Page 26 of Cerulean Truth (Sapere #1)

ELEVEN

EMMA

The spacious black car glided through the night, cocooning us in its white luxurious interior.

Edward, our silent chauffeur, raised the partition, muffling the outside world and granting us a semblance of privacy.

The gentle hum of the engine and the rhythmic motion of the car did wonders to ease my racing heart.

Stephen and I settled into the plush seats in the back, a subtle air of anticipation hanging between us. He turned to me with an encouraging smile, one I tried to reciprocate though I failed epically at the attempt to mask the anxious flutter in my chest.

“Don’t worry, it’s a magically enhanced car.” Stephen grinned. “It will only take us a few hours to get to Nevada.”

A few hours? What if I needed to pee? I realized in all the Harry Potter books, the guy never took the time to pee… he did take a bath once, wasn’t it in the fourth book? With the egg? So why didn’t he pee? Maybe he did but chose not to write about it.

Darn it…now I need to pee…

“I thought about portaling you into Cyclos since James has gotten you clearance, but I found this would be the ultimate opportunity to teach you how to access a localized sphere, which I can’t do if we portal in,” Stephen continued.

Cyclos? Enhanced cars? Portals? Spheres? I could feel the color drain from my face. My mind started to fill with an unexpected form of self-doubt and a brand-new fear of failure. What had I gotten myself into?

"Emma, are you feeling okay?" Stephen's voice was a lifeline in a sea of worry.

I attempted another smile, though it wavered through my nerves. "I'm trying my best," I admitted.

Stephen's eyes crinkled with understanding. "It's only natural to be apprehensive. This is a lot to take in, and it's perfectly okay to feel overwhelmed."

I sighed, my fingers tracing the intricate patterns on the car's upholstery. "I'm not sure I'm prepared for all of this," I confessed.

Stephen leaned closer, his tone reassuring. "Well, let's remedy that immediately, shall we? Let us talk about what to expect when arriving at Cyclos. Did James tell you anything about our world and the Metasphere?"

I shook my head in response.

"Then I'll explain as much as I can along the way," he assured me. I breathed a soft sigh of relief, not wishing to begin my training appearing like a "muggle," as Harry Potter would say.

"First of all, keep this close to you at all times," he instructed, handing me a small black package.

"What is it?" I asked, curiosity piqued.

"Everything you need to access your new life," he answered, a mysterious tone in his voice. I neatly tucked it into my purse.

"Now, do you know what sets our world apart from yours?" Stephen inquired. I shook my head, fully aware I was diving headfirst into a world of unknowns.

"We are actually not that different. We live on this planet, just like humans. We're Earthlings, and we depend on the same sun and rain for sustenance, as humans do."

He smiled. "But to coexist with magic and to remain hidden from humanity, we had to construct a unique shield over our Collectives."

"A shield?" I asked, rather intrigued by the notion.

"Yes," he replied. "It's like an additional layer of the atmosphere.

Think of it as our own version of the Earth's atmospheric layers—the Troposphere, Stratosphere, Mesosphere, Thermosphere.

Well, we've added a layer below all of it.

We call it the Metasphere. It's where we operate our magic, as you might say.

A localized energy field created by the collective power of thousands of magi practicing translation daily. "

I nodded thoughtfully, trying to absorb the concept, though still somewhat overwhelmed.

"So," I tried to reiterate, "the Metasphere is a shield, covering an entire Collective, created by the collective energy of magi , working together?"

Stephen smiled. "Yes, at least 10,000 magi are needed to create a Metasphere. Within the sphere, it’s easier for us to translate. It costs us less energy because we draw from the combined energy as a whole.”

"It's like this," Stephen elaborated. "Translation takes up energy.

The larger the translation, the more energy it demands.

And the more energy it demands, the greater the energy output required by the person translating.

For instance, translating a bottle of water wouldn't require much energy.

But attempting to summon rain would demand so much energy that it could exhaust you dangerously and might even prove fatal if undertaken without proper training.

However, with adequate training, if you were to attempt such a feat within the Metasphere, you'd be safer because it harnesses the combined energy of ten thousand other magi.

