Aries

A/N: I know, quite early, isn’t it?

As for those who don’t follow me, there is a name change. She is not Andromeda (Andy). I made a mistake when I was writing that chapter (As I was half-asleep (I think I told this)). Her name will be Auriga (Riga). Sorry for the confusion.

I hope you do not comment about the name change, cause I am extremely picky about names (Don’t ask me, it is the way I am)

Anyway, Enjoy!

*******

I simply blinked at that Warrior who gave me a grin. What I could not understand was why he landed here of all places? What had happened?

Aries let out a low growl, which made that male smirk. “Awww... you should have invited us. For your Soul-Binding ceremony. At least that way, Leo would have won the bet he made with Aqua.”

My frown deepened. Say what?

Riga who was in a purple fish-cut skirt and a white top gaped at her companion. She already looked dishevelled and this look on her face was not helping. And it was definitely not helping when she had only one shoe on.

“Leo made a bet on me?” Aries said, folding his arms. “Hardly news.”

Gemini laughed. “When we said we will never take a consort after Ursa, Leo said you would be the first one to break it and Aqua said it would be Virgo. I said it would be Rico and-”

“I said it would be Leo,” Aries said. “We all bet on someone or the other. Seems like Leo won.”

Gemini shook his head. “That guy’s faith in you can move mountains.”

Aries snorted. “He did not have faith in me. He merely wanted to piss me off.”

“Whatever!” Gemini said. “You should at least introduce me to your lovely Soul-Bound.”

“Why-” Aries began.

“Lyra Throne,” I intervened.

If they wanted to bicker, they can do it all day. But not like this.

The second Warrior I met in my life smiled. “I am Gemini. I represent Chandra. So... I roam this Earth as a Warlock.”

“A warlock?” Riga shrieked. “Like... like Harry Potter? Like Gandalf?”

Gemini looked genuinely offended. “They are wizards! I am a warlock!”

“And I am a witch!” Riga exclaimed.

Gemini nodded seriously. “You are.”

“No shit sherlock.” She gave him a look of disbelief.

“No, no! You don’t understand, Riga,” Gemini said. “You are a Witch. That day when those creeps attacked our office, you literally used your powers to defend yourself. You managed to knock a few of them cold for hours! I had to remove them and wait for you to open your eyes. I was preparing a good excuse, an amazing tale where I was the hero, but you brushed the whole incident like you had passed out from stress and it was all a nightmare. You know how disappointed I was?”

If I had not seen this guy’s eyes or known his name or felt his aura, I would never be able to say that this male before me was a star, much less a Warrior.

Riga blinked at him and then saw me. “Is the one next to you as cracky as the one next to me?”

I could not help but laugh. I liked this girl.

“Nope. He can be normal if he wants to,” I said, giving him a sideways glance. He gave me a look of disbelief. “Or cracky, and I am pretty sure he won’t be cracky now. Come on inside, by the way.”

Riga shook her head. “I can’t imagine hearing two.”

Gemini protested. “Lyra! You can’t be partial towards your Soul-Bound.”

I folded my arms and rose my eyebrows. “I can’t?”

He shook his head. “You can’t.”

Riga walked past that star and stood next to me. “Don’t engage in a conversation with him. Time will just pass so fast just by bickering with him.” Gemini tried to defend, but Riga went on, “I have wasted more than a month just by bickering with him and that is much. Don’t waste your breath.”

I stared into her eyes deeply, when I felt her soul resonate with me. It had the same vibrations my soul had with a few modifications. I took in a deep breath and that was when I felt my eyes widen.

Standing before me was not an ordinary witch- if what Gemini claimed to be true. Before me, was a pulsar soul. Not just any Pulsar soul. She was like me, a first-generation pulsar who was there with me in the Origins. She was one of the fourteen who travelled to Origins. I have heard her in one of my memories. While I remembered her, did she remember me? Or were her memories taken from her too?

And her words did not sound like she cared for my time. No, this girl was jealous and she was trying to mark her territory, without her knowledge. Why was she jealous? Of me? I would never be a competitor for her. Gemini knew more than not to pursue me of all people. Soul-Bounds were a sacred thing in the universe. But she did not know that.

