Born of Light and Power

Chapter 4

Rhea tossed and turned as she slept in the oversized chair. She was having a dream, one that felt familiar to her. Almost like she had dreamed this dream before.

****

I’m staring in anger, hurt, and frustration at Darien. His sad brown eyes are pleading with me to not be upset with him, but how could I not be?

He has completely bewitched me. He has taken my world and turned it on its axis, depolarizing my soul and letting me feel something, anything, for the first time in a long time. I can almost feel the familiar bite of tears urging their way forward as I consider what he has just told me.

‘When the gem led me to you, I couldn’t believe you were alive. I watched you die. My heart felt full again, Darien.”

He sighs and grabs my hand in his and places a soft kiss on my palm. He pulls my hand up to his face and leans into me. He again looks up at me, sorrow gathering in his eyes.

“Faenear...” he starts, but I interrupt him.

‘And now you’re telling me that you have to die, again? Rien, please! I just got you back!’ I can feel the panic rising within me.

‘Mon cheri,’ he starts. ‘I have seen how this story ends for me. My mistress has given me that gift, at least. She never let me die, but brought me to their realm, told me I was special, but I felt so lost and trapped. I wandered her realm waiting for her to call me forward. When she did, I was immediately struck down by those damned spiders. I thought that was it for me. But then you came, you and that warrior bear of yours. You saved me, yet again. And when I realized it was you, after all these years trapped as her champion, my heart was set free again. I will be forever grateful that you found your way back to me, that we had these last few weeks together again. But this mission is where we say goodbye, for good, I’m afraid.’

I shake my head violently. How is he so calm about this?

‘No, Rien, no!’ I feel the sobs shake through my body as his words hit me again with unrelenting force. ‘We could run! We could run away from here.’

The sun is rising slowly. Its orange and pink haze is lighting up the horizon. We haven’t got much time left if we chose to run from his fate.

‘Please, Rien. Please, run away with me,’ My hand caresses his cheek. He instinctively leans into me and sighs. He turns his head and places another soft kiss on my palm.

‘You know as well as I that the stake of the very world rests on us completing this mission,’ he says, his voice gruff. ‘I would run to the ends of this world with you, Fae, if I could. But you know as well as I do that this is how our story ends.’

Another sob breaks through me as my heart begins to shatter. I feel the familiar darkness looming in my mind as I begin to realize I will lose him again.

‘We still have a few more hours,’ he says soothingly. He brushes my hair from my eyes and wipes the tears that are falling freely. ‘Let me leave you something to remember me with, a memory that will never fade with time. Her light will allow me to brand this time into your mind. You will never forget it.’

I stare into his eyes. His vulnerability is beginning to show. Small tears are running down his face. I feel myself calming and look down to see his palms glowing a soft yellow.

“Fae, please, let me have you one more time...”

*****

Rhea bolted awake as warmth overtook her body. The dream felt so real, more like a memory. It was such a weird feeling.

She shook her head and stretched her arms above her and stretched away the sleep.

*Knock knock*

Her head turned toward her bedroom door. Could it be Quinn coming to check on her again? Perhaps, he seemed nice enough. She walked slowly over to the door and opened it.

Rhea was surprised that a different man stood in front of her. He certainly wasn’t Quinn. He was tall, much taller than her. His auburn hair was long and hanging around his shoulders. He had to have at least 20 braids in his hair. His green cloak looked tattered and worn, as if it had been used daily for a long time. His brown eyes were softly glowing, inspecting every inch of her.

“Can I help you?”

The man didn’t answer. He stared in stunned silence. His eyes raked her body. As his eyes locked with hers, his jaw nearly fell open.

She was exquisite, nothing and everything like he imagined she would be. His heart lurched as he watched her study him, the tether between them waxed and waned with each breath he took. There was an undeniable bond and it was stronger, far more potent than he had anticipated. He burned for her as she stood before him.

Rhea shifted under the weight of his gaze. She looked closer at him. His features were sharp. Sharper than Oren and Quinn, but somehow felt less -- lethal. His energy didn’t make her mind scream and beg her to run. Instead, she almost felt like she was safe. Her mind was perfectly calm as she stared and the being in front of her.

