by Dylan Quinn
"No peeking," Cade says. His voice laced with excitement as he leads me down a gravel path, his hands covering my eyes. "It's a surprise. Almost there—" We walk for another few feet and stop. He removes his hands. "Happy Anniversary, love." He’s beaming with pride.
There’s a beautiful lake before me, and it's in our backyard. I turn to see our home that now overlooks the amazing view.
It's breathtaking.
"It’s yours. I’ve named it the Chayah Fountain."
"It's perfect." My eyes well with tears. Cade knows how much I’d grown to love the sea on earth, and he created my very own, right here in Aravot.
He grabs my hand, and drags me toward the crystal clear water. "Look, a waterfall, too. And it's filled with all your favorite creatures."
I glance toward the shore. Seagulls walk the pink sands. Something jumps in the middle of the lake, catching my attention. I peer over the glossy water to see a dolphin swimming beneath the surface, and reappearing at the edge of a wooden pier. It nods at me, sings, and disappears beneath the surface.
My mouth pops open. How did Cade do this?
The magic of Aravot never ceased to amaze me.
"And wait until you see where it leads." He points at the waterfall and shows me a cavern that hides underneath.
I turn to face him. "You did all this for me?”
"Of course, love." He smiles, his sweet dimple burrows into his cheek. "I want you to be happy here. This is our home. Now you can come here, swim with your dolphin, or whatever you wish. We can have picnics by the water..."
"I love it. Thank you."
He smiles at me and brushes the back of his hand against my cheek.
"I know you are concerned about your upcoming incarnation. And while I’m not certain what it will hold, the Council is on alert. You’ve always known me, love. You’re here—" He takes my left hand and places it on his chest. "You’re a part of my heart and my soul. I will always bring you home."
He kisses my Gemini mark and releases it, then cups my cheeks. He bends in and kisses my lips, pressing deeply into me.
I wrap my arms around his neck and run my fingers through his lush, dark hair. The familiar jolt pulses through my Gemini mark…
My eyes shot open, and my Gemini mark pulsed wildly in my wrist.
Raz grinned and clasped his hands in front of him. He saw it, too.
It was Cade. Had always been Cade. Just like my vision said, he had imprinted on my soul, and yes—we would always find our way back to each other.
Back where we belonged.
Home.
More visions flooded in—vignettes of lives past. Reels went on and on, one memory after another revolved through my memory...
Births, Eternalizing. Deaths.
My eyelids shut like an iron gate. Tremors vibrated through my arm and into my chest. Cade’s love consumed me.
The intensity of the visions weighed me down, and my body involuntarily slumped onto the bed.
The room spun like a tornado.
In a moment, I was no longer aware of the bed beneath me.
Something popped in my head, like a light bulb had burnt out. My consciousness slipped away—my eyesight, my hearing, the sounds in the room silenced as everything faded to black.
I was dying.
It was tranquil, though—my soul separated, suspended outside my body. My heartbeat slowed, then faded into nothing.
Phoebe cried out my name as a quiet darkness tugged me away, my body no longer visible.
For just a moment, I was at peace.
Seconds later, a high-pitched scream pulled me from my temporary stillness. An iridescent light blazed beneath my closed lids, then a face came into focus.
Cade.
He reached out, and I gave him my hand. His iridescent aura burned bright around him.
I stared at our clasped hands and watched as his color rose and moved toward me, then pulsed through me. His light travelled from my fingertips, up my arm, and above our heads.
Our auras merged. A meteor shower ignited, and the sparks fell to the floor.
My soul bathed in Cade's light. Ours. A burning pulse rushed through my body, like my heart was about to explode. His aura grew brighter, blinding. Beyond my own visions, and for the first time, my own aura exploded around the room, illuminating me.
Joined with Cade’s—
I gasped for air as Cade’s hand was ripped from my grip, and my consciousness returned with a vengeance. My eyes shot open.
I sprung to my feet and scanned the room.