It was so sad to know that she had not realised her feelings for him. So sad indeed. What more, I could see the beginning of a bond between them, a bond that went deeper than Cosmos and Chaos.

Lyra? Aries called.

She is a pulsar, I replied. Like me.

Aries tried his best to stifle his laugh. Who knew? That of all the eleven pulsars, one would directly land in Gemini’s office?

The possibilities are very low indeed, I said.

I smiled at the female before me. At my sister, in a way. “Time is precious indeed. I won’t waste it.”

A tiny surge of relief spread through her eyes, before she masked it. “Wise decision.”

I really did want to laugh at her, tease her, but she had to figure things on her own. Like me, she had a path and she had to find out who she was on her own. I could only stand by and watch and if needed, give her my assistance.

I moved and let her inside the house. Gemini almost immediately followed her.

Aries and I shared a look and smirk mirrored on each other’s face. We could only see if Gemini would invite us to his Soul-Binding ceremony.

“Who are they?” Rhaze asked when I turned after the two entered the house.

“He is Gemini,” Aries said, lightly punching that star’s back. “And that is...”

“She is Auriga,” Gemini said, moving away from Aries. As Riga’s eyes scanned the people in front, Gemini smiled at her, standing behind her. “She is my assistant.”

“Gemini! My good friend!” Miguel cried as he came up. “Finally found your way?”

The shock was painted over the star’s face as he saw Aries and spluttered. “I-isn’t h-he... wa-wasn’t he in Dungeon?”

Miguel scowled. “You meet a friend after so long and this is the first question you ask?”

Gemini stared as though Miguel was a ghost. “You are real, buddy?”

“I am a fucking doll that can mimic Miguel perfectly,” Miguel snapped.

Aspen stood from her seat and placed a hand over his shoulder. “Miguel.”

Gemini wordlessly motioned his hands between the two. Then he began, “She isn’t Kenna. What-”

Aries coughed lightly. “Yes. That is Miguel. The same Pheonix shifter we know. He is the Delta of the pack under Lyra.”

“Fucking Hell!” Gemini swore as he looked at me. “You’re an Alpha?”

“Can’t you tell that?” Miguel asked sardonically.

“No!” he protested. “She felt like a celestial being to me. Like she is a star. She is Soul-Bound to Aries for Cosmos’ sake! You think she will still be a creature of this planet?”

“Gemini,” Aries called. He cleared his throat. “She is not a celestial being because we are Soul-Bounds. She is a celestial being in her own right.”

“She’s a star?” Kaina asked, her eyebrows shooting up.

Aries shook his head. Gemini gaped at Aries and then at me. “No, no, no.”

“She is a pulsar,” Aries said.

And everything, even the stilled silence went up in flames.

**********

Screams and shouts flew. Aries and Gemini were talking fast with each other, Rhaze, Kaina, Aspen and Miguel were coming up with their own theories, and Riga was the silent one, looking at us with confusion.

I sighed as I massaged my forehead. This was giving me a very huge headache.

Corvus came to me. “What was that, Lyra?”

I stared into his eyes, which resembled his cousin’s so much. Yet Corvus’ eyes were just a shade darker than Hazel’s.

And just like that, I was pulled by his eyes. Not because I found him attractive, but because my soul echoed the same melody his soul did. I gasped. While there was at least ten per cent difference in the vibration between mine and Riga’s soul, there was hardly a five per cent difference between mine and Corvus. Was this the reason why we both clicked so well together?

This male before me was another pulsar. Was he strong because he was a pulsar or was he strong because he was born to a Zayin and an Alpha? I could not tell.

But he had been in my memories as well. He was one of the pulsar who showed immense interest in research and helped me back in Origins, just he had on Earth. Seemed like there were things one simply could not forget even if their memories were taken from them.

Corvus... I said to Aries.

He is a Pulsar too, right? he replied.

I nodded. How did you know?

I knew you, Aries said. After Luna took the seal from you, I can feel you. Hence, through you, I can feel who are the other pulsars. Had we not mated, I would be able to say who are pulsars. And since we are Soul-Bound, we can tell if there is a Soul-Bound between two or if it is mate bond or if they are just together.

Corvus was watching me for an answer. But I could not reveal who he was to him. He had to find it on his own. But I could tell him what a pulsar was.

