DARKER ( Supernatural Beginnings) Book Two

Sinful Threads

Phoenix

Tonya had done it, she had broken the bond of Suxhen’s threads. The connection I had to the universe had gotten stronger, even more so with the growing bodies of my children inside my womb. A smile appeared on my face as I thought of their previous antics. I could see and hear everything they had done and said. They were already smart, insightful, humorous, and wise.

Nathan, Alexis, and Caleb had set off on the given mission to find Eleanor the human Seer. She held within her hands a powerful yet helpful clue that would help us in the fight to balance the remaining two worlds. Mila Henry and Mariana had stayed behind with me at the camp. For the time being, we would not move back to the Henry Mansion’s safe base until Stella gave the okay with the information she was currently obtaining from the Harpy Rebel. I had to stay safe, not just for myself but for my twins as well.

As we were patiently waiting, I was left alone with all my thoughts. Stella had all the pieces for the cure, but I had a feeling it was more complicated than things appeared. A curse Suxhen worked so hard to inflict on Rodney, Ziege, and Celia, given that my mother’s curse was started by the sunbone dagger, would it just take Ward’s blood to fix everything as the last remaining step?

Since the day my mother had awakened, I felt a strong sense that somehow her soul had separated from her at the same time. This wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, it would actually make the process of cleaning her body with the cure a lot easier before her soul could return. Just like Rodney and Ziege, it seemed as if the curse had this aftereffect. We could bring them all back without any lingering sequela and the three of them would have a true clean slate.

The Henrys really went all out for me here. The bedroom had its own unique charm. A sanctuary of luxury, with a canopy bed draped in flowing silks and satin. A balcony off this master suite I was given offered a breathtaking view of the dark enchanted garden. Moonlight glimmered now at the sign of Vincent’s departure and Tonya’s arrival in the second world. It was no longer a pitch-black sky of ominous silence. The atmosphere was filled with a sense of rebirth. It made me wonder what else had changed here and if that were a good or bad thing.

There were a lot of unknowns surrounding us that didn’t settle well with me. Secrets were coming out of the dark and the people behind Suxhen had gotten bold in revealing themselves. These events reminded me of the magic fields again and I just knew the fields had a major part to play in all of this.

A set of flutters made me place a hand over my stomach for comfort. Did they feel my worries? I stared out over the garden, looking through the distance, with my newly enhanced eyesight. There was a cave not far off from here but still a distance when on foot. The cave had been shut down long ago. The scorch and burn marks surrounding the entrance were a telltale display of the damage it had gone under. My childhood memories had finally cleared up, and I remember we came to a safe base that was a cave where I first met Drake. There was a strong urge building up in me to go there soon.

Something was inside that cave. I could feel the energy pulse directed straight at the location. It was something we would need to move forward with, but we didn't know exactly what the object would be. The lasting thought of Suxhen’s sinful threads lurking around the last two worlds bothered me to no end. Tonya had destroyed the threads but it meant nothing without the vessel. She had just touched the beginning of her journey and I knew she had quite the fight ahead. Suxhen had laid many tricks and traps here in this world, so it was more than likely he had done so in the second one.

The more I looked at the cave, the more I felt my thoughts to be true. Mila and Mari would want me to rest up, but at this point, that was all I did other than run my company remotely. Everything that started with me would end with me, it was just this time I knew who and what I was facing. I could plan my defenses better and build more efficient counterattacks now that I had a full team by my side.

Looking up at the moon, a silent prayer in my mind. A sun goddess's duty never stopped because destiny was called forth. The scale had tipped in our favor and we needed to keep it that way. Too many people’s lives depend on it. I knew that the second world would call me forth soon once I found what was inside the cave near the garden.

Rumbling shook the ground again, at the same time a knock came at the door.

“Come in!” I yelled from the balcony. I already knew who it was from her scent. I wonder if she knew about it. It wasn’t my place to mention anything about that. After all, it wasn’t my secret to tell. The door opened and I turned around, walking back into my room and toward the armchair by the fireplace. This place was truly magical, disguised as a tent. No one would think it would look like this inside it.

Mariana held a small tray with a snack piled on it. I already had a pot of tea that refilled itself, so she didn’t have to keep running around for me. My stomach grumbled in response to the wonderful aroma wafting throughout the room and we both laughed at Mari’s timely arrival. Did I already have an eating pattern to recognize?

“Eat up Phoenix, you are going to need your energy the most. Don’t worry about the rumbling you felt just now, that was only Mila who was returning from retrieving some important information.”

I nodded in understanding as we sat down together, enjoying the warmth of the fireplace and the snacks she had prepared. The mooncakes I loved so much were aplenty, this was a harmonious and serene moment for Mariana and we were both lost in our thoughts. Suddenly, she turned toward me and asked a question I wasn’t surprised about.

“Something has been bothering me about that cave not far from here since we got here. If you want, do you want to take a trip there tomorrow? Just to check things out.”

“So you’re feeling the strange pull too?”

“ Like crazy! My tracking ability has been going nuts just as it did back at the Academy.”

“Well, that saves me half the time of explaining the information I just got. Tomorrow it's settled, we will make a plan first and head up there then.” Mila said, standing in the doorway, she was holding her cup of tea and walked the rest of the way in to join us. She took another sip and set it down on the small coffee table between me and Mari. She let out a sigh, knowing we were all thinking the same thing.

Why now? If our mates weren’t present, we could easily walk into a trap, but my intuition was ringing that it would not be the case, but one could not be too sure about it. Even though that was a possibility, we still had to take the risk. All three of us were being pulled there. That alone wasn’t a coincidence. The three of us had to play a part in what was there somehow. The anticipation in me was rising. Was the universe helping us yet again? Or did it have something to do with the mysterious magical fields?

We took this time to truly relax and talk, completely relieving our worries. Our mates were on a mission and now so would we be. The night was still young, but the pull continued to increase. Tomorrow was a new day and I had an inkling we would see even more changes. Mrs. Henry kept us intrigued with her gatekeeping stories from back in the day. In truth, I felt she was giving us pertinent information as I listened more intently to each story. Sometimes, when dealing with alternate worlds or times, one could not outright say things in order to cause a rift, but if the person figured things out on their own, it was a fair game without any misgivings. Would we be dealing with something involving the timeline? Or was it something to do with me specifically? Why did my instincts feel that it would be Mari? Whatever it was, I needed to be there for her as she had been for me every step of my journey.