All the Firstborns were on their knees, heads facing the floor. Raz stood, steadfast. He bowed his head briefly and closed his eyes as if in reverence.
"Welcome, Chayah. You’ve been missed."
"What the hell just happened?" I leapt from the bed.
"Look at your mark."
I stared at my wrist. The Gemini mark had grown to include a new symbol and changed colors—violet, like Cade’s aura. Like mine. And it was pulsing. Cade. Something coursed through my veins. His heart beat with mine, his blood rushed to my head and forced me to my knees.
Cade was part of me again. I felt him there, his essence, his soul coursing through mine.
“You have Eternalized, Chayah. The Convergence has begun.”
I closed my eyes to steady my breathing and leaned into my hands to calm myself, embracing the emotions running through me. I rocked back onto my heels.
A whoosh of wind whipped into the room from the open window, blew past me, and flung open the bedroom door. Beyond it was a dark tunnel with a blinding glow in the distance.
“What—”
“The bridge to Aravot,” Raz said. “You’ve been invited.”
Julian kneeled beside me and took my hand in his. "Are you ready to meet Gabrielle?"
Beams of light flickered beyond the open door, calling me inside.
Raz reached down and helped me to my feet. The Firstborns stood up beside me.
"It's all right, Zoe. It's time to take your place with the Council," Raz said. "We’ll get you to the gates of Aravot, and Gabrielle will call you in. Do not be afraid."
I looked to Julian, took his outstretched hand and inhaled deeply, mentally prepared myself for what lay beyond the light.
We stepped toward the doorway. Julian and I exchanged looks and nodded when a gentle burst of wind puffed through the room, drawing us in and pushing us through the portal. The wind wasn't cold or loud like the bridge to the dark realm.
It was warm and quiet. Calming. Peaceful.
The breeze died out, and I scanned the breathtaking landscape. I recognized it immediately.
I was home.
~Chapter Thirty-Three~
Cade
"Wake up, Cade."
I stirred at the sound of a familiar voice and drew my objecting lids open.
Elijah.
“How?” I forced out the question, confused at the appearance of my Eternal brother.
I had no idea how long I’d been here, or where I was for that matter.
My gaze struggled to focus.
Elijah crouched down beside me. “Are you surviving down here?”
“As best I can.” I pressed out the quiet words.
I lay on the dusky ground in a cold cell. Granite walls surrounded me. Slanted windows high upon them drew in red smoke that breezed freely throughout the dark realm. The smell was acrid, adding to the motives that stirred the bile within my stomach.
“How did you arrive here? The guards did not find you?”
"Oh, you know me. I have my tricks. You don’t look good. Hopefully, this will help some. Only wish I could do more.”
“You’re here, my friend. I could ask no more of you.”
He nodded. “What are you doing here?”
Elijah nudged me with a smile, attempting to lessen the dreadful mood in the room. Though within the dark realm, I wasn’t sure there was any other mood befitting of the situation.
"Zoe got herself
in trouble again, didn't she?” Elijah laughed. “And of course, you had to bail her out. Why am I not surprised? What are we going to do about that girl?"
"Well, there isn’t much I can do here and now, is there?"
"Actually, there is," Elijah said. "Your lovely Chayah has healed. Finally. It took much out of Raz, but he was able to purify her light."
The tightness in my chest subsided a bit.
Elijah clasped his hands together.
"How is Zoe—back at school, I hope? Has she begun to record?”
“No, it was too late for that. It's December, and your light is burning out," he said. "I'm here to help, my friend. Zoe has Eternalized."
What?
"Oh yes. Raz healed her and right then and there, she changed before them. Before all of them. Had them freaked out beyond belief. You should've seen Phoebe's face when Zoe lit up and lifted off the bed."
"Can—I see?"
“Of course.” Elijah reached for my hands. His thoughts merged with mine, and his visions consumed me.
I closed my eyes and his visions flooded into my mind as if they were my own… “I love you, Cade. Please hang on. I’m coming.”