“Enough!” I shouted over the ruckus. “Enough!”

Just like that, the commotion stopped.

I shook my head. What was wrong with these people? Just because my race was revealed I was not any different. I was still the Alpha of my pack until I gave it to someone.

“Rhaze, Kaina, Miguel, Aspen,” I called. “Corvus, Zahra, Gemini, and Riga. follow me and Aries to the conference room. We will try our best to say it to you. After then, you can judge.”

As if my voice held power over them, they stopped. The air crackled with tension as I glared at the few people who tried to defy my command. As much as this was Varian’s house, I was still his Alpha and as his Alpha, this was my house and these people dared to defy me in my own house?

I did not know how I looked at that moment, but the male I was glaring at, suddenly dropped to his knees, bowing his head to me. The only noise that interrupted me was the faint beep of the digital clock and the whir of the small engine that sent oxygen to the fish tank.

“By Amaris!” Jed softly swore as he got up in my peripheral vision.

I turned my head to see him and that was when I caught my reflection on the mirror on the wall. My eyes were not brown. It was gold. Freaking gold.

I blinked and the colour did not fade, if anything, it glowed brighter.

Before I could allow the panic to envelop me, I strode to the conference room and braced myself over the desk.

Warm hands touched my shoulder. “It’s okay. You are a pulsar. It happens.”

I turned and hugged him. “Happens?”

“Yes,” he said. “Why do you think my eyes are silver? I am a star and it shows.”

I laughed lightly.

Then I felt various people enter the room.

Just as Aries let me go, Rhaze caught me in a hug. “My baby sister.”

“Still your baby sister?” I asked, hugging her back.

“You will always be,” she said. “No matter what you are. Where you go, Rhaze Throne will always be your elder sister.”

“That’s reassuring,” I whispered.

She let me go. After the last person entered, Aspen closed the door. “What happened?”

I glanced at Aries who gave me a nod.

Here goes nothing...

“East Tribe threw me in the Maze,” I began. “I think you all know that.”

Riga rose her hand up. “I don’t.” When she saw all of us looking at her, she shrugged. “I don’t know what I am doing here. Or why you called me in this meeting of yours.”

I simply could not explain the feeling of why I wanted Riga to be here. She was fairly new to this world. Just came to know the fact that she was a witch, which I was sure she really did not believe.

“I have a feeling that you need to be here, Riga,” I said. “If you have any questions, please ask either Gemini or me.”

She glanced at her companion. “This dude?”

Before Gemini could answer, Miguel intervened. “‘This dude’ is way more powerful than he is showing you, little witch. If he wills, he can destroy this Earth in a blink of an eye and walk away as though he had his favourite meal. These two are stars. Literal stars. And even among the stars, they are kind of royalty. Remember that.”

She blinked. “This guy is that powerful?”

Gemini glared at Miguel. “Don’t hear his words-”

“That volatile?” Riga asked.

“Riga!” Gemini protested. “He is spewing-”

“Lies?” Miguel asked dryly. “Am I, Gem?”

Gemini pouted. “No...”

“See?” Miguel said, looking at the new girl. “He is dangerous.”

Riga pinched him hard on his arm. “I thought you are a warlock, now you are a star? What? Next, you will be Casper the Ghost?”

Gemini winced and rubbed his arm. “I shall explain it to you once we get going.”

She stared at him for a while before giving in. “You better.”

“Get going where?” Aries asked.

Gemini sighed. “The reason why we are here is because, I found that Riga here is none other than the daughter of the Zayin of Summer Tribe. Somehow she ended up out of Laukris. I am trying to take her back to see what had happened. Especially when fifty rogue Magycs and vampires stormed my building for this girl.”

“What?” Kaina shrieked.

“I know,” Gemini said. “My building was ruined by the time they left. I mean, had I been there, it would be a different story, but Riga single-handedly defended my building so...”

We all blinked at him.

“So I took a flight and tried to come to Summer tribe, but no one answered my call,” Gemini said. “Hence I tried to locate the nearest Warrior and guess who popped in my radar?”

Aries sighed. “I did?”

Gemini nodded enthusiastically.

Kaina stood up and inched towards Riga. Surprisingly, she allowed the older witch to examine her. Kaina touched Riga’s face before dropping her hand.

