SWNOVELS Chapter Chapter Thirty Six: Revelations
Sienna rushed towards them and pulled the Healing Potion out of her bag. It had started to finish since it had been used for Amara, Azrael as well as Iris. To heal the wound on Lea’s abdomen would be difficult. Nevertheless, Sienna let the remaining potion drop into her mouth. Unconscious, Leandra coughed out water and drew a gasp. Her eyes opened for a few moments before they rolled upwards and shut again. Azrael sat there watching his sister breathe heavily as the Healing Potion began to work its way into her system. Eridanus muttered a drying spell and all of them were no longer dripping with water. Amara had skidded to a halt before them with Iris still resting on her body. Eridanus looked up at her and gestured to hand Iris to him. Amara pushed the half-asleep Iris towards him and he immediately wrapped his arms around her in an embrace.
Amara sat beside Azrael and watched his face contort into a saddened one as Lea refused to open her eyes.
“We need to go back to the castle, now,” said Sienna. “Soter will have a solution. We can’t do anything without the resources.”
“We can’t teleport. Not all of us. But it’s necessary to get Leandra back to the castle immediately. I can create a false trail for a few of us so she can be escorted back by teleporting,” Amara replied.
“Eridanus, you can teleport out of here with Iris. She needs to return too. I need someone with me here. Either Azrael takes Leandra and Sienna stays with me, or otherwise.”
She looked back and forth between Azrael and Sienna. Sienna was busy trying to wake up Lea while Azrael held a vacant look, something which Amara could not decipher. Eridanus looked at her and nodded to beckon Amara towards him. She swiftly walked in his direction and stood before him.
“He needs you. Sienna will come with us. You take care of him,” he said to her quietly while Iris mumbled something that Amara stressed her ears to catch.
“Are you sure the two of you will be able to manage them alone?” She asked.
“We’ll be fine. But if Azrael comes with us it’ll be difficult to handle his emotions as well as these two,” he told her truthfully.
Amara nodded in understanding. As much as she wanted Azrael to be with his sister while she was in that condition, she also wanted him to be okay. And looking at the way he was behaving at the moment, she did not think it would be wise to send him off with two injured to take care of, one of which included his sister. He needed to calm himself before reaching the castle.
“Alright then. I’ll create the false trails. Also, Azrael is the only person who can help me do that since his false trails are quite powerful so I’m going to need him. You be careful and take care of Iris and Leandra. We’ll be there soon,” she said and Eridanus nodded in reply.
She then turned to look at Sienna.
“Sienna,” she called out and Sienna looked at Amara with her eyebrows raised.
“Will it be okay for you to go with Leandra?” She asked.
“Of course, I’ll go,” Sienna replied and packed everything back into her bag of supplies before she stood up.
She then hoisted Lea and held her in place with arms around her. Sienna had managed to stop the blood from flowing too fast but Lea was still unconscious. As soon as the four of them were about to leave, Leandra let out a gasp and her eyes opened. They were bloodshot, her head was titled backwards and she breathed heavily. Azrael’s head shot up towards her and he stood to go near his sister.
“Lea?” He whispered.
He placed his hands on her cheeks and brought her head back to level. She stared at him transfixed, but spoke nothing. Just as Sienna opened her mouth to tell them that they had to leave, Leandra muttered something under her breath. Frowning, Azrael leaned forward to listen.
“S-s-spirits. . .” she gasped.
“Lea-what? Spirits?” Azrael asked, confused.
“T-the s-spirits. . .” she mumbled again and then her eyes shut once again.
Azrael let his hands drop from her face and sighed.
“We’ll get to know what she said later. Right now she needs to be saved. It could get really worse,” Sienna said impatiently as she pressed on Lea’s abdomen to stop the blood.
“But she-” Azrael began to protest when Amara placed a hand on his shoulder to pull him back.
“They need to leave,” she told him and he reluctantly stepped away to let them leave.
“Rael. . .” whispered Leandra, her eyes fluttering open and close.
