Skye's Arrival

Chapter Thirty-Three

Dawn raises her eyebrow, “Oddly appropriate, considering your circumstances.”

“They do have a…unique sense of humor,” I allow, looking at the blade.

“They?”

I shake my head. “I can’t give you a direct example, but it’s from the higher-ups.”

“Celestial higher?”

I nod. “The very same.”

“They, helped you?” Gerrickson demands from me, turning my arm outward to see the blade’s name for himself.

“Let’s go with that,” I answer, knowing I fully well demanded it. That’s a secret for those to keep, who have used their power. Do not ask, since they will not take you seriously; and just assume that you’re only begging because you can’t do it. If you survive their power that you called on, then they’ll consider you worth their time and allow you to keep it.

“So, if this is here now, where do we go from here?” Rafi asks, still keeping his eyes on me. How tired do I look right now?

“Since you were kind enough to rid me of Koan’s venom, back to the princess I suppose. It’s time for war.”

Dawn touches my shoulder, “Are you doing okay?”

I shake my head, waving her off. “My power is still being drained into that sword. It’s currently matching my strength. That’s what makes this blade so dangerous. It will have the power of my full strength. When I faint, that’s when the spell will be completed.”

“Faint?” Rafi demands. “As in, you’ll be fully drained?”

I nod, “Yep. So it’ll be important for Dawn not to go back into my stone when I have fainted. I will not have the strength to handle her return.”

“At least we get a warning this time,” Gerrickson says, still eyeing the blade wistfully.

“Do not touch it,” I reiterate to him. “Especially while it’s still active.”

“What about after,” he asks, pouting just a little.

“Do you want it to consider killing you?”

He frowns, “No.”

“Then no.” I pull my hair over my shoulder and then look at Dawn. “Will you please keep him from killing himself?”

She smirks and folds her arms. “Gladly. We should pack up before Koan starts closing in.” She then gives me a scrutinizing look. “How long until you’ve recovered?”

I shrug, “A couple of days. Since Koan’s venom is no longer inside of me, it’s not slowing my healing rate.”

“Good,” she says, watching me bend down and start rolling the blade in my bedroll. “We’re definitely going to need to get you a scabbard for that thing.”

“Agreed, but for now this will have to do.” I pick it up and strap it to my saddle.

“What would happen if Dawn touched it?” Gerrickson asks, still looking at it. Mortals.

I shrug. “Nothing likely. She’s still bound to me, so part of me is still flowing through her. Or it can destroy her since she is a strong demon. Either way, I’d rather not chance it right now.”

“Neither do I,” Dawn agrees, giving him a hard look. “Ger, I’d rather you not touch this blade. I swear I will not mourn your loss if you die from stupidity.”

He grins, “But you’ll be sad if I die any other way?”

She blushes deeply, “I never said that.”

A victorious smile blooms over his face. “But you implied it.” Before Dawn can hit him, he skips out of range and goes to pack up his things.

I nod toward him, “You can go kill him.”

“Thank you,” she says gratefully before running over to Gerrickson.

Not wasting a second of the opportunity that he was just given, Rafi is right next to me in a second. I roll my eyes. “How long have you been waiting for her to leave?”

“I prefer not to answer that,” Rafi answers quickly. “I wanted to talk about last night. How are you doing after…everything?”

I rub my face before running my fingers through my hair. There is not a bone in my body that wants to talk about this right now.

“Ouch!” Gerrickson yells, interrupting my response. I glance over my shoulder to see Gerrickson hopping on one foot. Dawn had stomped on his foot. “You can stomp on me all you want, but you like me,” he croons teasing her.

She immediately deepens her blush. “Do not.”

“Do so,” he smirks.

Dawn glares at him and stomps on his other foot before turning around to leave.

I start laughing, seeing Dawn squirm under a new emotion. Dawn is the exact definition of a confident goddess; but when foreign emotions are brought into play, she has the confidence of a teenager.

Quicker than I anticipated, I feel my body crash. My heart has stopped, and I lose all feeling in my feet. My laughter suddenly stops seconds before I start falling forward. Rafi screams my name when he catches me; holding me against his chest. His scent wafts around me like a warm hug when my eyes close, and my heart resumes beating.

Slowly, things start coming back to me. This is the second time I’ve experienced this kind of crash, and it feels worse this time around. My entire body aches, and I wish I was in a hot bath right about now.

I groan as I grip whatever is under my hands. My grip feels weird; like my hand is wrapped tightly in cloth. A warm hand touches my cheek, making me open my eyes. I blink a couple of times, trying to see clearly.