Zoe’s words hung in the air as if she were here beside me. Her admission warmed my heart, giving a reprieve, however brief, from the reality of the situation.
Her transformation took place before my eyes.
Zoe gazed at our joined hands as my iridescent light of my aura consumed with all colors—merged with hers, then grew beyond us and encompassed our souls.
Her Gemini mark pulsed, and her heart now beat within mine.
I stared at my wrist.
There it was, in full bloom. The completed Gemini seal.
I traced the symbol with my fingers, her heartbeat pulsed beneath them, improving my own state as much as it could here in this cell.
The Convergence has begun. A rush of relief pressed through me then.
Zoe would survive.
Elijah showed me the vision of Zoe's light bursting from her as she Eternalized before their eyes. And now, before mine.
Her soul detached from her human form for the briefest of moments. As her Gemini, I could see her light at all times. I’d never observed her Eternalize before. If only I’d had a front row seat rather than watching from Elijah’s memories. But at this point, I’d take what I could get.
As her human form lay an empty vessel on the bed below, a vivid light, like a cloud, hovered above her body. Protecting it. Nurturing it. Never far, but separate all the same. The most beautiful scene I’d ever witnessed. Breathtaking.
A silver cord connected her body to her soul. A spark of light moved through it, then pulled her soul back into her body.
Zoe sprung to her feet as the Firstborns fell to their knees in reverence.
Her warmth radiated through Elijah's hands and into mine. She was here with me, however faint, but still present.
"Remarkable."
Elijah seemed pleased at my reaction.
"So—what does this mean for me. For Zoe?”
“Well, my friend, your Gemini has indeed, initiated the Convergence. The next step is the Intention Ceremony.”
“That’s impossible.”
“You really don’t give me any credit, do you?” He chuckled lightly. "Gabrielle has given her blessing. Where there’s a will, there’s a way. Or so the saying goes."
“I don’t think I can escape. This cell is cloaked, protected somehow. I’ve spent weeks searching for a way out, but there is none. I can only hope Zoe will be able to carry on with her life, for the brief time she has before the Trees is empty and Lilith’s reign comes full circle.”
“Cade.” Elijah rose to his feet and stared down on my limp body. “Though I can’t spring you yet, I think I can help with the next step, to hold the ceremony.”
I narrowed my gaze. His words made no sense. I could think of no way for Elijah to help. Zoe and I could not be connected. I was locked away in an encrypted tomb. One no being could penetrate. How Elijah was even here was beyond me.
“We’re going to try something a bit off the grid. It’s unconventional. It won’t get you out of here yet, but it will help you find your way to her.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Do you trust me, Cade?”
“Of course. I assume Raz sent you?”
“He’s been tied up with Zoe’s healing. This was all me. After everything that happened between me and Zoe, I figured I owed you both one.”
“What do you mean, what happened?”
“You know—” He shifted between his feet. “While I was human.”
“Elijah. You were loyal as ever an Eternal could be. You protected Zoe. Cared for her in a way I could not when my contact with her was forbidden. You have nothing to feel guilt over, brother.” I reached out and set my hand over his. “I owe you a great debt of gratitude. Zoe could not have survived this life without you.”
“I just wish I could have done more.” He sighed and rubbed his hands together.
“You did us both a great service, Elijah. Your sacrifice will not be forgotten or go unnoticed once Zoe understands the intention behind it.”
“I hope you’re right. After I left her that day, I had to stop keeping watch over her. It hurt too much to see her suffer, knowing it was my fault.”
“It was not by your hand. It was by her guardian’s. And Lilith’s. You were innocent, and you followed the rules of the Doctrine, just as you were meant to. This Doctrine was never intended to be without struggle. It’s a right we must endure. Zoe does suffer the greatest burden, but she doesn’t suffer alone. We all make sacrifices.”
“True. I just hope she can forgive me. I know I hurt her.”
