.
Not to hurt him.
Only to protect myself.
I wasn't ready.
The moonstone suddenly blazed with brilliant blue light.
A heartbeat.
Another.
Thenโ
CRACK.
Pain exploded through my wrist.
Sharp.
Electric.
The crystal shattered.
Blue fragments scattered across the floor.
At that exact moment...
another presence crashed into the connection.
Colder.
Heavier.
Older.
Power rippled violently through the room.
The invisible thread between us snapped.
Everything went silent.
I gasped as air rushed violently back into my lungs.
The pressure disappeared.
But the room still felt occupied.
Heavy.
Drenched in something unfinished.
I pushed myself upright.
My entire body was soaked with sweat.
Outside, the wind howled.
Thunder rolled across the night sky.
Rain hammered against the windows.
4:07 A.M.
He was gone.
But whatever had stood between our worlds...
hadn't left completely.
It lingered in the corners of the room like mist refusing to dissolve.
My wrist still burned where the moonstone had broken.
And somehow...
I knew we hadn't been alone.
Then, from somewhere beyond the veil, a voice tore through the silence.
Cold.
Furious.
Terrified.
"Are you insane, Arjuna?!"
- Writer