Azrael snapped his head back to his sister and extended his arm to grab hold of her when Sienna vanished along with Eridanus and Iris. Azrael watched the empty space, unblinking. His eyes started to get moist. What had Lea meant when she spoke of spirits? She needed him. She had called out his name. His little sister needed him. He started to shut his eyes to teleport when Amara grabbed his arm and pulled him back towards her forcefully. He crashed into her and they were about to fall but Amara steadied him in place with both her arms on his shoulders. It was a bit difficult since he was quite taller than her, but she managed.
“You need to breathe. Leandra is going to be okay. Right now we have to create the false trails before Lady Calypsa finds out that someone teleported out of here. It is forbidden. She might react wrongly. It won’t be long until she realizes what has happened. And you have to calm down. We will be at the castle soon enough and everything will be fine. Soter might already be working on making Leandra and Iris okay. Your little sister is safe in the castle,” she said to him softly.
He looked at her with uncertainty before letting out a sigh and nodding in understanding. They needed to save themselves and create false trails. Only then would it be okay to leave for the castle.
“Breathe,” whispered Amara when he held one.
He blinked and failed to understand when and how his arms lifted themselves from his side, extended towards Amara and were wrapped around her waist. She was swiftly pulled in his direction and before she realized what had happened, he was embracing her. It was only when his arms tightened around her and he buried his face in her neck that she felt how fast her heart was beating. There was a strange chilly sensation that crawled up her spine as she processed what was happening. Without her knowledge, her arms were now around his neck, her feet lifted a little above the ground because of his height, and then she shut her eyes.
She rested her head on his shoulder hesitantly. He breathed into her neck in contentment. Azrael realized then what he had done. But he did not wish to let go. He wanted to stay that way. All his worries seemed to vanish when he held her. He was at ease, he felt safe. It was as though she had a shield that was around him. He knew that if ever he was in pain, she would be there. She would protect him. He was the most vulnerable with Amara. He was under her safety. He did not need to worry about anything harming him. She was like his guardian, his protector, and the one he had inevitably and unknowingly fallen in love with. When he would accept that, he knew not.
“Rael,” she whispered when they stayed that way for none knew how long.
Azrael opened his eyes at the tone she had used. It sounded beautiful to his ears. It made him smile. Never had his name sounded so dear to him. Lea called him that too, but it did not feel the way it did when Amara spoke. It was different, very different from what Lea used to say. And it was different from how his mother used to call him. For a moment, he went back to those thoughts about his childhood when Amara slowly pulled away and he was brought back to the present as he looked at her face. His arms then reluctantly dropped from her waist. There was a crimson hue on Amara’s cheeks as she looked back at him.
It made him feel as though he had accomplished something. Who had ever succeeded in making Amara blush apart from him, as far as he knew?
“We have to go,” she told him and then he rushed into reality.
They had to leave. They had to set the false trails for the rest of the lot so nothing would happen. It would become difficult to go back to the castle otherwise. He could wonder all about Amara on the way back. But at the moment, there were other important things to do.
“Yes, I’m sorry. Let’s go,” he replied and the both of them left the shore immediately.
A few moments later when they were at a distance, they created the false trails for Eridanus, Sienna, Iris and Leandra to make it look like they had used the route that was required to go back to the castle, instead of teleporting or using a wagon which wasn’t allowed. The route to the Sea of Cypress did not allow any other means of transport apart from walking. It did not matter from how afar one was travelling. And if false trails were not created at times of emergency when teleporting was necessary, it could anger Lady Calypsa leading to torturous results.
When the trails had been successfully created, Amara and Azrael left to go back to the castle. On the way, Azrael strained his mind to figure out why Lea had spoken about the spirits. Were they in danger? How had she ended up in the Sea of Cypress? Why was Iris under Noctia Stella’s control? There were various questions that ran through his mind as the two of them walked ahead. Dawn had now approached. The sun was rising above the horizon and then the forest was drenched in sunlight. Amara walked behind Azrael with her eyes wedged on his back. The cloak that he wore was flowing behind him as he took steps ahead. She watched him with mixed feelings.
For a moment, she felt like smiling at what had happened back at the shore of the Sea; at the same time she felt worried for Leandra and Iris. Suddenly her thoughts were clouded with delight as she remembered the way he had opened up to her and she had started to trust him more than she had trusted anyone. But could she do that? Could she trust a man after what Leo had done to her? Could she trust Azrael after her own Lord had not told her about him being Leo’s father? Was it possible for her to fall for someone when she had been betrayed so brutally before? It didn’t matter that a hundred years had passed. The most she had come to trusting someone was Iris and Lord Lucifer. Trusting Azrael did seem like a viable thing to do, but something always seemed to pull her back. She could not do it, much as she wanted to.