“Rafi,” my voice croaks. He’s laying next to me, his face inches from mine. I relax my hand, realizing my hand is wrapped around a blanket, and I’m gripping Rafi’s bare chest. Did I miss something?

“Shh,” he whispers, touching his lips. “You’ll wake everyone.”

My brow furrows as I try to understand what he just said. “Huh?” He just motions around me, causing me to sit up. The barely rising sun allows me to see what he is talking about. There are rows of people sleeping next to us. We are not in a tent. We are outside in the forest, surrounded by tall trees and moss. There is not a fire, so I’m assuming that is why we are all huddled with each other; to keep us warm. Each of us has a pack placed above our heads, including me.

“What did I miss?” I ask him, laying back down.

“Gabrielle wanted us to prepare for war in the morning. Since you have the blade created, she saw no reason to hesitate. The Mystical Advisor has declared war on this camp. He’s ordered the death of the king, the prince, and her, as well as anyone who opposes his rule. The Mystical Advisor has officially begun his takeover.”

“How long have we been here?”

He shrugs, “About two days. Well, now two. They moved camp to this location when we were one day away from reaching the original base. They were planning on attacking whether we were here or not; so we were lucky to be here in time.”

I have to think that through. “Is Koan going to be here?”

Rafi shakes his head. “I don’t know. The latest intelligence the group received was that he was preoccupied with tracking down something important. I assume that is you.”

I doubt I’ll be that lucky. “Have they found this camp?”

Again, he shakes his head. “No, not yet. Gabrielle moved us closer to make the attack more concentrated.” He touches my hand. “Now, how are you feeling?”

“Rafi, don’t,” I tell him; sitting up. “It’s too early for this.”

“Skye, please, talk to me,” Rafi begs, touching my back. “I need to know.”

“I don’t know Rafi,” I answer honestly, grabbing my pack before marching into the woods to change. I strip off my night clothes and dress in clothes similar to what I last wore; only this time the color is black. I feel stronger today; like I have my strength back. Just very sore like I have done a twelve-hour run the previous day. Those are never fun.

I look down at my pack once more and see that my new blade has been placed in a scabbard with three large garnets placed directly in the middle. I’m assuming Dawn was the one to do this. Particularly because there is another “You’re welcome,” note stuck on the pommel. I strap it to my waist and am pleased to see the handle is still wrapped in a green fabric. That’s likely how she touched it.

After running a brush through my hair and pulling it back in a high ponytail, I walk back to the camp. Rafi is standing next to my bedroll, dressed in a white shirt and leather armored pants.

“Rafi, don’t,” I warn, putting my pack down on my bedroll.

“Skye, please,” he begs, following me when I try to walk away.

Frustrated, I stop when I get to the edge of the camp. “Rafi, I can’t do this right now.” My heart is already having a hard time trying to keep up with my emotions. All I want to do is brutally destroy my ex then go cry.

“Just try, please,” Rafi begs, grabbing my wrist to turn me to face him. “What do you feel Skye?”

“Confused, okay,” I answer, finally snapping. “Every time I try to think of my time with Koan, I see you. When I try to remember that same memory with you, I see Koan. I don’t know what memories are false, and which ones are real; only I know exactly which ones aren’t real. My heart just refuses to see. When I try to convince it that the ones with you are real, I get so confused that I want to throw up. I know the reality, but my body is rejecting it; unable to comprehend it even though I fully understand it.”

He is giving me a look that is telling me I’m crazy. “Huh?”

I take a deep breath. “Mentally, I know the truth. Emotionally I don’t.”

Rafi groans, frustrated by my response. “Do you still have feelings for Koan?”

“Other than burning hatred, no,” I answer, annoyed he would ask me that.

“Can I just try something to help you get out of this emotional hell?” Rafi asks, giving me a hesitant look. “Keep in mind, that the only reason I’m offering this, is because it helped me.”

Hesitantly, I answer. “What?”

Rafi grabs my other hand. “A kiss. It gave me a lot of clarity when I was battling those memories too. I just have to try something before we have the chance to never try.”

“Rafi,” I begin, but the rest of my words are cut off by his lips being pressed to mine. Almost immediately, I feel an invisible wall break inside of me. My true memories of Rafi are starting to flood back to me. Koan’s face is not crossing into any of them; freeing me from his dark presence. I still remember Koan’s version, but they’re no longer tainting the ones with Rafi.

I pull away from him, a small smile on my face. When I open my mouth to speak, blood splatters on my face. My eyes widen as agony and fear start to spread through me. A sword is sticking through Rafi’s heart and blood is coming from his mouth.

“Rafi,” I scream, my voice echoing through the camp while Rafi drops to his knees, Koan standing behind him with fired rage in his eyes.