She looked at his hair again, somewhat jealous of its length and sheen when she noticed the long pointed tips of his ears poking out between his hair.

“Are you...are you an actual elf?” She whispered. “Elves are real?”

He blinked quickly, as if he had snapped out of a haze and smiled a beautiful, heart-breaking smile.

“Yes, I am an elf. How did you know that?”

“Oh, well, I’m a big fan of fantasy novels back home. You know, Lord of the Rings and the like,” Rhea started. She stopped when she noticed the confused look resting on his face. “You’ve never heard of Lord of the Rings?”

Caelum smiled at her. “Very little from the Earthen Realm makes its way here. But it sounds like some of our culture has made its way to your realm. I’m Caelum,” he said as he held his hand out to her.

Rhea took his hand in hers and squeezed it softly. Her fate in this strange place was still unknown and, so far, she had only met one very tricksy fairy, and one very friendly fairy who was far outside of what she thought was possible. So sure, why not make friends with a very wild looking elf?

Caelum returned her soft squeeze. He stared at her in awe. He felt like a total i***t when she opened the door. He had seen her in his vision, but she looked so different in real life.

His visions were sometimes monotone, sometimes in color. But her vision had been in shades of gold and while it was beyond beautiful to remember, it didn’t give him any idea about how she looked. It hid one of the most important details from him. Which is why he was shocked when she opened the door.

Her eyes were honey gold and glowing. He had never seen eyes like hers before in real life, only in the lorebooks of his kingdom.

But there was one thing he was absolutely certain of: Rhea wasn’t a human, and he had no idea what she was.

****

An hour later, Caelum was seated in Rhea’s room.

“So these miniature people, Hobbits was it? Right, so the Hobbits walked across their entire world with an evil ring that was corrupting their souls and then threw it in a volcano?” Caelum tilted his head at Rhea as he summarized the long story she had just told him. “I don’t understand where the lords come into this.”

“Well by the end of the books, the main characters are practically revered as lords because of the huge sacrifice they made for the greater good of their world,” Rhea explained.

“I see,” Caelum said as he stroked his chin with his hand. “It sounds like a great story.”

Rhea nodded enthusiastically at the elf.

Caelum laughed lightly at her enthusiasm. They had been sitting in her room for about an hour talking about this book she had read at home. He was interested to hear how humans had portrayed his kind and found it to be fairly accurate. It was even more interesting to watch how her face lit up as she talked about the novel.

He sighed as he stared at her. He had so much he needed to discuss with Elder Fergus.

“Well Rhea,” Caelum said as he met her eyes. “I have so enjoyed talking to you about all of this. Perhaps we should make our way down to the dining room for some dinner? You have to be starving.” Caelum was still looking at her, studying her features.

She looked human. None of her features were dramatic or sharp. Her ears weren’t pointed. When she smiled, he noticed her teeth were normal. But her glowing eyes told him that she wasn’t human. Only supernaturals had eyes that glowed when they were in Aureum. The magic that flowed through the aureum touched every fiber of all living things, giving them heightened senses and various abilities depending on their race.

Rhea frowned. Although she had enjoyed hanging out with Caelum, she still felt uneasy going out and exploring her new home. She didn’t have anxiety, per say. Just the idea of being in a crowded room where she knew literally no one was daunting.

“I’m really not hungry, Caelum,” She muttered as she looked down at her hands.

Caelum tilted his head and frowned.

“Are you not hungry, or are you just not wanting to be around a bunch of strangers right now?” Rhea’s eyes shot up and met him. By the increased intensity of the glow, he guessed he was right. “How about we have dinner in my room with my Elder? He’s very friendly and, just like me, an elf!”

Rhea smiled at this. Caelum was being very friendly and surprisingly understanding about her hesitation and reservations. She nodded slightly and walked to the closet to find a sweater. She threw on a chunky cream sweater over her dress along with some sandals.

“I really am very hungry,” she said with a giggle. Caelum beamed down at her as she approached him.

“Well then let's get some food!”