With a shake of her head, she pushed those thoughts away from her mind. Now was not the time to think about Azrael. It was important to understand what Leandra had meant when she had spoken of the spirits. They had to find out how and why Iris had ended up with Noctia Stella and how Leandra had been left injured in the Sea of Cypress. They had a battle to fight and there was no time to dwell on futile things that held no importance before what was coming.
“What do you think?”
She was snapped out of her thoughts when Azrael turned around and spoke to her. She frowned in confusion. What do I think about what?
“You didn’t hear me, did you?” He asked, chuckling slightly.
Amara sheepishly shook her head in response.
“I was asking what your thoughts are on Noctia Stella being in this region all the way from Heletes,” he told her as she fell into step beside him.
They walked adjacent to one another now and Amara decided to give it a thought. What could it be that brought that Mortuis near the Sea of Cypress?
“She couldn’t have arrived all by herself. That is not possible,” she told him.
“Yes. She would have needed a powerful Conjurer for this purpose. She would have needed a wagon. And getting a wagon here without being detected is quite difficult. Who could have done it?” Azrael wondered.
It was like a riddle that they could not decipher easily. There was something missing that they were unable to put a finger on. It was nagging their brains but they found no definite answer.
“It could be Lord Mikhail,” Amara suggested.
“Witches like Noctia Stella do not mingle with those who are not her servants. This has to be someone who has been trained in all sorts of dark witchcraft by her. And Lord Mikhail is not very skilled at dark witchcraft,” said Azrael.
“How do you know that?” Amara looked at him in confusion.
“If he was trained by Noctia Stella he would have achieved the prophecy already. Our coven would have been destroyed. But he doesn’t know anything about the prophecy. He wants to know. His belief that he can easily defeat the Lord and get what he needs is quite obvious. He wouldn’t resort to such dark witchcraft without even knowing what the prophecy holds. Also, getting help from a Mortuis has its repercussions. He already declared war against us. Now if he used Noctia Stella as bait, it would hurt his reputation. He’s one of the King’s Ministers after all,” he replied in all honesty.
Amara nodded in understanding. He did have a point. If Lord Mikhail was acquainted with Noctia Stella, everyone would have known about it. His strength would be tenfold. And he would not send her to harm Iris or Leandra. As far as Amara could understand, Noctia had her own intentions in hurting Iris. After having rescued Lord Lucifer from her with the help of Iris since she had succeeded in blocking Noctia’s mind, it was obvious enough that the evil witch would want some sort of vengeance. But the question still remained. Who had helped her in leaving Heletes?
“Well then, who else is that powerful?” She asked Azrael.
“That is what bothers me. I can’t figure out who it could be. Moreover, why would she want to harm Lea?”
“What if it was someone else that harmed Leandra? Noctia Stella doesn’t have anything personal against her, but she does in case of Iris.”
“True. But whoever harmed Lea had something to do with Noctia. Her talking about spirits is very curious though. I don’t understand what she meant by that.” Azrael scratched his forehead, perplexed.
“Maybe all of this is interconnected. We should join the dots. The moment we left the spirits with Lady Calypsa, Iris and Leandra disappeared. Iris was found with Noctia Stella while Leandra lands in the Sea of Cypress and we are informed about it through Lady Calypsa. As far as we know, she was supposed to be busy having a meeting with the spirits. We then find Leandra who talks about the spirits. There has got to be some sort of link between all of this,” she told him thoughtfully.
“But it still doesn’t make sense as to how Noctia Stella ended up here and took Iris.” He shook his head in reply.
“This is too complicated. I think we should wait till we get back to the castle and we’ll hear what Leandra and Iris have to say.” Amara sighed.
It was complicated indeed. Their minds were occupied by a lot of things and there was nothing that they could get a conclusion out of. They had a journey to finish whilst creating false trails every now and then so they would be safe. And they had to reach the castle as soon as they could. There wasn’t enough time left. In a week or two, Lord Mikhail would attack with his army. They all needed practice. Their powers had to be exercised.