“She is the daughter of Summer Tribe’s Zayin?” Kaina asked.

Gemini nodded. “That’s what that warlock I managed to capture told me.”

“Which Zayin?” Kaina asked.

Gemini shook his head. “I don’t know.”

Rhaze inched closer to her mate and took her hand. “Is she Priscilla’s daughter?”

Kaina sniffed and shook her head. “No, I would have sensed that.”

Gemini frowned. “Who are you?”

Kaina smiled thinly. “My daughter is to succeed as the next Zayin of Summer Tribe because of the lack of an heir.”

Gemini seemed to be taken aback. “You... are from-”

“I was mated into that tribe,” Kaina said.

Gemini looked at her and then at my sister who was still holding on to her mate.

“But...”

“I have a long past, Warrior,” Kaina said. “The one whom I took as my mate left me for another. After him, I met my mate, Rhaze and we are together. A problem?”

Gemini shook his head but then glanced at Aries. “You better start giving us an explanation.”

I cleared my throat and said. “While I was in the Maze, I met Luna...”

**********

The second I was finished, I expected the person to burst into an outcry to be Gemini. But alas, he disappointed me by staring at my Soul-Bound, as though he could not believe anything.

I had just finished telling him that Luna was alive and where she was, he was still in shock. The one to burst into a cry was none other than my sister.

Rhaze gasped after her cries subsided. Kaina held her mate in her arms.

“C-Cain did all that?” Rhaze asked, her voice breaking. “All that?”

I nodded, unable to find words that would console my strong Beta. My strong Beta was breaking apart in her mate’s arms because she could not accept the reality that our brother did all that for me. For me to live.

“Likira’s daughter?” Zahra asked, her face devoid of emotion but her brown eyes betrayed her by housing unshed tears. “Likira Vade’s daughter?”

I nodded again, feeling the familiar burn in my eyes. Would I lose it again before them?

“Cain,” Rhaze whispered, her body shaking lightly. “He... he saw our dad die. He... saw Aurelia die. He had to live separately from his mate and son. That male is a damned fool!”

“Fool?” Miguel asked in a low voice as though he was keeping it together to not cry. “How could he be a fool?”

“He could have asked for help!” Rhaze cried. “He could have at least told me. When we were young, we promised never to carry our burdens alone. That’s why I became the Delta and he the Beta. Did he take me for a fool?”

“No,” Kaina ushered in a soothing tone. “His love for his family blinded him. He did not think that you would be a liability but-”

“The one who killed Warren Whyte and Likira Vade was Rionach,” Aries said. “She caught Cain’s scent, from what I infer. That’s the reason why he distanced himself from his mate and son. That’s the reason why he did not involve you in this. He just wanted to protect you.”

“But he could have protected me by telling me the truth!” Rhaze said, her voice rising.

“He had the Hunter’s Mark to protect him,” Aries said. “What did you have?”

As the bitter truth settled in, Rhaze’s body trembled further in her mate’s embrace.

Miguel’s lips quivered. “He came down. That night to see you.”

I could barely see Miguel through my tears. “What?”

“That night when the false heat hit you because of that false bond,” Miguel said. “Your brother came down to see how you were doing. I refused to see him and Alioth entered her meditative state. He stayed for a while, talking something to Cathara. I don’t know what he spoke. I was so angry at him for throwing his sister down there. He left after a while. I wish... wish I had listened to whatever he had come to say.”

Kaina licked her lips. “Well, Cain’s not yet dead. You can listen to him all day if that’s going to be your regret.”

I then glanced at the ones who were quiet. Riga, Corvus, Gemini and Aspen.

When only Rhaze whimpers were heard, Aspen gulped. “You had a twin?”

I knew where this was going. “Yes.”

“Chris Vade, huh?” Aspen said. “Could have-”

“-been your brother’s mate,” I finished for her. “I am sorry.”

Aspen gave me a look of bewilderment. “Why are you apologising? Did you kill your twin? By Amaris above! That girl was your twin. Someone who would have been your best friend, your other half. You missed your twin. It is not fair that you have been denied a life where you could have lived your life with your parents, your sister and you apologise to me for their death. If anything, Rionach should be the one apologising. But I don’t think she will live that far to apologise if we ever catch her.”