Tapping into that source of energy makes you virtually invincible. "

I nodded, it started to make sense. "So, to remain hidden, you live with at least 9,999 other magi to create the Metasphere?"

"Exactly," Stephen confirmed. “And when they do, they form a Collective. The one we’re heading toward, Cyclos, holds all magi residing in the US. You won’t find a larger Collective anywhere."

He paused. “But what’s most important is that living within the Metasphere means untraceable translation.

It’s pure logic really, we can see and track translation in the Human World because our energy is not made of the same substances, but within the Metasphere, it blends with the energy required to sustain the layer. "

"Except for mine…" I muttered, annoyance creeping into my tone.

Stephen’s expression turned sympathetic. "Except for yours, yes, but don’t you worry. We will figure it out. However, Emma, until then?—"

"Yes, yes, I know. Don’t tell anyone about it aside from the Council." My irritation was clear, a mixture of confusion and exasperation.

Stephen nodded. "I know it’s difficult to understand, but it’s?—"

"Complicated,” I finished for him, the word echoing with the countless times James had used it, each instance intensifying my frustration.

Stephen gently grabbed my hand, his sympathy evident in the warmth of his touch.

"Whatever it all means, inside the sphere, you’ll be protected."

I leaned forward. "But magi can live outside the Metasphere?"

"Yes," Stephen replied, "though it's more challenging. You need extra energy to translate, and you have to cover your tracks meticulously. Plus it’s traceable. There's always a record of your translation s , like a constant monitoring device. There’s not much privacy outside the sphere."

"So, how come I was born outside the Metasphere?" I asked, that gnawing unease growing again.

Stephen's gaze turned thoughtful. "The main reasons for magi to leave the sphere revolve around education, curiosity, and love. Perhaps one of your ancestors was magi and moved to live outside the sphere, creating offspring with a human. Our energy can skip generations but there’s no way to retrace it.

We may never know how you're connected to our world. "

Well that was disappointing. Though completely in line with what James had told me, I had hoped Stephen would’ve had a little more information about my heritage by now.

I stared out of the car window, trying to organize the questions bubbling up. The rising sun painted the sky in shades of orange and purple as we left the city behind, heading toward “Cyclos”.

"So," I continued, "this place, Cyclos, where we’re going, is it constructed like a massive castle?"

He looked at me with astonishment. "No, why?"

Then he smirked, adding, "Are you thinking of Hogwarts?"

I shrugged in response. Truth be told, I had reread the entire Harry Potter series since I had met Stephen and James. And Twilight, just in case. Not that I was expecting any vampires to show up. Though, by that point, even pale faces and fangs wouldn’t surprise me anymore.

"So, no castles, no hidden passages? No dark lords, looking to purify bloodlines?" I asked once more, feeling a bit discouraged.

He chuckled heartily, saying, "No, and I wouldn't expect a fairy tale if I were you; you'll be disappointed if you do. There are no castles, no magic wands, and no ghosts gliding through walls."

"Now, how would you know that?" I teased. "Guess I'm not the only one enjoying Harry Potter."

He grinned in agreement. "They're fantastic books, but they're quite far from reality. We live in the real world, where translation is simply the next stage of evolution. We're not all that different from humans, especially given how technology has advanced to its current state. "

He paused and took a breather.

"We even live in similar houses, keep the same pets, engage in similar politics, lack dragons, don't possess three-headed dogs, and experience the same human dramas of life," he concluded with a smile.

I laughed in return. I could hardly imagine Stephen being preoccupied by what to post on his Instagram.

Feeling more at ease, I turned my gaze back to the window. Stephen and I settled into a comfortable silence for a few minutes.

"Emma," Stephen said, his deep voice pulling me from my thoughts. "Can you…” but before he could finish his sentence, the car made an abrupt move.

Out of nowhere, a deafening explosion shattered the calm atmosphere. The car lurched, swerving wildly on the road. I gripped the seat, my heart pounding, as Edward lost complete control over the car.

When the car finally screeched to a halt, my stomach had churned at least seven times, and my ears were left ringing. I couldn't deny that my history of car accidents seemed to be escalating by the minute.

"Emma, are you okay?" Stephen clutched my shoulders, shaking me from my dazed state.

"I'm fine," I muttered, still a bit disoriented.