“Zoe is a reasonable, loving soul. She will forgive you. She just needs time and patience. Raz taught me a lesson this incarnation. In trust. Zoe has never failed me, Elijah. She won’t fail you either.”
“Thanks for the pep talk.” Elijah cleared his throat. “Let’s get you to your Gemini.”
"What are we going to do?"
He crouched down before me again.
"Give me your hands. Your soul is taking a virtual trip."
~Chapter Thirty-Four~
Zoe
Gleaming pewter gates with designs carved into them stood so tall they nearly reached the lavender sky. Beyond the archaic fortress were lush green hills surrounding the compound, mountains with miles of tall trees as far as I could see.
Which was further than usual.
My senses were in hyper drive since I Eternalized.
I inhaled the fragrance of peonies that swirled in the air. Cade said I planted them in the garden.
Raz and the Firstborns stepped up behind me, taking in the beauty of Aravot.
Julian stood beside me, nudging my shoulder, drawing my attention to the two bodies of light that filtered through the gates and drifted their way toward me. I squinted at the sight while the Firstborns all fell to their knees. Again.
What is with them?
Raz squeezed my shoulder. "It’s ingrained from their Genesis blood—to bow before their Elders."
"I can hear you?" My eyes narrowed at the sound of Raz's words in my head.
He laughed. "Yes, Chayah. Your gifts are being returned."
A moment later, one light materialized, and the silhouette of a shadow transformed into a body. Gabrielle.
I recognized the Archangel immediately. Honey blonde curls hung low down her back, swooshing around her shoulder. Porcelain skin. Pink cheeks and lips. Glorious aura, a golden glow blinded me, forcing my eyes to focus on the grass beneath my feet.
Beside her, the other form materialized from a matching golden light into an intimidatingly beautiful man—pushing seven feet, muscular. Bronzed skin. Blond hair.
I stepped back, lightheaded at the visions spinning around me.
Raz grabbed my arm and steadied me.
"Welcome home, Chayah. I am Michael, and this is Gabrielle."
She pulled me into a hug. Her arms wrapped around me, and her energy pulsed through my body, warming me instantly.
My skin lit up like she was sharing her light.
"Please stand," Michael lifted his hands toward the Firstborns. He and Gabrielle walked over to Phoebe and Remie first. "Remliel, it's a pleasure to meet you." Michael held out his hand, and they shook. Michael looked to Phoebe, then Remie. “Introductions are in order. Your Gemini is lovely.” Michael nodded. “What is your name, child?”
I knew it. I stood a little taller as relief and pride flooded through me.
"This is Phoebe Kinkaid." Remie flushed and pulled Phoebe close.
Michael tipped his head toward her, forcing a flush to spread across her cheeks.
"I am pleased to see this match, Remliel. Take good care of this angel." Michael winked at me.
I lifted my chin.
Gabrielle clasped her hands and beamed. Her aura grew around her. Amazing.
"Now, to the business at hand. Where is Cade?" Michael asked.
"In the dark realm," Raz said. "Lilith has returned, and Cade exchanged his life for Zoe's. The uprising has begun."
“So it has.” Michael pursed his lips. "Well then, Zoe, you must make your intentions known, so we may move forward." He nodded toward Gabrielle.
"Are you ready, Chayah?" Gabrielle glided toward me, her satiny white wings feathered in the air behind her.
I wondered where Cade was, if he was okay. Hurting. My chest thumped at the thought. I needed to bring him home.
“Yes.” I blew out slowly. “I’m ready.”
Gabrielle took my right hand in hers, then wrapped her free hand around the Gemini mark on my left wrist.
"Close your eyes, child. Focus your heart's energy on your Gemini."
I closed my eyes, and memories of Cade filled my head. The movie reel from earlier continued. Snippets of Cade, of me. Together. Some more unforgettable than others. My body lifted again.
Gabrielle held me steady. Took my right hand and held it to her heart. It pulsed beneath my palm. And though my eyes were closed, I could still see her light behind them.
The ambient sounds surrounding me faded out, and my vision went dark…