“What?” Zahra said. “Chris is Alpha Eric’s mate? How can you be sure?”

“My brother claimed Lyra to be his mate when he first saw her,” Aspen said. “Makes sense for her twin to be his mate.”

“But now we can never tell,” Zahra said, a tear rolling down her cheeks. “So this is the truth behind why my friend, my partner refused to contact me a few months before death. That idiot knew she would die. She even transferred her shares of the company to me days before she died. I should have known. Idiot indeed, I have been.”

Riga raised her hand. “I am sorry that this news was heart-wrenching, but what is it got to do with me? I am terribly sorry, I don’t get the word ‘mate’ or ‘Maze’ or ‘Luna’. God forbid, I don’t even know who Cain is. And I don’t care that a race called pulsars exist. I mean, if they are not ‘a part of this universe’ why care? Why am I listening to this?”

I wished I could tell her what race she belonged to, but then again, it was her journey.

“I don’t know why, Riga,” I said. “I don’t know why I wanted you to know this. My family issues to you of all people. Jed knows me, Brent knows me. But why you? I don’t think I can answer that question when I don’t even know the answer myself.”

Silence prevailed over us. Riga slunk back into her chair, subconsciously leaning towards the only person she knew in this room.

Gemini cleared his throat, holding the girl’s hand. “Luna was held there all this while? In the Maze.”

“In a dimension in the maze,” Aries corrected.

“That’s important?” Miguel asked.

Gemini nodded. “Yes. Maze, Dungeon, Chasm and Spiralling Labyrinth all these sorts of prisons were created to hold the prisoners of all the world under its domain. Meaning, if one wanted to travel between worlds, it is very much possible to, if they know how to navigate through these prisons.”

“Do you?” Miguel asked.

Gemini shared a look with Aries before replying. “No. we do not. While we may be the first generation stars, we can by no means beat Qamar. That male is stronger than us, given the fact that he writes Fate. There are a few in history who spent their entire life decoding one of these prisons, but apparently, all Fate-Writers across the universe have joined hands.”

“What the hell does that mean?” Aspen asked.

“Meaning,” Aries said. “We tried to separate the universe into fragments to make sure there would be no battles. Consider each of these fragments as a country. And these countries will not look into each other’s eyes. Over time, only a few remember about these other countries while many do not even know other countries exist. But the rulers of these countries have built a secret passage between the countries, to make sure that the communication between them do not completely die.”

Riga gasped. “And here I thought stocks were a difficult thing to understand.”

“There,” Kaina asked. “There are people who know how to navigate?”

Gemini nodded. “Yes. There are. Because so many worlds converge in those places, they have spaces between spaces. I bet Luna is trapped in one such space.”

Aries nodded. “Well, Luna is a star who was born with the knowledge of navigating.”

“What?” I asked.

“Yes,” Gemini said. “While some learn how to navigate, some are born with the knowledge.”

“How,” Aspen asked, standing from her seat. “Just how many such communications exist?”

“Space is vast,” Gemini said. “There are so many.”

“How many?” Miguel asked.

Aries sighed. “Prisons, a few forests and all the five elements.”

“Huh?”

“Five elements are always connected,” Aries said. “The space is the most direct connection. But the other four are too good connections if you know how to use.”

Miguel shook his head. “That’s why there twelve of you. Three of you represent each element.”

Gemini nodded. “You hit the jackpot. But to be honest, there were fifteen of us. Three who represented space fell.”

Miguel gulped. “I need a drink.”

“Me too,” Kaina muttered. “What is the strongest we have in this house?”

“I’ll go check,” Miguel said, as he stood up to leave.

Immediately, Aspen walked out with him. “I’ll help.”

I saw the only one who remained in silence throughout this meeting.

“What is bothering you?”

Corvus blinked and chuckled. “If Pyxis was here, he would have a different definition of pulsars than you guys do.”

I shared a look with the two stars and we simply could not help but share a laugh.

******

A/N: How was the chapter?

Sadly, Gemini and Riga will be leaving this book in the next chapter. (They will have their own book, don’t worry)

Anything else?

I will try my best to update soon again.

~Quill