“I hope Lea is okay,” muttered Azrael, looking down as he walked.
“She’s probably already awake and talking incessantly with Iris,” Amara said to him with a reassuring smile in his direction. “Don’t worry. She’ll be okay. Your sister is safe.”
Azrael looked back at her and returned her smile with one of his own. One thing he had realized in the time he spent with Amara was that he smiled more than he had ever done before. Lea used to complain about the fact that he never smiled as much; not after he left home. But with Amara, his smile never seemed to go. It was always that easy with her, he didn’t know how.
“Thank you,” he told her truthfully.
His eyes scanned hers. He wanted to know whether she had the same feelings when she was with him or it was just his imagination. But there were so many things that were trapped in those eyes of hers that he could not keep his concentration on one thing. All he noticed was that they were expressive, there were a million things that they wanted to say but she had everything chained inside. And he wanted to free those chains. She said nothing in reply but just smiled and then looked away.
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A day later, they were stood before the gates of the castle, tired and exhausted mentally as well as physically. Amara let out a sigh when they stopped at the gates of the graveyard. But Azrael didn’t wait. He was worried for his sister. So before the gates even opened completely, he rushed inside and into the castle doors. Amara followed him in slowly walking ahead since there was no energy left in her. She needed to sleep. They had not stopped to rest at all on the way. One whole day and night they had spent in walking and had only stopped for a few moments to find something to eat so they could venture ahead. Amara did not know how Azrael had enough strength to run into the castle.
She knew Iris and Leandra were safe there. She did not want to worry about them because they had a lot of people around. Soter was fully capable of taking care of the both of them. But the thought of Azrael worrying about losing his sister made her want to rush towards him, for he needed someone beside him. If anything were to happen to Leandra, she could only wonder how he would cope. So Amara increased her pace a bit and reached the castle after passing the graveyard. Once inside, she went in the direction of Iris’s chamber hoping both Leandra and Iris would be there.
When she entered inside, she found Eridanus sitting beside Iris on the floor and Leandra lying on the bed with Soter beside her. Azrael stood at the foot of the bed, staring at his sister as she breathed shallow breaths. Iris looked up at Amara and she walked ahead.
“Are you okay?” Iris asked, pushing herself up from the floor and standing in front of Amara.
“Am I okay? You were caught by a dead witch. I should ask you if you’re okay,” she replied.
“I’m fine. But Lea isn’t,” Iris said.
She looked at Leandra’s comatose body while Soter mixed up some ingredients into a paste. Amara took a few steps ahead and looked at Leandra. Her face was pale, the gash on her abdomen was covered in a bandage with a brown coloured paste and her breathing was shallow. Amara went and stood beside Azrael. Eridanus stood up from where he was sitting on the floor and came next to Iris.
“Soter, how long has she been unconscious?” Amara asked.
Soter looked up at her from his work.
“She hasn’t woken up since they got here. I’ve been trying but her response seems to come and go in flashes. Her wound isn’t that deep but some mental impact has rendered her still,” he replied.
“Iris, what happened there?” Amara turned to Iris.
“I don’t exactly remember, but Lea and I were standing below the oak tree that you had asked us to. Suddenly she sensed some dark force around her and told me about it. But we decided to stay there until you people returned. Then something happened and I passed out. I don’t know what happened after that but when I woke up I was in this dark pit with the dead witch. She stared at me with those terrible red eyes of hers and I was really frightened. I was terrified.” She winced at the memory. “And then I started to go blind. I couldn’t see a thing. My eyes were open but I saw nothing. Then there was this unbearable pain. It was. . .” she trailed off, blinking and clearing her throat that had gone dry. The memory still scared her.
Eridanus slipped his fingers into hers, holding her hand tightly in reassurance. She glanced at him once and then turned back to Amara.
“Then before I realized, I was out of the pit.” She finished.
But there was one lingering question in Amara’s mind that she needed an answer to.
“Why did you send a message to Eridanus instead of me or Azrael?” She asked.
Iris frowned.
“I didn’t send a message to anyone,” she replied.
Amara was about to question her back for what she had meant when they heard a gasp and Leandra’s eyes flew open.